PREVIEW: Blue Jackets look to get back on track vs. Panthers
Columbus saw its four-game win streak end in Tampa, but the Blue Jackets will battle for key points against Florida
Call it a hangover from the Stadium Series. Call it just a tough game that maybe they were due for. Whatever it was, the Blue Jackets didn’t have their best stuff Tuesday at Tampa Bay.
The Jackets had their legs but didn’t manage the game well, and the end result was a 6-2 loss against one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference that ended Columbus’ four-game winning streak.
A deflected shot and a breakaway goal put the Blue Jackets into a 2-0 hole less than two minutes into the game, and after the team found their footing from there, the wheels really came off with a slow start to the second period that allowed the Lightning to extend their lead to 4-1.
Two goals from Zach Werenski kept the Blue Jackets in it, but another mistake in the third – a penalty that led to a Tampa power-play goal that put the game away – was enough to doom the team to a loss.
“We put in some good minutes,” Werenski said. “I thought we worked hard for a lot of the game. Definitely had some mistakes in front of Elvis (Merzlikins) that cost us tonight. Not a total dud effort by any means. We played hard, but I think just the positions we put ourselves in, going down 2-0 and 4-1, put them on the power play, there’s some shifts in the second we’d probably like to have back.
“But we’ll learn from it. We’ll move forward. We’re in a spot right now where we can’t dwell on things for too long. So we’ll think about it tonight and then get ready for Florida.”
Perhaps the team was due to lose one after coming out of the 4 Nations break red-hot, and perhaps it was hard for the Blue Jackets to get fully engaged after a spectacle unlike any other on Saturday when almost 95,000 people packed Ohio Stadium to see the win over Detroit.
It also could just be that the team on the other side was pretty good, too – Tampa won its 10th in its last 12 games – but for whatever reason, the Blue Jackets just weren’t able to catch the Lightning.
“We still had plenty of opportunities, like we had some really good looks to score, it just didn’t go in the net,” Evason said. “We just didn’t have that little extra bite that we’ve had as of late, and we’ve got to get that back real quick.”
Things don’t get any easier tonight, though, as the Blue Jackets go from facing one scorching Florida team to another. Just like the Bolts on Tuesday night, the Panthers enter the game having won nine of their last 11, and the defending champs seem to have found their game nearing the stretch run.
With points at a premium as we near the final quarter of the NHL season, captain Boone Jenner said the Blue Jackets have to get back to their game tonight.
“I don’t think we played enough like us tonight,” Jenner said in the locker room Tuesday. “I know we have better in this room, and the next one is a bigger one.”
Head coach: Paul Maurice (Third season)
Team stats: Goals per game: 3.26 (7th) | Scoring defense: 2.77 (9th) | PP: 23.0 percent (13th) | PK: 80.3 percent (13th)
The narrative: One year after coming up just shy of capturing Lord Stanley’s Cup, the Panthers ran it back and got to the top of the mountain last season, beating Edmonton in seven classic games to win the franchise’s first Cup. It was quite an accomplishment for former CBJ assistant GM Bill Zito’s squad, and now the challenge becomes trying to repeat. Fellow Floridians Tampa Bay did so in 2020 and ‘21, so it’s possible, and the Panthers still have the stars to do it.
Team leaders: Sam Reinhart inked a long-term deal to stay in Florida after tallying 57 goals last season to place third in the NHL, and he’s continued to lead the way with team-high totals of 31 goals (tied for sixth in the league) and 64 points. Matthew Tkachuk follows with a 22-35-57 line but is out with an injury suffered at the 4 Nations Face-Off, while longtime Panther Aleksander Barkov has a 16-40-56 line. Carter Verhaeghe (16-28-44) and Anton Lundell (14-26-40) also top 40 points.
Sergei Bobrovsky looked like the “Bob” we know a season ago, going 36-17-4 in 58 appearances with a 2.37 GAA and .915 save percentage. This year, he’s again been one of the top goalies in the league, going 26-13-2 in 41 games with a 2.55 GAA and .906 save percentage.
