By Joe Coopersmith

MAR. 4, 2025 II AMALIE ARENA II AT TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

BROADCAST INFORMATION

TV:  FanDuel Sports Network

Steve Mears (play-by-play), Jody Shelley (analyst), Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre (analyst), Dave Maetzold (reporter), Brian Giesenschlag (Host)

Radio:  93.3 The Bus   

Bob McElligott (play-by-play), Dylan Tyrer (host)

Lightning to Watch

• LW Brandon Hagel, who has points in eight-straight contests (8-6-14), ranks second on the team in goals, assists (tied) and points and ninth in the NHL in goals with 30-38-68 in 59 games this season.
• RW Nikita Kucherov ranks second in the league in assists and third in points with 27-60-87 in 56 games played this season and has collected 13-31-44 in 29 all-time games against CBJ.

All-Time Series

• Columbus has gone 16-28-7 in 51 all-time games against the Lightning, including 5-16-4 on the road.
• The winning team has scored four or more goals in 12-straight meetings and 14 of the last 15 games of the series.
• The teams have combined for seven or more goals in eight of the past 12 meetings.
• The Jackets have recorded power play goals in four-straight games against the Lightning (4-of-11; 36.4 pct.).
• Columbus has recorded two shutouts in the all-time series with Sergei Bobrovsky and Curtis McElinney combining for 26 saves in a 1-0 win at Nationwide Arena on Dec. 3, 2013 in the most recent occurrence.
• CBJ are still looking for their first hat trick or penalty shot attempt in the all-time series.

This Season (CBJ, 1-1-0)

• Nov. 21, 2024 – at CBJ 7 vs TBL 6 OT
• Dec. 17, 2024 – at TBL 5 vs CBJ 3
• Mar. 4, 2025 – at Tampa Bay (7 pm ET)

Player Notables vs. Lightning

• C Adam Fantilli – 1-1-2 in 3 career GP, including a goal in his lone game at Amalie Arena on Dec. 17, 2024.
• C Boone Jenner – 6-6-12 in 27 career GP, including multiple points in his past two contests against the club (3-1-4) as well as points in three of his last four overall (3-2-5).
• F Kent Johnson – 2-2-4 in 9 career GP, including 2-0-2 in the first two outings of the 2024-25 series.
• RW Kirill Marchenko – 5-5-10 in 7 career GP, recording points in all seven of his contests as well as points in all four at Amalie Arena with goals in three of them (4-2-6).
• D Ivan Provorov – 4-7-11 in 22 career GP, including an assist in the first contest of the season series.
• D Damon Severson – 4-10-14 in 27 career GP, including points in seven of his past 10 outings (2-6-8) as well as assists in three of his last four at Tampa Bay (1-3-4).
• F Dmitri Voronkov – 1-3-4 in 5 career GP, including assists in the first two games of the season series (1-2-3).
• D Zach Werenski – 6-12-18 in 23 career GP, with points in 10 of his last 12 games overall (5-10-15) as well as assists in four of the past five at Amalie Arena (1-4-5).

BLUE JACKETS TEAM NOTES

• CBJ have won their first four games following the 4 Nations Face-Off break; 5-1 over Chicago on Feb. 22, 6-4 over Dallas on Feb. 25, 5-2 at Detroit on Feb. 27, and 5-3 over Detroit at the 2025 Stadium Series at Ohio Stadium on Mar. 1.  It’s the second time this season the club has won four-straight contests, posting a six-game win streak from Jan. 4-16.
• Columbus has scored at least five goals (21 total) in four consecutive games, setting a new franchise record for longest stretch with five or more goals (15 goals in 3 GP from Feb. 25-Mar. 1, 2001).
• The team has collected points in 21 of the last 28 contests overall since Dec. 19 (18-7-3, 39 points).  The Jackets rank third in the NHL in points percentage (.696), goals-for per game (3.50) and wins (tied), fourth in points (39) and eighth in power play pct. (27.5) over that stretch.
• CBJ have improved their numbers over the past 10 weeks of the season compared to the first 9.5 (Oct. 16-Dec. 18), including goals-for average (3.22 to 3.50), goals-against average (3.63 to 2.82), power play pct. (18.2 to 27.5) and penalty kill pct. (72.5 to 79.7).  The club sat in eighth place in the division and Wild Card race at 12-15-5 (29 points) on Dec. 18.
• The Jackets, who play four-straight road contests from Mar. 4-11, have recorded points in seven of 11 road contests in 2025 (6-4-1).
• Columbus boasts the best goals-for per game average (4.07) and total goals (122) in the league at home, while also ranking fourth in power play pct. (29.4) and sixth-T in points pct. (.733) this season.
• The club is 20-6-4 at home in 2024-25 (44 points), posting the most points and second-most wins (21, 2016-17) in the first 30 home games of a campaign in franchise history.
• Columbus has recorded points in 15 of the past 17 home contests (12-2-3) as well as 20 of the last 23 played at home (16-3-4).
• CBJ have earned points in 23 of the past 27 home contests (19-4-4) to lead the NHL in goals-for at home (4.15) and rank second in points pct. (.778) and third in power play pct. (31.7) since Oct. 22.
• The Jackets have allowed three goals or less in 16 of the past 20 contests and rank sixth in the NHL in goals-against per game since Jan. 7 (2.50, 50 goals total).
• The club’s 201 goals (not including SO goals) are the most through the first 60 games of a campaign, surpassing the 197 scored in 2016-17.
• Columbus has had 16 of its games decided after regulation (11 in OT), two shy of the league leaders (Philadelphia and Pittsburgh).
• CBJ have scored in all three periods in regulation 22 times this season, including 17 occasions at home.  Last season, the club scored in all three periods 20 times (10 times at home).
• Columbus’ 11 games with six or more goals are tied with Florida, Washington and Winnipeg for the most in the league this season and tied for the most in a single season in Blue Jackets history after setting the record in 2018-19.
• CBJ scored three of their five goals during 5-on-5 action on Saturday.  The club’s 144 goals scored during 5-on-5 play are the most in the league in 2024-25.
• The club has scored first in 37 (23-9-5) of the first 60 contests this season and leads the league in percentage of games scoring first (61.7 pct.).
• Columbus ranks fifth-T in the league with seven shorthanded goals in 2024-25.
• CBJ ranks fifth-T in the NHL in first period goals scored (61), sixth in second period goals (68) and 11th in third period goals scored (68) in 2024-25.  The club is one of five teams with 60-plus goals in all three periods (Dallas, Florida, Tampa Bay and Washington).
• The Jackets play their 13^th (5-6-1) of 17 Tuesday games of the season when they visit the Lightning.  The club is 4-1-0 in its last five Tuesday contests dating back to Dec. 31.

