With Booner Jenner (upper body) expected to return on Thursday against the Ottawa Senators, Del Bel Belluz will be the odd man out and immediately assigned to the Cleveland Monsters (AHL). The 22-year-old Del Bel Belluz has one assist in 11 games with Columbus this season.
Jet Greaves has proven to be the more reliable Blue Jackets goalie this season, but Merzlikins will get another look on Thursday against the Ottawa Senators. The 31-year-old Merzlikins allowed a season-high seven goals on 40 shots (.825 SV%) in his most recent game, a 7-6 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers. He has an ugly 3.87 GAA and .885 SV% in 12 games (6-5-1). Despite his poor statistics, Merzlikins has quality starts in 50 percent of his games, his best rate in the last five seasons. The Blue Jackets enter Thursday's contest as +102 home underdogs against a Senators team that has lost five of its last six games (1-5-0).
With Booner Jenner (upper body) expected to return on Thursday against the Ottawa Senators, Del Bel Belluz will be the odd man out as a healthy scratch. The 22-year-old Del Bel Belluz has one assist in 11 games this season.
White will draw back in on Tuesday as Dennis Cholowski draws out of the lineup. White is yet to register a point through 9 games this season.
Elvis Merzlikins again and again proved to be unreliable, allowing four or more goals in five of his last six games (2-3-1), resulting in Greaves returning to the crease on Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes. The 24-year-old Greaves has undoubtedly been the more reliable netminder for the Blue Jackets, posting a solid 2.71 GAA and .907 SV% in 17 games (7-5-5). He was stellar in his most recent outing, saving 36 of 37 shots (.973 SV%) in a 2-0 loss to the Washington Capitals. Still, the Blue Jackets enter Tuesday’s contest as +173 road underdogs against a Carolina Hurricanes team that has only scored one goal in three of their last four games (2-2-0).
Dennis Cholowski will be a healthy scratch on Friday against the Vegas Golden Knights, allowing White to re-enter the lineup. The 28-year-old White is averaging 12:02 time-on-ice and has zero points through eight games this season.
Dryden Hunt will be a healthy scratch on Thursday against the Minnesota Wild, allowing Lomberg to re-enter the lineup. The 24-year-old Lomberg only has one point (0G / 1A) in 24 games this season.
Zach Aston-Reese will be a healthy scratch on Thursday, allowing Del Bel Belluz to re-enter the lineup against the Detroit Red Wings. The 22-year-old forward averaged 9:35 time-on-ice and scored one assist in seven games with Columbus last month.
Marchenko has not played in the last several games and has been sidelined since November 22nd due to a upper-body injury, but will return to the lineup on Thursday against the Detroit Red Wings. The 25-year-old Marchenko looks to add to his 22 points (8G / 14A) through 22 games, a career-best pace, when he returns to a familiar place on the Blue Jackets' top-six and top powerplay unit.
The Blue Jackets have leaned heavily on Jet Greaves in recent weeks, but will turn to Merzlikins on Thursday in a rare consecutive start for the Latvian goalie after a solid 30-save performance (.909 SV%) in Monday's 5-3 win over the New Jersey Devils. The 31-year-old Merzlikins has a subpar 3.50 GAA and .895 SV% in 10 games (5-5-0) this season. He has not had a sub-3.00 GAA since the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season. The Blue Jackets enter Thursday's contest as -114 home favorites against a Detroit Red Wings team coming off a 5-4 win over the Boston Bruins.
Pinelli has seen reasonable deployment since making his NHL debut last week, averaging 13:46 time-on-ice in three games. That said, he is returning to the Cleveland Monsters (AHL), indicating that Kirill Marchenko (lower body) may be ready to return to the Blue Jackets' lineup.
Olivier only played six shifts in last Monday's 5-1 loss to the Washington Capitals, exiting the game with an upper-body injury, and has been sidelined since. The 28-year-old Olivier had 71 hits, 44 penalty minutes, and nine points (3G / 6A) in 23 games this season.
Del Bel Belluz was a lineup-regular for the Blue Jackets in early November before his return to the AHL. The 22-year-old forward averaged 9:35 time-on-ice and scored one assist in seven games with Columbus.
Nichushkin has 12 points (5G / 7A) in 17 games this season and was heating up before his injury, with nine points (3G / 6A) in his last 10 games. The 30-year-old forward has been an offensive threat for Colorado, scoring 198 points (96G / 102A) in 229 games since the 2021-22 season, but has unfortunately become just as well known for his injuries as for his scoring prowess. Nichushkin has played fewer than 55 games in each of the previous four seasons and could be headed down that same path in 2025-26. He returns to the lineup on Tuesday against the Vancouver Canucks.
Nichushkin has 12 points (5G / 7A) in 17 games this season and was heating up before his injury, with nine points (3G / 6A) in his last 10 games. The 30-year-old forward has been an offensive threat for Colorado, scoring 198 points (96G / 102A) in 229 games since the 2021-22 season, but has unfortunately become just as well known for his injuries as for his scoring prowess. Nichushkin has played fewer than 55 games in each of the previous four seasons and could be headed down that same path in 2025-26.
Merzlikins has taken a backseat to Jet Greaves in recent weeks, but the Latvian netminder will return to the crease on Monday against the New Jersey Devils. The 31-year-old Merzlikins has lost four straight contests (0-4-0), allowing three or more goals in each. The Blue Jackets rank mid-pack in the league defensively (3.28 GA/GP), but have struggled with Merzlikins, who has an ugly 3.55 GAA and .894 SV% in nine games this season (4-5-0). The Blue Jackets enter Monday's contest as +124 road underdogs against a Devils team that defeated them 3-2 earlier this season.
Dennis Cholowski will draw back into New Jersey's lineup on Monday, sending White to the sidelines as a healthy scratch against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 28-year-old White is averaging 12:02 time-on-ice and has zero points through eight games this season.
