2019–20 Columbus Blue Jackets season

2019–20 Columbus Blue Jackets
Division	5th Metropolitan
Conference	8th Eastern
2019–20 record	33–22–15
Home record	20–12–4
Road record	13–10–11
Goals for	180
Goals against	187
Team information
General manager	Jarmo Kekalainen
Coach	John Tortorella
Captain	Nick Foligno
Alternate captains	Cam Atkinson Boone Jenner Seth Jones
Arena	Nationwide Arena
Minor league affiliate(s)	Cleveland Monsters (AHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Oliver Bjorkstrand (21)
Assists	Pierre-Luc Dubois (31)
Points	Pierre-Luc Dubois (49)
Penalty minutes	Nick Foligno (62)
Plus/minus	Seth Jones Eric Robinson (+10)
Wins	Joonas Korpisalo (19)
Goals against average	Elvis Merzlikins (2.35)

The 2019–20 Columbus Blue Jackets season is the 20th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 25, 1997.

The season was suspended by the league officials on March 12, 2020, after several other professional and collegiate sports organizations followed suit as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. On May 26, the NHL regular season was officially declared over with the remaining games being cancelled. The Blue Jackets advanced to the playoffs and are scheduled to face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the qualifying round.

Standings

Divisional standings

Metropolitan Division

Pos	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	RW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Washington Capitals	69	41	20	8	31	240	215	+25	90
2	Philadelphia Flyers	69	41	21	7	31	232	196	+36	89
3	Pittsburgh Penguins	69	40	23	6	29	224	196	+28	86
4	Carolina Hurricanes	68	38	25	5	27	222	193	+29	81
5	Columbus Blue Jackets	70	33	22	15	25	180	187	−7	81
6	New York Islanders	68	35	23	10	24	192	193	−1	80
7	New York Rangers	70	37	28	5	31	234	222	+12	79
8	New Jersey Devils	69	28	29	12	22	189	230	−41	68

Source: National Hockey League

Eastern Conference

Pos	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	RW	GF	GA	GD	PCT	Qualification
1	Boston Bruins	70	44	14	12	38	227	174	+53	.714	Advance to Seeding round-robin tournament
2	Tampa Bay Lightning	70	43	21	6	35	245	195	+50	.657
3	Washington Capitals	69	41	20	8	31	240	215	+25	.652
4	Philadelphia Flyers	69	41	21	7	31	232	196	+36	.645
5	Pittsburgh Penguins	69	40	23	6	29	224	196	+28	.623	Advance to 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying round
6	Carolina Hurricanes	68	38	25	5	27	222	193	+29	.596
7	New York Islanders	68	35	23	10	24	192	193	−1	.588
8	Toronto Maple Leafs	70	36	25	9	28	238	227	+11	.579
9	Columbus Blue Jackets	70	33	22	15	25	180	187	−7	.579
10	Florida Panthers	69	35	26	8	30	231	228	+3	.565
11	New York Rangers	70	37	28	5	31	234	222	+12	.564
12	Montreal Canadiens	71	31	31	9	19	212	221	−9	.500
13	Buffalo Sabres	69	30	31	8	22	195	217	−22	.493
14	New Jersey Devils	69	28	29	12	22	189	230	−41	.493
15	Ottawa Senators	71	25	34	12	18	191	243	−52	.437
16	Detroit Red Wings	71	17	49	5	13	145	267	−122	.275

Source: National Hockey League

Schedule and results

Preseason

The preseason schedule was published on June 18, 2019. The September 29 game between the Blue Jackets and the St. Louis Blues was cancelled due to issues with the team's flight.

2019 preseason game log: 2–3–1 (Home: 2–1–0 ; Road: 0–2–1)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1	September 17	Buffalo	1–4	Columbus		Kivlenieks	—	1–0–0	Recap
2	September 19	Columbus	1–4	Pittsburgh		Vehvilainen	15,649	1–1–0	Recap
3	September 21	Pittsburgh	1–3	Columbus		Korpisalo	13,637	2–1–0	Recap
4	September 22	Columbus	3–5	St. Louis		Merzlikins	16,672	2–2–0	Recap
5	September 25	Columbus	3–4	Buffalo	OT	Merzlikins	15,788	2–2–1	Recap
6	September 27	New Jersey	2–0	Columbus		Korpisalo	12,347	2–3–1	Recap
7	September 29	St. Louis	–	Columbus	Game cancelled due to a mechanical issue with St. Louis' aircraft.