BLUE JACKETS PLAYER NOTES

• CBJ lead the league in goals and goal percentage and ranks second in points and fourth in assists and points percentage with 40-112-152, 19.9 pct. of the club’s goals and 28.0 pct. of the team’s points in 60 contests.
• F Justin Danforth notched his third multi-point effort of the season with 1-1-2, including the game-winning goal, on Saturday and has recorded 3-2-5 in the past eight contests.
• C Adam Fantilli stretched his points streak to five-straight (3-3-6) after notching a goal on Saturday.  He has also recorded points in 10 of the past 13 contests (7-7-14).  The 20-year-old leads the club in goals and ranks second in assists (tied) and points as well as leads CBJ forwards in TOI and has collected points in 17 of 22 contests since Jan. 1 (11-11-22, 19:42).  He has set single-season career highs with 18-19-37 in 60 appearances in 2024-25.
• C Boone Jenner has registered assists in each of his four games since making his season debut on Feb. 22, including two assists against Detroit on Saturday.  He is the second player in franchise history with at least one assist in each of  his first four games of a campaign (Nick Foligno; 6 GP from Oct. 9-23, 2014).
• F Kent Johnson stretched his points streak to five consecutive (4-3-7) with an assist on Saturday and has registered points in 13 of the past 14 contests (8-8-16), 14 of the past 16 contests (9-9-18) and 17 of the last 21 games (10-11-21).  The 22-year-old has recorded points in 33 of his 46 games this season (20-22-42) and has set a single-season career high in goals and points.  He ranks third in the NHL in goals/60 minutes (min. 20 GP; 1.57), trailing only Tage Thompson (1.80) and Alex Ovechkin (1.64).
• RW Kirill Marchenko has recorded points in nine of his last 11 games (6-5-11), 15 of his past 18 contests (8-10-18), 23 of the last 28 games (14-19-33) and 26 of the past 32 (14-22-36).  The forward is tied for the NHL lead in plus/minus rating as well as leads the club in goals and ranks second in assists, points, multi-assist and multi-point efforts in 2024-25 with 24-36-60, +35, nine multi-assist and 15 multi-point outings in 57 contests.  He has already set single-season career highs in goals, assists and points (23-19-42, 2023-24) and is the first player in franchise history with 20-plus goals in three-straight campaigns to start their career.
• RW Mathieu Olivier has registered points in three-straight contests (2-1-3) after notching a goal against Detroit on Mar. 1.  He has already set single-season career highs in goals, points and hits (5-10-15, 66 GP in 2022-23) and ranks second in the NHL in hits and third in PIM with 12-9-21, 99 PIM and 228 hits in 60 games.  He is one of two NHL players (Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk) with 10-plus goals, 70 PIM and 150 hits in 2024-25.
• D Ivan Provorov collected his 200^th career assist (77-200-277, 674 GP) against Detroit and has totaled 4-3-7 with two multi-point efforts in the past eight contests.
• LW James van Riemsdyk has recorded points in three consecutive outings (3-1-4), including his third multi-goal effort with 2-0-2 at Detroit.  He has picked up points in 10 of the past 13 contests (6-6-12) and has also registered 10-10-20 and five multi-point outings in the last 22 contests since Jan. 2.
• F Dmitri Voronkov collected his team-leading eighth power play goal of the season on Saturday.  He became the third Blue Jacket to reach the 20-goal plateau this season (Kirill Marchenko, Kent Johnson) and has registered 19-20-39 with 11 multi-point efforts and is +23 in his last 45 contests since Nov. 15 after starting the campaign with 1-0-1 in the first six.
• D Zach Werenski registered his team-leading 10^th multi-assist and 15^th multi-point outing of the season with two assists in Saturday’s victory.  He has notched points in 16 of his last 22 contests overall (7-18-25).  He has collected points in 23 of the past 24 home contests (14-29-43), including tying for the third-longest home points streak by a defenseman in NHL history (Phil Housley; 22 GP in 1991-92) with points in 22 consecutive home outings from Nov. 1-Feb. 22.  The list is topped by Bobby Orr (25 GP in 1974-75) and Paul Coffey (23 GP in 1985-86).  Werenski has posted 14-34-48 in 30 home games this season for the second-most in the NHL in 2024-25 (MacKinnon, 15-35-50 in 30 GP) and passing Johnny Gaudreau (17-29-46 in 41 GP in 2022-23) for the most in a single season in franchise history.
• Werenski, a native of Grosse Pointe, Michigan, leads the NHL in TOI/GP as well as leads league blueliners in assists (tied), even strength goals (tied), even strength points and shots on goal and ranks second in goals, points and power play goals (tied) with 18-46-64, 13-28-41 at even strength, five PPG and 212 shots on 26:53 of ice time in 59 contests this season.  He has set a single-season franchise records for assists (tied; Werenski, 46 in 2023-24) and points (Jones, 57 in 2017-18; Werenski, 57 in 2023-24) by a defenseman and is two goals from tying his record for goals in a campaign (20, 2019-20).

BLUE JACKETS MILESTONES

• LW Zach Aston-Reese is six points from 100 for his NHL career (46-48-94, 369 GP).
• F Boone Jenner is eight goals from 200 for his NHL career (192-179-371, 719 GP).
• RW Kirill Marchenko is six games from 200 for his NHL career (68-59-127, 194 GP).
• D Zach Werenski (258 in 545 GP) is one assist from surpassing Rick Nash (258 in 675 GP) for the most in franchise history.

OhioHEALTH INJURY REPORT

• D Erik Gudbranson (upper body) is on Injured Reserve on Oct. 16; (57 Games)
• C Yegor Chinakhov (upper body); is on Injured Reserve retroactive to Nov. 27 (39 Games)
• C Sean Monahan (upper body); is on Injured Reserve retroactive to Jan. 7 (19 Games)
• RW Kevin Labanc (shoulder); is on Injured Reserve on Feb. 21 (4 Games)
• C Cole Sillinger (upper body); (1 Game)

TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 258

COURTESY BLUE JACKETS COMMUNICATIONS