Gameday 1: Elvis Merzlikins gets the nod for the Blue Jackets' opening game against the Minnesota Wild

MINNESOTA WILD THURSDAY, OCT. 10 8:00 p.m XCEL ENERGY CENTER ST. PAUL, MN

MINNESOTA 0-0-0 (0 pts; —%) t-4th, Central Division SCHEDULE SCHEDULE

After a brutal offseason, the Columbus Blue Jackets take the ice to begin the 2024-25 season on Thursday night when they take on the Minnesota Wild.

The summer turned tragic on August 29 when forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew died in a suspected drunken incident. The team will wear a special helmet decal throughout the season and the Wild will observe a moment of silence for Johnny and Matthew before the game.

Thursday's game will be Columbus' first chance to play in Johnny's memory and spirit, as the team has said it will do.

Here's what else you should know as the Blue Jackets play the first of 82 regular season games.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW:

• According to head coach Dean Evason, Elvis Merzlikins will start between the posts for the Blue Jackets. Merzlikins remained steady throughout the preseason and was rewarded on opening night.
  

• Evason will coach his first regular season game with the Blue Jackets. He was previously coach of the Wild until his firing last fall. Is that why the game is particularly important for Evason? “We go to the team that fired me and we play them in the first game. “Sure, that’s important,” Evason continued to Bob McElligott The inner edge. “But is it more important than winning Game 14? No.”
  

• The Blue Jackets played four home games at the start of the 2023-24 season, but their first road game last season also came against the Minnesota Wild. They won 5-4 in overtime, with Adam Fantilli scoring his first career goal. The second-year player excelled in camp and exhibition games following a season-ending injury last season limited him to 49 games – there is hope for great things in his increased role as the definitive second-line center fielder.
  

• The lines are fluid, but here's the expectation for how they'll start Thursday night. Since it was announced Thursday that captain Boone Jenner will miss at least most of the season, it will be 23-year-old Yegor Chinakhov who has the first opportunity to fill Jenner's role as the top winger opposite Kirill Marchenko. New additions James van Riemsdyk and Kevin Labanc will give Fantilli an experienced presence in the second row. The duo has a total of 1,489 games of NHL experience (van Riemsdyk 1,011; Labanc 478).

  In defense, Jake Christiansen has been moved to the second team and plays alongside Damon Severson. Evason liked his aggressive style in training camp. Jack Johnson and Erik Gudbranson are the third pair to receive the nod, ahead of Jordan Harris and David Jiricek; Veterans instead of youth for opening night, it seems.

  Full Projections: