Columbus Blue Jackets News

Christiansen was a healthy scratch in Buffalo on Thursday but will replace Egor Zamula in the lineup on Saturday. Christiansen, who has bounced in and out of the lineup all season, has just two assists in 38 games.

Graves allowed four goals on 23 shots in the Blue Jackets' loss in Buffalo on Thursday. Greaves and the Blue Jackets have slipped lately. He is 2-5-1 with a 2.62 GAA and .906 SV% in his last seven starts, but the Blue Jackets remain alive in the Metropolitan playoff race. He draws a tough matchup on Saturday, as he faces the Canadiens on the road--Columbus are +113 road underdogs.

Greaves was excellent in the Blue Jackets' previous game, saving 34 of 37 shots (.919 SV%) in a come-from-behind 4-3 shootout win over the Detroit Red Wings to keep their playoff hopes alive. The 25-year-old Greaves has been excellent in his first NHL season, but has battled some adversity in recent weeks, losing five of his last seven games (2-4-1) despite posting an impressive 2.41 GAA and .915 SV%. The Blue Jackets enter Thursday's contest as slight +105 road underdogs against a Buffalo Sabres team coming off a 5-3 win over the New York Rangers last night.

Egor Zamula will re-enter the Blue Jackets' lineup on Thursday, sending Christiansen to the sidelines as a healthy scratch. The 26-year-old Christiansen is averaging 10:11 time-on-ice and has two assists in 38 games this season.

Greaves was excellent in the Blue Jackets' previous game, saving 34 of 37 shots (.919 SV%) in a come-from-behind 4-3 shootout win over the Detroit Red Wings to keep their playoff hopes alive. The 25-year-old Greaves has been excellent in his first NHL season, but has battled some adversity in recent weeks, losing five of his last seven games (2-4-1) despite posting an impressive 2.41 GAA and .915 SV%. The Blue Jackets enter Thursday's contest as slight +105 road underdogs against a Buffalo Sabres team coming off a 5-3 win over the New York Rangers last night.

Nichushkin was a late scratch on Sunday, missing the game due to an upper-body injury, but he will re-enter the lineup on Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues. The 31-year-old Nichushkin is producing at his lowest offensive output in five seasons, but has been more productive lately, with seven points (1G / 6A) in his last eight games. He has 45 points (15G / 30A) in 66 games this season. Joel Kiviranta will be a healthy scratch to accommodate Nichushkin's return.

The Blue Jackets remain within reach of a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, but have struggled immensely in recent weeks and will need to immediately turn things around if they have any hopes of making the playoffs. Greaves played well in his recent game, saving 23 of 25 shots (.920 SV%), but did not receive ample goal support in a 2-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets. The 25-year-old Greaves has been reliable most of the season, but has lost five of his last six (1-4-1) despite posting a solid 2.34 GAA and .915 SV%. The Blue Jackets enter Tuesday's contest as slight -103 road underdogs against a Detroit Red Wings team that is also struggling to stay in playoff contention after losing four of their last five (1-4-0).

The Blue Jackets remain within reach of a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, but have struggled immensely in recent weeks and will need to immediately turn things around if they have any hopes of making the playoffs. Greaves played well in his recent game, saving 23 of 25 shots (.920 SV%), but did not receive ample goal support in a 2-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets. The 25-year-old Greaves has been reliable most of the season, but has lost five of his last six (1-4-1) despite posting a solid 2.34 GAA and .915 SV%. The Blue Jackets enter Tuesday's contest as slight -103 road underdogs against a Detroit Red Wings team that is also struggling to stay in playoff contention after losing four of their last five (1-4-0).

Greaves allowed four goals on 32 shots in the Blue Jackets' loss to the Hurricanes on Tuesday. Columbus is suddenly struggling, and Greaves enters Saturday's game on a three-game personal losing streak, giving up nine goals on 91 shots (.901 SV%) in those losses. Tonight he'll face a Jets team that has played better as of late, but has still averaged just 2.8 goals per game since the Olympic break.

Severson suffered an upper-body injury last week and, originally given a week-to-week timeline, has officially been ruled out for the remainder of the season. The 31-year-old defenseman scored a goal in the game before his injury, giving him five points (3G / 2A) in his last five games.

Lundestrom left Tuesday's game against Carolina with an undisclosed injury and did not return, but he will be available for Thursday's rematch. Lundestrom has four goals and seven assists in 61 games this season.

Del Bel Belluz has not played with the Blue Jackets since mid-December, but he will re-enter the lineup on Thursday against the Carolina Hurricanes. The 22-year-old forward has not been able to acclimate to the NHL-level, but has been impressive in the AHL, where he has 57 points (22G / 35A) this season in 53 games with the Cleveland Monsters.

The Blue Jackets are desperate to stay within playoff contention, but have lost four straight (0-3-1) and will hope for a better result on Thursday when they turn to Merzlikins to tend the twine against the Carolina Hurricanes. The 31-year-old Latvian goalie was solid in his previous outing, saving 33 of 36 shots (.917 SV%), but did not receive ample goal support in a 3-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks. Merzlikins has had an up-and-down season, but has allowed three or fewer goals in four straight games (2-1-1). The Blue Jackets enter Thursday's contest as +163 road underdogs against a Hurricanes team that defeated them 5-2 earlier this week.

With Mathieu Olivier (upper body) out week-to-week, Johnson will return to the lineup. The 23-year-old Johnson has 21 points (7G / 14A) in 69 games this season, but was a healthy scratch in Columbus' previous game, likely a result of only scoring three points (1G / 2A) in his last 16 games.