COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS VS. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

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)

THE MATCHUP

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS

2021-22 Record: 15-14-1, 31 pts. (6^th, Metropolitan Division)

Goals:  3.20 Goals-For/3.47 Goals-Against… Shots:  29.4 Shots-For/35.2 Shots-Against

Power Play:  17.1 percent (20^th, NHL)… Penalty Kill:  79.0 percent (21^st, NHL)

Penalty Minutes:  7.1 PIM (2^nd, NHL)… Overtime Record (Shootout):  7-0-1 (3-1)

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

2021-22 Record: 21-8-5, 47 pts. (1^st, Atlantic Division)

Goals:  3.15 Goals-For/2.88 Goals-Against… Shots:  29.8 Shots-For/30.0 Shots-Against

Power Play:  18.1 percent (19^th, NHL)… Penalty Kill:  79.0 percent (17^th, NHL)

Penalty Minutes:  10.8 PIM (29^th, NHL)… Overtime Record (Shootout):  8-2-3 (2-3)

Players to Watch:  C Steven Stamkos leads the Lightning with 16-23-39 in 33 games, ranking fifth-T in the NHL in scoring… D Victor Hedman leads League blueliners in points and ranks second in assists with 7-27-34 in 34 appearances… G Andrei Vasilevskiy is tied for the NHL lead in wins and ranks seventh-T in SV% with 17-5-3 record, 2.21 GAA and .925 SV% in 25 contests.

ALL-TIME SERIES

Results:  Columbus has gone 13-20-7 in 40 all-time meetings vs. Tampa Bay, including 8-9-3 at home… Of Note: CBJ went 3-3-2 vs. the Lightning in 2020-21 (2-1-1 at home)… Tampa Bay has won the last three meetings in the series (CBJ; 0-2-1)… Columbus has collected points in four of the last five contests at Nationwide Arena (2-1-2)… The winning team has scored three-plus goals in 13 of the last 14 games, including eight-straight… The Lightning own six of the eight shutouts in the all-time series and both penalty shot attempts… Neither team has recorded a hat trick in the all-time series.

This Season (CBJ, 0-0-0)

Jan. 4, 2022 – at COLUMBUS (7 p.m. ET)

Apr. 26, 2022 – at Tampa Bay (7 p.m. ET)

Apr. 29, 2022 – at COLUMBUS (7 p.m. ET)

CBJ TEAM NOTES

The Blue Jackets fell for just the second time this season when scoring four or more goals (12-2-0) after falling 7-4 to Carolina on Saturday… CBJ have scored three or more goals in 20 of their 30 games this season (14-6-0), including four of the last five games played… Columbus leads the NHL in win percentage in OT/SO and ranks second in wins with a 7-0-1 record (.875)… The club’s three shootout victories are also tied for most in the League… The Blue Jackets conclude a three-game homestand on Tuesday.  It’s part of a stretch of five-of-six games played at home from Dec. 30-Jan. 11… Columbus’s loss on Saturday was just the fourth in regulation at home this season… The 10 wins (10-4-1) and 21 points are the second-most through the first 15 home games of a campaign in franchise history… CBJ have trailed in 10 of their 15 victories this season and the club’s five wins when trailing heading into the third period are the most in the NHL… CBJ blueliners scored two of the team’s four goals on Saturday.  The Blue Jackets rank fourth in goals (21) and 10^th-T in the NHL in points (74) by defensemen this season.

CBJ PLAYER NOTES

D Adam Boqvist has posted points in both games since returning from injury (1-1-2), including his seventh goal of the campaign on Saturday.  He has recorded 6-4-10 in his last 11 games played since Nov. 24… RW Oliver Bjorkstrand leads the club in scoring and multi-point outings with 9-14-23 and seven multi-point efforts in 28 contests… C Max Domi has recorded 4-2-6 in the last eight games played… C Boone Jenner has recorded 8-7-15 in the past 24 games and leads the team in goals (12) and power play goals (5)… C Sean Kuraly has collected 2-3-5 in the last eitht outings… LW Patrik Laine scored a goal in his return to the lineup on Thursday after missing 19 games with an oblique strain suffered on Nov. 3 at Colorado.  He has points in eight of his 11 appearances this season (4-7-11)… F Alexandre Texier recorded his third multi-point effort in the last eight games with 1-1-2 on Saturday and has 4-5-9 since Dec. 5… He leads the Blue Jackets in goals and points since Nov. 6 with 9-8-17 and is +6 in 21 games… RW Jakub Voracek is tied for the NHL lead in primary assists (18, McDavid) and ranks eighth-T in power play assists (9)… D Zach Werenski, who has 1-2-3 in the last four games, ranks third in the NHL in TOI/GP (26:34).

MILESTONES

•     RW Oliver Bjorkstrand is eight goals from 100 for his NHL career (92-108-200, 330 GP).

•     D Adam Boqvist is four games from 100 for his NHL career (13-27-40, 96 GP).

•     C Max Domi is three goals from 100 and seven assists from 200 for his NHL career (97-193-290, 449 GP).

•     RW Jakub Voracek is two games from 1,000 for his NHL career (217-544-761, 998 GP).

OhioHEALTH INJURY REPORT

•     D Dean Kukan (wrist fracture; Injured Reserve on Oct. 26) is expected to miss 8 weeks

•     D Gavin Bayreuther (COVID-19 protocol on Dec. 29)

•     F Justin Danforth (knee; Injured Reserve on Dec. 31) is expected to miss 6 weeks

TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 91

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