Predators' Nick Blankenburg: Nets power-play goal Thursday
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Blankenburg scored a power-play goal on three shots and added two PIM in Thursday's 4-3 shootout win over Utah.
Blankenburg hadn't scored a power-play goal since the 2021-22 campaign with the Blue Jackets. The 26-year-old defenseman has six points over his last 11 outings, four of which have come with the man advantage. For the season, the blueliner is at a career-high 16 points, including six on the power play, and he's added 80 shots on net, 68 blocked shots, 52 hits and a plus-4 rating over 57 contests.
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Predators' Nick Blankenburg: Pockets assist Thursday
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Blankenburg notched an assist in Thursday's 5-1 loss to the Stars.
Blankenburg has four helpers over his last eight contests, including two on the power play. The 26-year-old defenseman has handled top-pairing minutes for the better part of a month now in the absence of Roman Josi (upper body). Blankenburg has matched his career high of 14 points from the 2022-23 campaign with the Blue Jackets. He's added 76 shots on net, 67 blocked shots, 48 hits and a plus-6 rating over 54 outings in 2024-25.
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Predators' Nick Blankenburg: Helps out on power play Sunday
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Blankenburg notched a power-play assist, two shots on goal and two PIM in Sunday's 4-1 loss to the Blues.
Blankenburg has four helpers over his last eight contests, three of which have come on the power play. The 26-year-old continues to fill in on the top power-play unit during the ongoing absence of Roman Josi (upper body), though Blankenburg doesn't have the same scoring talent. He's now at 12 points, 69 shots on net, 57 blocked shots, 47 hits and a plus-9 rating through 48 appearances in 2024-25.
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Predators' Nick Blankenburg: Puts up power-play assist
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Blankenburg notched a power-play assist, two shots on goal and two blocked shots in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Sharks.
Blankenburg is starting to see a larger role with the power play, and he's earned a helper in that situation in each of the last two games. He's up to 10 points (two on the power play), 57 shots on net, 45 blocked shots, 41 hits and a plus-10 rating over 42 appearances this season. It's not his most productive campaign -- that would be his 14-point effort over 36 outings in 2022-23 -- but Blankenburg is emerging as a key part of the Predators' defense as he works toward securing an NHL job for next season.
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Predators' Nick Blankenburg: Grabs helper in shootout win
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Blankenburg notched an assist in Thursday's 3-2 shootout win over the Blackhawks.
Blankenburg ended a four-game point drought when he set up Filip Forsberg's game-tying goal late in the third period. The 26-year-old Blankenburg has done well to secure his spot in the lineup for Nashville, often playing on the second pairing in recent weeks. He has just five points through 22 outings, though he's added 35 shots on net, 23 hits, 24 blocked shots and a plus-9 rating to provide decent numbers in non-scoring areas.
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Predators' Nick Blankenburg: Lights lamp in loss
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Blankenburg scored a goal, blocked two shots and added two PIM in Friday's 7-4 loss to the Blues.
Blankenburg's two goals this season have come over the last three contests. He's also gone plus-6 over his last eight outings, providing steady defense to complement his newfound offense. The 26-year-old blueliner has 21 shots on net, 11 hits, 14 blocked shots and a plus-5 rating through 14 appearances in his first year with the Predators, but he's done enough to maintain a spot in the lineup over the last month.
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Predators' Nick Blankenburg: Recalled by Nashville
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Blankenburg was recalled from AHL Milwaukee on Wednesday.
Blankenburg was sent to the minors ahead of the regular season, and he's tallied three goals and eight points over 13 appearances with the AHL club to begin the regular season. However, he'll join the Predators ahead of Wednesday's game against Philadelphia, and he's expected to make his season debut.
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Predators' Nick Blankenburg: Waived for reassignment
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Blankenburg was waived by the Predators on Thursday, per PuckPedia.
Blankenburg played in 12 regular-season games for the Blue Jackets last year, notching one goal, 10 shots and 21 hits while averaging 16:13 of ice time. The 26-year-old blueliner figures to spend the majority of the upcoming season in the minors with AHL Milwaukee, though an injury or two could see him called up later in the year.
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Blue Jackets' Nick Blankenburg: Ascends to top level
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Blankenburg was recalled from AHL Cleveland on Saturday, per the NHL media site.
Blankenburg had an assist in his lone game with the Monsters after being sent down to the minors last Sunday. He has 11 hits and 12 blocked shots in six games at the NHL level this season. In a corresponding move, Columbus placed Adam Boqvist (upper body) on injured reserve.
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Blue Jackets' Nick Blankenburg: Sitting out Thursday
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Blankenburg (upper body) won't play Thursday versus the Capitals, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports.
Blankenburg has played six games since his recall earlier in December. He's logged three shots on goal, 11 hits and 12 blocked shots while failing to record a point. His absence Thursday will allow rookie David Jiricek to rejoin the lineup.