What’s new: The Panthers added a familiar face ahead of the trade deadline, acquiring former Seth Jones over the weekend, and the former CBJ defenseman made his debut Monday vs. Tampa Bay. The injury to Tkachuk could be a major stumbling block for the Panthers’ repeat hopes if he’s out long term, but Florida still enters the game as one of the hottest teams in the league with a 9-2-0 record in its last 11 games while outscoring teams 39-20.
Trending: The Panthers won all three contests a year ago and downed the Blue Jackets by a 4-3 score in the Jackets’ home opener Oct. 15. Columbus has won just three of the 18 contests over the past four seasons (3-12-3).
Former CBJ: Now six years into the seven-year deal he signed with Florida at the end of his CBJ tenure, Bobrovsky captured his elusive Cup ring in the spring. Bought out by the Blue Jackets this summer, Adam Boqvist was with the team for 18 games and had two goals and six points before being placed on waivers and joining the Islanders.
Scratches: Christian Fischer, Jordan Harris, Jack Johnson
Injured reserve: Cole Sillinger (upper body), Kevin Labanc (shoulder), Sean Monahan (upper body), Erik Gudbranson (upper body)
Roster Report: The Blue Jackets flipped van Riemsdyk and Chinakhov at practice Wednesday in the only change expected for tonight’s game. Fischer was claimed on waivers today with Mikael Pyyhtia being loaned to Cleveland.
Columbus tied a franchise record (2018-19) with its 11th game with at least six goals Tuesday, and the Blue Jackets have at least five in 18 of 61 games this year. The Blue Jackets are first in the NHL with 145 goals at 5-on-5, and their 3.33 goals per game are fifth in the league. … With two goals Tuesday, Zach Werenski has tied his own single-season CBJ record for defensemen with 20 tallies on the season. Werenski is also tied with Rick Nash for the franchise career record with 258 assists. He has a 17-39-56 line in his last 45 games and has 34 points (9-25-34) in his past 26. His average ice time of 26:56 leads all NHL players, and he’s second among league defensemen in goals (20) and second in points (66) on the season. … Kirill Marchenko has three goals in the last four games and has set a new career high with 24 goals on the season. He is second in the NHL with a plus-32 rating. … Kent Johnson has 19 points (9-10-19) in the past 17 games, including a six-game point streak, and is third in the NHL in goals scored per 60 minutes at 5-on-5. … Adam Fantilli has an 11-12-23 line in the last 23 games and points in six straight games. … James van Riemsdyk has notched a 10-10-20 line in the last 23 games. … Mathieu Olivier has points in three of the last four games and is one of two NHL players (Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk) with 10-plus goals and 70 penalty minutes in 2024-25. … Ivan Provorov has four goals and seven points in the last nine games and notched his 200th career assist Saturday. … Boone Jenner has seven assists in five games this season since his return from injury. … Blue Jackets defensemen have 42 goals this season, the most in the NHL, and 154 points, good for second place in the league.
March 6, 2003: Rick Nash scores the first overtime goal of his career, tallying 2:02 into extra time past Vancouver’s Alex Auld to give the Blue Jackets a 5-4 win vs. the Canucks at Nationwide Arena.
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COLUMBUS, 4th in Metropolitan
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FLORIDA, T-1st in Atlantic
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LW 10 Dmitri Voronkov
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C 19 Adam Fantilli
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RW 86 Kirill Marchenko
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LW 21 James van Riemsdyk
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C 38 Boone Jenner
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RW 91 Kent Johnson
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LW 27 Zach Aston-Reese
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C 17 Justin Danforth
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RW 24 Mathieu Olivier
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LW 14 Joseph LaBate
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C 7 Sean Kuraly
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RW 59 Yegor Chinakhov
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LD 8 Zach Werenski
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RD 15 Dante Fabbro
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G 90 Elvis Merzlikins
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LD 5 Denton Mateychuk
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RD 9 Ivan Provorov
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G 40 Daniil Tarasov
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LD 2 Jake Christiansen
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RD 78 Damon Severson
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PANTHERS:
38-21-3 (79 pts; .637%)
Last Ten: 8-2-0
Division: t-1st of 8
Conference: t-2nd of 16
NHL: t-5th of 32
ROSTER
SCHEDULE
Could this be the last game with this version of the Columbus Blue Jackets?
