Merzlikins starts, Gudbranson out for Columbus Blue Jackets vs Toronto Maple Leafs

Other than goalie Elvis Merzlikins getting back into their net, the Blue Jackets won’t have any other lineup changes against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 29 at Nationwide Arena.

More: Miles Wood’s goals a sight to behold in Columbus Blue Jackets’ OT win: takeaways

They’ll play a second straight game without defenseman Erik Gudbranson, who was scratched with hip soreness prior to the Jackets’ 4-3 overtime victory Oct. 28 at KeyBank Center, where Miles Wood’s goals in the third period and OT highlighted an exciting comeback. Gudbranson is getting further evaluation, so Jake Christiansen will stay in the lineup on the third defensive pairing.

Oct 28, 2025; Buffalo, New York, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Miles Wood (11) celebrates his overtime goal with teammates against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images

The Blue Jackets (5-4-0) are looking for a rare sweep of back-to-back games to push their winning streak to three games. They’ve also won four of their past five.

The Maple Leafs, who no longer have prolific scoring forward Mitch Marner, are looking for their third straight win too. They defeated the Calgary Flames 4-3 on Oct. 28 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, so they’re also looking for a back-to-back sweep. Former Blue Jackets forward Max Domi, who’s centering the Maple Leafs’ fourth line, scored two goals in the win over Calgary.

The Maple Leafs started goalie Anthony Stolarz against the Flames, so Cayden Primeau is expected to start against the Blue Jackets. He’s 2-1-0 with a 1.77 goals-against average and .946 save percentage in three career appearances against Columbus.

Columbus Blue Jackets vs Toronto Maple Leafs: how to watch/listen

Here are the TV and radio broadcasts for the Blue Jackets’ game against the Sabres.

Puck drop: 7:30 p.m. ET

TV: FanDuel Sports Network Columbus on cable, streaming services and the FanDuel Sports Network app; broadcast starts at 7 p.m. with a pregame show hosted by Brian Giesenschlag and analyst Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre with Dave Maetzold reporting; Steve Mears handles play-by-play, Jody Shelley with in-game analysis.

Radio: 97.1 FM The Fan, stations throughout Ohio/West Virginia via the Blue Jackets Radio Network, Columbus Blue Jackets app; Bob McElligott on play-by-play, Dylan Tyrer has pregame and postgame shows.

FanDuel has the Maple Leafs as slight underdogs at -105 to the favored Blue Jackets (-114); DraftKings and BetMGM each have Toronto at -105 and Columbus at -115 on the moneyline.

Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Kirill Marchenko (86) looks to pass the puck against Buffalo Sabres center Tyson Kozak (48) during the third period of their preseason game at Nationwide Arena on Sept. 22, 2025.

According to Natural Stat Trick, the Blue Jackets rank higher at even strength in attempts (53.5% to 49.1%), unblocked attempts (53.2% to 48.4%), shots (53.1% to 50.3%), goals-for (58.5% to 51.7%), scoring chances (53.9% to 50.3%), high-danger chances (51.1% to 50.3%) and high-danger goals-for (66.7% to 63.3%).

Toronto ranks higher in even-strength expected goals(53.3% to 51.5%).

On special teams, the Maple Leafs have the edge in penalty killing, ranked 12th in the NHL (82.1%) to the Blue Jackets’ 63.3% that ranks 31st in the league. Columbus holds a slight edge on power plays, going 4 for 21 (19%) to the Maple Leafs’ 4 for 27 (14.8%).

Here’s how the Blue Jackets and Sabres are projected to lineup:

Dec 23, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA;
Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Kirill Marchenko (86) places the puck back on the ice during the third period of their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, Dec. 23, 2023 at Nationwide Arena.

Dec 23, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Kirill Marchenko (86) places the puck back on the ice during the third period of their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, Dec. 23, 2023 at Nationwide Arena.

Here is how the Blue Jackets will line up against the Maple Leafs with Gudbranson missing a second straight game due to injury.

Forwards

Dmitri Voronkov – Sean Monahan – Kirill Marchenko

Boone Jenner – Adam Fantilli – Kent Johnson

Cole Sillinger – Charlie Coyle – Mathieu Olivier

Yegor Chinakhov – Isac Lundeström – Miles Wood

Defensemen

Zach Werenski – Denton Mateychuk

Ivan Provorov – Damon Severson

Jake Christiansen – Dante Fabbro

Goalies

Elvis Merzlikins

Jet Greaves

Scratched: F Zach Aston-Reese

Injured: D Erik Gudbranson (hip)

Oct 22, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Ivan Provorov (9) pokes away a shot from Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) during the second period of the NHL hockey game at Nationwide Arena.

Toronto Maple Leafs lineup at Columbus Blue Jackets

Here’s how the Maple Leafs finished the game in their 4-3 victory against the Calgary Flames on Oct. 28 in Toronto:

Forwards

Bobby McMann – Auston Matthews – Williams Nylander

Matthew Knies – John Tavares – Matias Maccelli

Dakota Joshua – Nicolas Roy – Easton Cowan

Steven Lorentz – Max Domi – Nicholas Robertson

Defensemen

Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Simon Benoit

Brandon Carlo – Jake McCabe

Morgan Rielly – Philippe Myers

Goalies

Cayden Primeau

Anthony Stolarz

Scratched: C Calle Jarnkrok, D Dakota Mermis, LW Sammy Blais

Injured: C Scott Laughton (lower body), D Chris Tanev (upper body), D Marshall Rifai (upper body).

Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Merzlikins starts for Columbus Blue Jackets vs Toronto Maple Leafs

Merzlikins starts, Gudbranson out for Columbus Blue Jackets vs Toronto Maple Leafs

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