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Blue Jackets' Nick Blankenburg: Ready for training camp
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Blankenburg (ankle) was on the ice for Thursday's practice at Blue Jackets camp, Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers reports.
Blankenburg was considered week-to-week with an ankle injury at the end of last season. He also missed time with a broken ankle previously in the campaign. It'll be something to monitor with the 25-year-old blueliner, who could be left out of the Opening Night lineup after the Blue Jackets added Damon Severson and Ivan Provorov via trade in the offseason.
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Blue Jackets' Nick Blankenburg: Labeled week-to-week
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Blankenburg is considered week-to-week after suffering an ankle injury, the team announced Monday.
Blankenburg has generated four goals and 10 assists in 36 games this season following a previous extended stint on the shelf due to a broken ankle. It's not immediately clear if this latest ailment is related or not. With Erik Gudbranson (upper body) also out of action for six weeks, the Jackets will need to call up a player from the minors, with Marcus Bjork being the most likely candidate.
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Blue Jackets' Nick Blankenburg: Collects marker vs. Anaheim
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Blankenburg supplied a goal in Friday's 7-4 loss to Anaheim.
Blankenburg scored midway through the first period to tie the game at 1-1. It was his first goal and third point over his last four outings. Overall in 2022-23, Blankenburg has contributed four goals and 13 points in 32 contests.
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Blue Jackets' Nick Blankenburg: Sends assist
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Blankenburg notched an assist and two hits in Tuesday's 6-5 overtime win over the Sharks.
Blankenburg helped out on a Liam Foudy tally in the third period. With four helpers over his last six outings, Blankenburg is holding his own in a top-four role. The 24-year-old defenseman is up to three goals, nine assists, 41 shots on net, 55 hits, 43 blocked shots and a minus-8 rating through 30 contests this season.
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Blue Jackets' Nick Blankenburg: Two helpers in Tuesday's win
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Blankenburg notched two assists, one on the power play, in Tuesday's 5-3 win over the Sabres.
He saw only 16 seconds of time with the man advantage on the night, but Blankenburg made them count. The 24-year-old had only one point, a helper, over his prior 11 games, but his role on the Columbus blue line could grow down the stretch with Vladislav Gavrikov getting sent to the Kings on Wednesday.
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Blue Jackets' Nick Blankenburg: Playing Friday
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Per Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers, Blankenburg (upper body) will return to the lineup Friday versus Toronto, according to coach Brad Larsen.
Blankenburg has played only 15 games this season due to injuries. The defenseman has been fairly strong offensively, with three goals and four assists. He has 25 hits and blocked shots as well as 24 shots on goal this season.
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Blue Jackets' Nick Blankenburg: Still sidelined against Washington
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Blankenburg (upper body) will be unavailable versus the Capitals on Tuesday, Blue Jackets team reporter Jeff Svoboda reports.
Blankenburg has been plagued by injuries this season, playing in just 15 games so far this year. In limited action, the blueliner has notched three goals and four assists while averaging 18:20 of ice time. With Adam Boqvist (upper body) also on the shelf, Gavin Bayreuther and Marcus Bjork figure to see significant upticks in ice time.
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Blue Jackets' Nick Blankenburg: Missing Friday's contest
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Blankenburg is dealing with an upper-body injury and will miss Friday's game against Vancouver, according to Brian Hedger of The Columbus Dispatch.
Blankenburg is regarded as being day-to-day beyond Friday's contest. He has three goals and seven points in 15 games in 2022-23. Gavin Bayreuther, who has spent Columbus' last seven games as a healthy scratch, is projected to draw back into the lineup.
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Blue Jackets' Nick Blankenburg: Collects two helpers Saturday
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Blankenburg notched two assists, one on the power play, in Saturday's win over the Sharks.
Filling the secondary point role on Columbus' power play, the young defenseman whiffed on a one-timer from the blue line but fortunately had the puck trickle over to Patrik Laine, who found Johnny Gaudreau with a cross-ice pass for the Jackets' first goal of the game. Blankenburg's second helper was only a little more deliberate, as he disrupted a Sharks entry attempt behind his own net late in the third period and saw the puck wind up on Sean Kuraly's stick, who fired it the length of the ice for an empty-netter. Blankenburg has three goals and seven points through 13 NHL games this season in between injuries, and while Adam Boqvist is the team's top blueliner with the man advantage for now, his spot is far from secure.
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Blue Jackets' Nick Blankenburg: Scores in defeat
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Blankenburg scored a goal on five shots in Thursday' 5-2 loss to the Ducks.
Blankenburg beat Anthony Stolarz with a wrist shot from the circle, extending Columbus' lead to 3-0 at the end of the first period. It's Blankenburg's first goal since he returned from a 27-game stint on the IR with a broken ankle. The 24-year-old blueliner offers some long-term offensive upside, but it's hard to count on him to produce consistently while playing on Columbus' third pairing. He now has three goals and two assists in 12 games this season.
