COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS VS. FLORIDA PANTHERS
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: 17-17-1, 35 pts. (5th, Metropolitan Division)
Goals: 3.17 Goals-For/3.46 Goals-Against… Shots: 29.5 Shots-For/34.3 Shots-Against
Power Play: 15.7 percent (27th, NHL)… Penalty Kill: 78.1 percent (22nd, NHL)
Penalty Minutes: 7.0 PIM (2nd, NHL)… Overtime Record (Shootout): 7-0-1 (3-1)
FLORIDA PANTHERS
2021-22 Record: 24-7-5, 53 pts. (2nd, Atlantic Division)
Goals: 3.92 Goals-For/2.92 Goals-Against… Shots: 36.6 Shots-For/32.1 Shots-Against
Power Play: 19.0 percent (18th, NHL)… Penalty Kill: 81.1 percent (14th, NHL)
Penalty Minutes: 9.9 PIM (24th, NHL)… Overtime Record (Shootout): 6-2-3 (1-3)
Players to Watch: LW Jonathan Huberdeau, who was selected to his second All-Star Game on Thursday, ranks second in the NHL in assists and fifth in points with 13-34-47 in 36 contests this season… D Aaron Ekblad ranks in the top-10 among League blueliners in goals (3rd overall), assists (8th-T) and points (5th-T) with 10-22-32 in 35 appearances… G Sergei Bobrovsky, who captured two Vezina Trophies while with CBJ (2012-13, 2016-17), ranks sixth in the NHL in wins and is 17-3-3 with a 2.55 GAA and .919 SV% in 25 games in 2021-22.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Results: Columbus has gone 24-13-4 in 41 all-time meetings, including 9-10-1 on the road… Of Note: CBJ went 1-5-2 vs. the Panthers in 2020-21 (0-4-0 on the road)… Florida has won the last six meetings between the clubs (CBJ; 0-5-1) and the last five consecutive at home (since Dec. 7, 2019)… Prior to the recent stretch, Columbus had gone 10-1-1 against the Panthers from Mar. 16, 2017-Jan. 28, 2021… The winning team has scored three-plus goals in eight-straight contests and 16 of the last 17 meetings (including SO goals)… CBJ have killed off all nine Florida power play chances over the past four games and 21-of-24 opportunities in the last 10 meetings… Four of the last nine games have been decided after regulation (2-OT, 2-SO)… The Panthers own four of the seven shutouts in the all-time series.
This Season (CBJ, 0-0-0)
Jan. 15, 2022 – at Florida (6 p.m. ET)
Jan. 31, 2022 – at Columbus (7 p.m. ET)
Feb. 24, 2022 – at Florida (7 p.m. ET)
CBJ TEAM NOTES
The Blue Jackets won for the second time in three games with a 6-0 victory at Carolina on Thursday… It was tied for the largest win this season (8-2 on Oct. 14 vs. ARI)… It was also the second shutout of the season for the club (Nov. 24 vs. WPG)… CBJ have scored three or more goals in 22 of their 35 games this season (16-6-0)… The club is also 14-2-0 when scoring four-plus goals in a game in 2021-22… Columbus are tied for the NHL lead in win percentage in OT/SO (San Jose) and ranks second-T in wins with a 7-0-1 record (.875)… The club’s three shootout victories are also tied for the second-most in the League… The Blue Jackets play the second of a three-game road trip on Saturday… CBJ have trailed in 10 of their 17 victories this season and the club’s five wins when trailing heading into the third period are the most in the NHL… The Blue Jackets rank fourth in goals (22) and eighth-T in the NHL in points (85) by defensemen this season… Columbus has killed off all eight opponent power play chances over the past three games… The club has scored first in each of the last three contests.
CBJ PLAYER NOTES
D Adam Boqvist has recorded 1-4-5 in the last seven games. He is tied for second for most goals by a NHL blueliner since Nov. 24 (Makar, 9) with 6-7-13 in his last 16 games… RW Oliver Bjorkstrand has notched 2-1-3 in the last three games and has 11-15-26 in 33 contests in 2021-22… LW/RW Yegor Chinakhov tallied his first career multi-goal game and third multi-point effort of the season with two goals on Thursday at Carolina and has 3-0-3 in the last three contests… D Vladislav Gavrikov has posted assists in four of the last seven contests and has set a new single-season career high with 15 helpers (13, 2019-20)… C Boone Jenner has points in three consecutive contests (2-1-3) and has 10-8-18 in the past 29 games… LW Patrik Laine has points in 10 of his 16 appearances this season (5-8-13)… G Elvis Merzlikins turned aside all 31 shots on Thursday for his second shutout of the campaign and ninth of his career… LW Gus Nyquist has recorded 4-4-8 with three multi-point outings in the last eight games… LW Eric Robinson collected his second multi-point effort of the campaign with two assists and has 3-7-10 in his last 13 games… F Alexandre Texier, who picked up an assist in his first game since Jan. 1 on Thursday, has 4-6-10 with three multi-point efforts in his last nine games… He leads the Blue Jackets in goals, points and plus/minus (tied) since Nov. 6 with 9-9-18 and is +8 in 22 games… D Zach Werenski, who has tallied 1-3-4 in his last six outings, ranks second-T in the NHL in TOI/GP (26:27)… He was selected to represent the Metropolitan Division in his second NHL All-Star Game (also 2018) on Thursday.
MILESTONES
• RW Oliver Bjorkstrand is six goals from 100 for his NHL career (94-109-203, 335 GP).
• C Max Domi is two goals from 100 and seven assists from 200 for his NHL career (98-193-291, 454 GP).
OhioHEALTH INJURY REPORT
• F Justin Danforth (knee; Injured Reserve on Dec. 31) is expected to miss 6 weeks
• G Daniil Tarasov (lower body; Injured Reserve on Jan. 4) is out indefinitely
• F Jakub Voracek (COVID-19 protocol on Jan. 13)
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 115
COURTESY CBJ COMMUNICATIONS