Regular season

The regular season schedule was published on June 25, 2019.

2019–20 game log
October: 5–5–2 (Home: 3–3–1 ; Road: 2–2–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 4 Toronto 4–1 Columbus Korpisalo 18,776 0–1–0 0 Recap 2 October 5 Columbus 2–7 Pittsburgh Merzlikins 18,595 0–2–0 0 Recap 3 October 7 Buffalo 3–4 Columbus OT Korpisalo 14,518 1–2–0 2 Recap 4 October 11 Anaheim 2–1 Columbus Korpisalo 15,368 1–3–0 2 Recap 5 October 12 Columbus 3–2 Carolina Korpisalo 16,224 2–3–0 4 Recap 6 October 16 Dallas 2–3 Columbus Korpisalo 14,683 3–3–0 6 Recap 7 October 18 Columbus 2–3 Chicago OT Merzlikins 21,518 3–3–1 7 Recap 8 October 19 NY Islanders 3–2 Columbus OT Korpisalo 15,276 3–3–2 8 Recap 9 October 21 Columbus 4–3 Toronto OT Korpisalo 18,898 4–3–2 10 Recap 10 October 24 Carolina 3–4 Columbus OT Korpisalo 15,398 5–3–2 12 Recap 11 October 26 Columbus 4–7 Philadelphia Korpisalo 17,840 5–4–2 12 Recap 12 October 30 Edmonton 4–1 Columbus Korpisalo 14,193 5–5–2 12 Recap
November: 6–6–2 (Home: 5–3–0 ; Road: 1–3–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 13 November 1 Columbus 3–4 St. Louis OT Merzlikins 18,096 5–5–3 13 Recap 14 November 2 Calgary 3–0 Columbus Korpisalo 13,618 5–6–3 13 Recap 15 November 5 Vegas 2–1 Columbus Korpisalo 15,435 5–7–3 13 Recap 16 November 7 Columbus 3–2 Arizona Korpisalo 12,115 6–7–3 15 Recap 17 November 9 Columbus 2–4 Colorado Korpisalo 18,070 6–8–3 15 Recap 18 November 12 Columbus 2–3 Montreal SO Merzlikins 20,758 6–8–4 16 Recap 19 November 15 St. Louis 2–3 Columbus OT Korpisalo 18,505 7–8–4 18 Recap 20 November 19 Montreal 2–5 Columbus Korpisalo 14,118 8–8–4 20 Recap 21 November 21 Detroit 4–5 Columbus Korpisalo 14,417 9–8–4 22 Recap 22 November 23 Columbus 3–4 Winnipeg Merzlikins 15,325 9–9–4 22 Recap 23 November 25 Ottawa 0–1 Columbus Korpisalo 14,730 10–9–4 24 Recap 24 November 27 Philadelphia 3–2 Columbus Korpisalo 14,975 10–10–4 24 Recap 25 November 29 Pittsburgh 2–5 Columbus Korpisalo 17,402 11–10–4 26 Recap 26 November 30 Columbus 0–2 NY Islanders Merzlikins 13,433 11–11–4 26 Recap
December: 7–3–4 (Home: 4–2–1 ; Road: 3–1–3) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 27 December 3 Arizona 4–2 Columbus Korpisalo 14,455 11–12–4 26 Recap 28 December 5 NY Rangers 3–2 Columbus Korpisalo 15,785 11–13–4 26 Recap 29 December 7 Columbus 1–4 Florida Merzlikins 11,640 11–14–4 26 Recap 30 December 9 Columbus 5–2 Washington Korpisalo 18,573 12–14–4 28 Recap 31 December 12 Columbus 0–1 Pittsburgh OT Korpisalo 18,415 12–14–5 29 Recap 32 December 14 Columbus 3–4 Ottawa OT Korpisalo 11,020 12–14–6 30 Recap 33 December 16 Washington 0–3 Columbus Korpisalo 16,602 13–14–6 32 Recap 34 December 17 Columbus 5–3 Detroit Korpisalo 17,639 14–14–6 34 Recap 35 December 19 Los Angeles 2–3 Columbus OT Korpisalo 17,117 15–14–6 36 Recap 36 December 21 New Jersey 1–5 Columbus Korpisalo 17,188 16–14–6 38 Recap 37 December 23 Columbus 3–2 NY Islanders Korpisalo 13,917 17–14–6 40 Recap 38 December 27 Columbus 1–2 Washington OT Korpisalo 18,573 17–14–7 41 Recap 39 December 29 Chicago 3–2 Columbus SO Merzlikins 18,544 17–14–8 42 Recap 40 December 31 Florida 1–4 Columbus Merzlikins 18,977 18–14–8 44 Recap
