The Hockey News Sunday Recap: Columbus Blue Jackets

Elvis Merzļikins Moves Past Steve Mason In Career Wins The much-criticized Elvis Merzļikins has played very well this season.

With the stoning of Pittsburgh Penguins legend Evgeni Malkin last night in the shootout, goalie Elvis Merzļikins' has moved past Steve Mason into second place on the all-time wins list in Columbus Blue Jackets history with 97. 

Cleveland Monsters Stats Update Through 5 Games The Cleveland Monsters are up and running with the 2025-26 AHL season. The Monsters have a young team, but a young team that has some experience. Many people who follow the Monsters have no clue what to expect from this season. Luckily, they do have some experienced vets like Brendan Gaunce, Brendan Smith, Will Butcher, and Dysin Mayo to help guide this team along. 

Individual Stats

Goals - Brendan Gaunce - 2 - Most of the players expected to score goals, have, such as Del Bel Belluz, Pinelli, and Mikael Pyyhtiä. So, it's still very early and those guys will have plenty of time to fill up the net. 

Assists - Dysin Mayo - 4 - We expect guys like Luca Del Bel Belluz and Luca Pinelli to eventually take the lead in assists, but until then, a vet and defenseman like Mayo will have to do. 

Points - Dysin Mayo - 4 - Mayo has yet to score a goal and has four assists. 

+/- - James Malatesta - +2 - Malatesta has a chance this year to break out in a big way, and most people are rooting for him. 

Blue Jackets & Maple Leafs Reportedly Talked Trade For Chinakhov According to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Toronto Maple Leafs reportedly discussed a trade involving Yegor Chinakhov this past offseason.

According to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Toronto Maple Leafs reportedly discussed a trade involving Yegor Chinakhov this past offseason.

In a recent edition of 32 Thoughts the blog, Friedman revealed that while Chinakhov was unhappy with his situation in Columbus, the Blue Jackets declined a trade proposal from Toronto.

Blue Jackets' Erik Gudbranson Dealing With Injury, Out Against Maple Leafs The Columbus Blue Jackets are back in action again tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs. It is the second half of a back-to-back, and they will have to do it without Erik Gudbranson, who remains out with an injury.

Gudbranson was initially injured against the Minnesota Wild back on Saturday, Oct. 11. He has been dealing with an upper-body injury. However, he was able to return for the games against the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 24 and 25. Unfortunately, he was unable to play in last night's game due to hip soreness, and that is plaguing him again for the game against the Maple Leafs.

Cannon City Quotables: Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Toronto Maple Leafs Welcome to another edition to of Cannon City Quotables.

Dean Evason: Head Coach

• Really liked how Charlie Coyle's line played - finally got rewarded for their hard play
• He loves how the depth has stepped up, including on the blue line and goalies
• Feels that this game is a stepping stone for the rest of the back-to-backs going forward
• Werenski sat for some extra shifts for load management
• Feels nice when the depth scoring can step up even if the top stars aren't filling the net

Blue Jackets Recall Dysin Mayo From AHL Monsters The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled defensemen Dysin Mayo from their AHL affliate the Cleveland Monsters.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled defensemen Dysin Mayo from their AHL affliate the Cleveland Monsters.

Mayo, 29, has been recalled again, after just being called up back on Oct. 19. 

Adam Fantilli Contract Negotiations "Shelved"...For Now The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun released some fresh insight into the Adam Fantilli contract negotiations. 

It's worth noting that any Adam Fantilli contract, would most likely be comped to Carlsson and not Bedard, at least that's how I look at it. Connor Bedard has been the only offensive threat on his team since he came into the league. Fantilli has played Johnny Gaudreau, Kirill Marchenko, Dmitri Voronkov, and Sean Monahan, who all demand the puck. 

Blue Jackets Superstar Zach Werenski Continues To Be Disrespected Columbus Blue Jackets, and NHL Superstar Zach Werenski continues to be disrespected, and to put it quite bluntly - It's time for the chaos to stop. 

Montgomery had the following to say: "When you have the Makars and the Hughes, and I can't remember his name, number 8? 

“No. 8 is probably, I don’t even know if you can call him a defenseman, he transitions so well into the offense," said Montgomery. He referred to Werenski as "No.8" a few times. 

Blue Jackets Prospect Tanner Hendricks Expected To Miss Three Months Hendricks was drafted in the 4th round of the 2024 NHL Draft.

Hendricks was hit with a high cross-check to the head by his brother Ty, who plays for Western Michigan University. Ty was rewarded with a five-minute major for head contact. But when Tanner was going down, he suffered a lower-body injury that will require surgery. Hendricks will now miss three months.

Cannon City Quotables: Columbus Blue Jackets vs. St. Louis Blues Last night, the Columbus Blue Jackets were in action against the St. Louis Blues and came out on top by a score of 3-2. 

Dean Evason: Head Coach

• He didn't like the style of play in the third period, but happy they found a way to hold on
• Praised Jet for his play, felt he limited the secondary chances
• Felt that the team has made adjustments on special teams to get the job done
• Told his team the best way to manage a third period push is to put the puck in their zone
• Felt his team failed to get the puck deep enough in their zone
• Said his team talked about staying in hockey games, to give them a chance to win games
• Said that it is a sign of maturity since the start of the season
• Really enjoys that both his goalies have performed really well and held them in games

Game Recaps & Previews

Columbus Blue Jackets (8 pts) vs. Buffalo Sabres (9 pts) Game Preview The Columbus Blue Jackets visit KeyBank Center for the first of two meetings this season.

Miles Wood Powers Columbus Past Buffalo For Fourth Straight Road Win The Blue Jackets and Sabres played a back-and-forth game all night, but Columbus would prevail in OT.

Columbus Blue Jackets (10 pts) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (11 pts) Game Preview Columbus is 21-20-1-0, and 9-11-0-0 at home all-time vs. the Leafs.

Blue Jackets Thump Toronto To Earn Third Straight Win With a lot of the hockey world watching the only NHL game on the schedule, the Blue Jackets showed what they can do when they play their game.

Columbus Blue Jackets (12 pts) vs. St. Louis Blues (8 pts) Game Preview Columbus is 37-42-3-13, and 24-16-2-5 at home all-time vs. the Blues.

Columbus Blue Jackets (14 pts) vs. New York Islanders (11 pts) Game Preview Columbus is 27-22-1-7, and 9-15-0-3 on the road all-time vs. the Islanders.

What's Next for the Blue Jackets?

As mentioned above, the Blue Jackets have a quick turnaround as they take on the Islanders in the second half of a back-to-back. They are pushing for their fifth straight win against an Islanders team that has seen a resurgence with the emergence of Matthew Schaefer.

After that, they head out to Western Canada to take on the Calgary Flames on Wednesday Nov. 5th, the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, Nov. 8th and then the Edmonton Oilers on Monday Nov. 10th. They will wrap up their Western swing with a matchup against the Seattle Kraken.

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