Columbus Blue Jackets wrap up their Florida trip with 5 PM game against Panthers

APRIL 4, 2021 II at FLORIDA PANTHERS II BB&T CENTER II 5 PM ET

CBJ BROADCAST INFORMATION

TV:  Bally Sports Ohio           Jeff Rimer (play-by-play), Jody Shelley (color analyst), Dave Maetzold (reporter)              
Radio:  97.1 The Fan              Bob McElligott (play-by-play), Dylan Tyrer (host)

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS

Record: 14-17-8, 36 pts. (7th, Discover Central Division) 

Goals:  2.46 Goals-For/3.15 Goals-Against… Shots:  28.9 Shots-For/31.7 Shots-Against

Power Play:  14.6 percent (27th, NHL)… Penalty Kill:  76.9 percent (22nd-T, NHL)

Penalty Minutes:  6.6 PIM (2nd, NHL)… Overtime Record (Shootout):  4-5-3 (2-3)

FLORIDA PANTHERS

Record: 25-9-4, 54 pts. (2nd, Discover Central Division)

Goals:  3.32 Goals-For/2.66 Goals-Against… Shots:  34.5 Shots-For/30.8 Shots-Against

Power Play:  23.2 percent (10th, NHL)… Penalty Kill:  80.7 percent (11th, NHL)

Penalty Minutes:  8.7 PIM (20th-T, NHL)… Overtime Record (Shootout):  7-2-2 (1-2)

Players to Watch:  LW Jonathan Huberdeau (Leads Florida in assists and points with 14-28-42 in 38 GP); C Carter Verhaeghe (Leads the Panthers in goals with 17-16-33 in 38 GP).

ALL-TIME SERIES

Results:  Columbus has gone 24-10-4 in 38 regular season games vs. the Panthers, including 9-7-1 on the road… Of Note: The Blue Jackets are 10-3-2 in the last 15 meetings against the Panthers overall, outscoring them 50-40 over that stretch… Columbus is 3-2-0 in the last five games in Florida… The winning team has scored three or more goals (including SO goals) in 13 of the last 14 meetings… CBJ have killed 21-of-22 Florida power play attempts in the last eight road games and 36-of-38 over the past 12 road contests in the series… Each team has recorded three shutouts in the all-time series while neither team has recorded a penalty shot… Goals:  CBJ – 111, FLA – 89… CBJ PP:  25-of-128 (19.5%)…CBJ PK:  114-of-129 (88.4%).

This Season (CBJ, 1-2-2)

Jan. 26 – Florida 4, at COLUMBUS 3 (SO)

Jan. 28 – at COLUMBUS 3, Florida 2 (SO)

Mar. 9 – Florida 4, at COLUMBUS 2

Mar. 11 – Florida 5, at COLUMBUS 4 (OT)

Apr. 3 – at Florida 5, COLUMBUS 2

Apr. 4 – at Florida

Apr. 19 – at Florida… Apr. 20 – at Florida

2019-20 Results (CBJ, 2-1-0)

Dec. 7, 2019 – at Florida 4, Columbus 1

Dec. 31 – at Columbus 4, Florida 1

Feb. 4 – at Columbus 1, Florida 0 (OT)

CBJ TEAM NOTES

The Blue Jackets close out their six-game road trip on Sunday after falling 5-2 at Florida on Saturday… The Jackets return for a four-game homestand against Tampa Bay and Chicago from Apr. 6-12… Columbus is in a stretch of 10 of 12 games against the top three teams in the Central Division (Tampa Bay, Florida, Carolina) from Mar. 18-Apr. 8… CBJ have killed off 17-of-18 opponent power play attempts in the past eight games (94.4 pct) and 20-of-22 over the last 11 (90.9 pct.)… The Blue Jackets have played in 21 one-goal games this season… CBJ have scored a second period goal in five of the past six games and the last three consecutive third periods (four goals)… The Blue Jackets play for the fourth time on Easter Sunday in franchise history (third time in regular season).

CBJ PLAYER NOTES

RW Cam Atkinson 2-2-4 in the past six games… RW Oliver Bjorkstrand, who has 8-7-15 in the last 16 games, leads CBJ with 4-2-6 in five games vs. Florida this season… C Boone Jenner leads CBJ in faceoff percentage (55.2) and has won 50 pct. or more of his draws in 15 of the last 20 contests… G Joonas Korpisalo has posted a 2.42 GAA and .916 SV% in his past 12 games since February 25, while G Elvis Merzlikins has registered a 2.54 GAA and .924 SV% in his last seven outings since March 13, starting the past five-straight games for the Blue Jackets… C Alexandre Texier has collected assists in two of the past three outings… D Zach Werenski has collected points in three-straight games (2-2-4) and has recorded 5-6-11 in the last 13 games after notching a goal on Saturday.

MILESTONES

•     RW Cam Atkinson is seven points from 400 in his NHL career (211-182-393, 610 GP).

•     D Michael Del Zotto is seven games from 700 in his NHL career (58-185-243, 693 GP).

•     LW Nick Foligno is four games from 600 in his CBJ career (141-192-333, 596 GP).

•     D Scott Harrington is three games from 200 in his NHL career (7-30-37, 197 GP).

•     D David Savard is five games from 600 in his NHL career (41-125-166, 595 GP).

•     HC John Tortorella (669) is four wins from surpassing Mike Keenan (672) for 12th on NHL all-time wins list.

OhioHEALTH INJURY REPORT

•       LW Gus Nyquist (shoulder surgery on Nov. 3; Injured Reserve) is expected to miss five-to-six months.

•       RW Emil Bemstrom (lower body injury on Mar. 17) is expected to miss a week.

                              o TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST:  92.

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