With the NHL’s trade deadline Friday at 3 p.m. and the Blue Jackets in the market to add for a playoff push, Thursday night’s game against the Florida Panthers could be the last before Columbus bolsters their lineup for the stretch.
President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Don Waddell said Wednesday that one player who won’t be moved at the deadline is defenseman Ivan Provorov. The pending unrestricted free agent has been key to the Blue Jackets blueline, and Waddell is on record as saying he doesn’t think it would be fair to take him off the team — even if that means the risk of losing him via free agency after the season.
Still, the Blue Jackets are actively looking to add a winger, so the 12 players in the lineup Thursday may not be the same 12 in for Columbus’ next game, a big showdown with the New York Rangers on Sunday.
First thing first though: the game Thursday against Florida gives Columbus a chance to get back into the winning column after their 6-2 loss Tuesday night to Tampa Bay. The Blue Jackets, possibly coming off a Stadium Series hangover, seemed to have their energy but were sloppy with the puck in all three zones as their four-game winning streak came to an end.
The game — as they all will be from here out — are big in the standings. The Blue Jackets maintain the top wild card spot right now but are just a point ahead of the Ottawa Senators and New York Rangers, who are tied for the second (and final) spot. The Detroit Red Wings are just one point behind them, with a bevy of other teams following.
Here’s what else to know as Columbus continues their four-game roadie:
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FORGED IN COLUMBUS, OHIO.
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TRADE DEADLINE MOVE: LUKE KUNIN DEALT TO COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
FLA 3, CBJ 0: BLUE JACKETS DROP SECOND STRAIGHT GAME, BLANKED BY BOBROVSKY, PANTHERS
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LET’S GO JACKETS
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FLORIDA PANTHERS THURSDAY, MARCH 6 7:00 P.M. AMERANT BANK ARENA |
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PANTHERS: |
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| CBJ | SEASON STATS | FLA | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10-17-4 | ROAD / HOME | 20-10-2 | ||
| t-5th | 3.33 | GOALS FOR | 3.26 | 7th |
| 25th | 3.30 | GOALS AGAINST | 2.77 | 9th |
| 19th | 21.3% | POWER PLAY | 23.0% | 13th |
| 26th | 75.2% | PENALTY KILL | 80.3% | 13th |
| 15th | 28.8 | SHOTS FOR | 31.9 | t-2nd |
| 26th | 29.7 | SHOTS AGAINST | 27.0 | t-7th |
| 27th | 47.1% | FACE-OFFS | 49.4% | 22nd |
| FLORIDA: LAST THREE GAMES | ||||
| THU, 2/27 | vs. Oilers | W, 4-3 | ||
| SAT, 3/1 | vs. Flames | W, 3-0 | ||
| MON, 3/3 | vs. Lightning | W, 2-1 | ||
| FLORIDA: TEAM LEADERS | ||||
| GOALS | Sam Reinhart | 31 | ||
| ASSISTS | Alex Barkov | 40 | ||
| POINTS | Sam Reinhart | 64 | ||
| ODDS & PROJECTIONS | ||||
| CBJ WIN PER MONEYPUCK: | 25% | |||
| CBJ ODDS PER ESPN: | +240 | |||
| LW | C | RW | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Dmitri Voronkov | 19 | Adam Fantilli | 86 | Kirill Marchenko |
| 21 | James van Riemsdyk | 38 | Boone Jenner | 91 | Kent Johnson |
| 27 | Zach Aston-Reese | 17 | Justin Danforth | 24 | Mathieu Olivier |
| 14 | Joseph LaBate | 7 | Sean Kuraly | 59 | Yegor Chinakhov |
| LD | RD | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Zach Werenski | 15 | Dante Fabbro |
| 5 | Denton Mateychuk | 9 | Ivan Provorov |
| 2 | Jake Christiansen | 78 | Damon Severson |
| Starting Goalie | Back-Up | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 90 | Elvis Merzlikins | 40 | Daniil Tarasov |