January: 9–2–0 (Home: 4–1–0 ; Road: 5–1–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 41 January 2 Columbus 2–1 Boston OT Merzlikins 17,850 19–14–8 46 Recap 42 January 4 San Jose 3–2 Columbus Merzlikins 18,874 19–15–8 46 Recap 43 January 6 Columbus 4–2 Los Angeles Merzlikins 14,964 20–15–8 48 Recap 44 January 7 Columbus 4–3 Anaheim Merzlikins 16,153 21–15–8 50 Recap 45 January 9 Columbus 1–3 San Jose Merzlikins 17,085 21–16–8 50 Recap 46 January 11 Columbus 3–0 Vegas Merzlikins 18,400 22–16–8 52 Recap 47 January 14 Boston 0–3 Columbus Merzlikins 17,349 23–16–8 54 Recap 48 January 16 Carolina 2–3 Columbus Merzlikins 17,900 24–16–8 56 Recap 49 January 18 New Jersey 0–5 Columbus Merzlikins 18,680 25–16–8 58 Recap 50 January 19 Columbus 2–1 NY Rangers Kivlenieks 17,423 26–16–8 60 Recap 51 January 22 Winnipeg 3–4 Columbus Merzlikins 18,425 27–16–8 62 Recap
February: 4–5–6 (Home: 3–3–2 ; Road: 1–2–4) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 52 February 1 Columbus 1–2 Buffalo OT Kivlenieks 17,650 27–16–9 63 Recap 53 February 2 Columbus 4–3 Montreal Merzlikins 21,302 28–16–9 65 Recap 54 February 4 Florida 0–1 Columbus OT Merzlikins 17,811 29–16–9 67 Recap 55 February 7 Detroit 0–2 Columbus Merzlikins 18,978 30–16–9 69 Recap 56 February 8 Colorado 2–1 Columbus Merzlikins 19,022 30–17–9 69 Recap 57 February 10 Tampa Bay 2–1 Columbus OT Merzlikins 17,131 30–17–10 70 Recap 58 February 13 Columbus 3–4 Buffalo OT Kivlenieks 16,923 30–17–11 71 Recap 59 February 14 NY Rangers 3–1 Columbus Merzlikins 18,888 30–18–11 71 Recap 60 February 16 Columbus 3–4 New Jersey SO Merzlikins 16,514 30–18–12 72 Recap 61 February 18 Columbus 1–5 Philadelphia Merzlikins 18,273 30–19–12 72 Recap 62 February 20 Philadelphia 4–3 Columbus OT Merzlikins 18,365 30–19–13 73 Recap 63 February 22 Columbus 3–4 Nashville SO Merzlikins 17,549 30–19–14 74 Recap 64 February 24 Ottawa 3–4 Columbus OT Korpisalo 17,518 31–19–14 76 Recap 65 February 25 Columbus 4–5 Minnesota Kivlenieks 17,057 31–20–14 76 Recap 66 February 28 Minnesota 5–0 Columbus Korpisalo 18,955 31–21–14 76 Recap
March: 2–1–1 (Home: 1–0–0 ; Road: 1–1–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 67 March 1 Vancouver 3–5 Columbus Korpisalo 18,378 32–21–14 78 Recap 68 March 4 Columbus 2–3 Calgary OT Korpisalo 18,696 32–21–15 79 Recap 69 March 7 Columbus 1–4 Edmonton Korpisalo 17,085 32–22–15 79 Recap 70 March 8 Columbus 2–1 Vancouver Merzlikins 18,871 33–22–15 81 Recap
Cancelled games # Date Visitor Home 71 March 12 Pittsburgh Columbus 72 March 14 Nashville Columbus 73 March 16 Columbus Boston 74 March 19 Washington Columbus 75 March 21 Columbus Toronto 76 March 23 Columbus New Jersey 77 March 24 Columbus NY Rangers 78 March 27 Columbus Tampa Bay 79 March 28 Columbus Dallas 80 March 30 NY Islanders Columbus 81 April 2 Tampa Bay Columbus 82 April 3 Columbus Carolina
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Player statistics

As of March 8, 2020

Skaters

Regular season

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
Pierre-Luc Dubois	70	18	31	49	−2	49
Gustav Nyquist	70	15	27	42	4	16
Zach Werenski	63	20	21	41	9	10
Oliver Bjorkstrand	49	21	15	36	8	12
Nick Foligno	67	10	21	31	−3	62
Seth Jones	56	6	24	30	10	20
Cam Atkinson	44	12	14	26	2	6
Boone Jenner	70	11	13	24	−14	36
Alexander Wennberg	57	5	17	22	−5	16
Emil Bemstrom	56	10	10	20	−10	8
Vladislav Gavrikov	69	5	13	18	1	18
Sonny Milano‡	46	5	13	18	−5	22
Riley Nash	64	5	9	14	6	10
Alexandre Texier	36	6	7	13	3	10
Eric Robinson	50	7	5	12	10	12
David Savard	68	0	11	11	−3	35
Kevin Stenlund	32	6	4	10	2	8
Nathan Gerbe	30	4	6	10	−7	22
Markus Nutivaara	37	3	6	9	2	4
Ryan Murray	27	2	7	9	−9	4
Scott Harrington	39	1	7	8	−3	16
Jakob Lilja	37	2	3	5	5	2
Dean Kukan	33	1	4	5	−9	12
Josh Anderson	26	1	3	4	−8	17
Stefan Matteau	9	2	1	3	0	5
Andrew Peeke	22	1	2	3	1	4
Devin Shore†	6	1	1	2	−2	0
Ryan MacInnis	10	0	1	1	1	0
Liam Foudy	2	0	1	1	1	0
Calvin Thurkauf	3	0	0	0	0	0
Gabriel Carlsson	6	0	0	0	−1	2
Kole Sherwood	3	0	0	0	0	2
Marko Dano	3	0	0	0	−1	2

Goaltenders

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Joonas Korpisalo	37	35	2,125:54	19	12	5	92	2.60	1,030	.911	2	0	1	0
Elvis Merzlikins	33	31	1,815:08	13	9	8	71	2.35	919	.923	5	0	0	0
Matīss Kivlenieks	6	4	284:50	1	1	2	14	2.95	137	.898	0	0	0	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Blue Jackets. Stats reflect time with the Blue Jackets only.
^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Blue Jackets only.
Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

Roster

Updated April 17, 2024

No.	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
22		Jake Bean	D	L	25	2021	Calgary, Alberta
27		Adam Boqvist	D	R	23	2021	Falun, Sweden
45		Gavin Brindley	RW	R	19	2023	Estero, Florida
59		Yegor Chinakhov	RW	L	23	2020	Omsk, Russia
17		Justin Danforth	RW	R	31	2021	Oshawa, Ontario
11		Adam Fantilli	C	L	19	2023	Nobleton, Ontario
13		Johnny Gaudreau	LW	L	30	2022	Salem, New Jersey
16		Brendan Gaunce	C	L	30	2021	Sudbury, Ontario
44		Erik Gudbranson (A)	D	R	32	2022	Ottawa, Ontario
38		Boone Jenner (C)	C	L	30	2011	London, Ontario
91		Kent Johnson	C	L	21	2021	Port Moody, British Columbia
7		Sean Kuraly (A)	C	L	31	2021	Dublin, Ohio
29		Patrik Laine	RW	R	26	2021	Tampere, Finland
86		Kirill Marchenko	RW	R	23	2018	Barnaul, Russia
90		Elvis Merzlikins	G	L	30	2014	Riga, Latvia
72		Carson Meyer	RW	R	26	2017	Powell, Ohio
92		Alexander Nylander	RW	R	26	2024	Calgary, Alberta
24		Mathieu Olivier	RW	R	27	2022	Biloxi, Mississippi
9		Ivan Provorov	D	L	27	2023	Yaroslavl, Russia
78		Damon Severson	D	R	29	2023	Brandon, Manitoba
4		Cole Sillinger	C	L	21	2021	Columbus, Ohio
40		Daniil Tarasov	G	L	25	2017	Novokuznetsk, Russia
42		Alexandre Texier	C	L	24	2017	Grenoble, France
10		Dmitri Voronkov	C	L	23	2019	Angarsk, Russia
8		Zach Werenski (A)	D	L	26	2015	Grosse Pointe, Michigan