By Joe Coopersmith

MARCH 6, 2025 II AMERANT BANK ARENA II AT FLORIDA PANTHERS

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:  97.1 The Fan

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

Panthers to Watch

• C Aleksander Barkov leads the Panthers in assists and ranks third in points with 16-40-56 in 52 contests in 2024-25 and has totaled 13-19-32 in 33 career appearances against the Blue Jackets.
• C Sam Reinhart leads the Panthers in goals and points and ranks sixth-T in the NHL in goals with 31-33-64 in 62 games played and has tallied 12-19-31 in 25 career outings against Columbus.

All-Time Series

• The Blue Jackets have gone 26-20-5 in 51 all-time games against the Panthers, including 10-13-2 on the road.
• Florida has won the last six-straight contests in the all-time series since Dec. 13, 2022 (CBJ; 0-5-1).
• The winning team has scored four or more goals in 12-straight outings in the series and 15 of the past 16 dating back to Mar. 9, 2021.
• The teams have combined for seven or more goals in eight of the last 10 meetings overall.
• Columbus has recorded three shutouts in the all-time series with Elvis Merzlikins’ posting the most recent one with 32 saves in a 1-0 OT win at Nationwide Arena on Feb. 4, 2020.
• The Jackets have posted two hat tricks in the all-time series, both by defensemen (Deron Quint on Mar. 9, 2001 and Zach Werenski on Dec. 31, 2019).

This Season (CBJ, 0-1-0)

• Oct. 15, 2024 – FLA 4 at CBJ 3
• Mar. 6, 2025 – at Florida (7 p.m. ET)
• Mar. 20, 2025 – at Columbus (7 p.m. ET)

Player Notables vs. Panthers

• C Boone Jenner – 12-8-20 in 33 career GP, including goals in three of his last four outings at Florida (3-0-3).
• F Kent Johnson – 1-1-2 in 5 career GP, including an assist in the first game of the 2024-25 season series.
• RW Kirill Marchenko – 1-2-3 in 6 career GP, recording points in three of his past four contests.
• D Damon Severson – 3-11-14 in 24 career GP, including an assist in the first meeting of the season series.
• LW James van Riemsdyk – 13-12-25 in 41 career GP, including a goal in the first meeting in 2024-25 as well as goals in three of his last five contests at Florida (3-2-5).

BLUE JACKETS TEAM NOTES

• CBJ had their four-game win streak out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break snapped with a 6-2 loss at Tampa Bay on Tuesday.  It was the second time this season the club won four-straight contests after posting a six-game win streak from Jan. 4-16.
• Columbus scored at least five goals (21 total) in four consecutive games from Feb. 22-Mar. 1, 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 29 contests overall since Dec. 19 (18-8-3, 39 points).  The Jackets rank third in the NHL in goals-for per game (3.45), fourth in wins (tied) and points percentage (.672), fifth in points (39) and ninth in power play pct. (26.4) 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 3.45), goals-against average (3.63 to 2.93), power play pct. (18.2 to 26.4) and penalty kill pct. (72.5 to 79.1).  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 the second of four-straight road contests from Mar. 4-11 on Thursday, have recorded points in seven of 12 road contests in 2025 (6-5-1).
• 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 seventh 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.
• 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 power play pct. (31.7) since Oct. 22.
• The Jackets have allowed three goals or less in 16 of the past 21 contests and rank ninth in the NHL in goals-against per game since Jan. 7 (2.67, 56 goals total).
• The club’s 203 goals (not including SO goals) are the most through the first 61 games of a campaign, surpassing the 199 scored in 2021-22.
• 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.
• The club’s 145 goals scored during 5-on-5 play are the most in the league in 2024-25.
• The team has scored first in 37 (23-9-5) of the first 61 contests this season.  CBJ rank second in the league in percentage of games scoring first (61.7 pct.), trailing only Minnesota (61.3 pct.).
• Columbus, which scored a shorthanded goal on Tuesday, ranks fifth-T in the league with eight shorthanded goals in 2024-25.
• CBJ ranks fifth in the NHL in first period goals scored (62), sixth in second period goals (69) and 11th in third period goals scored (68) in 2024-25.  The club is one of six teams with 60-plus goals in all three periods (Dallas, Florida, NY Rangers, Tampa Bay and Washington).
• The Jackets play their 14^th (7-4-2) of 19 Thursday games of the season when they visit the Panthers.  The club has recorded points in three-straight games on the day (2-0-1) and seven of the past nine (5-2-2).

BLUE JACKETS PLAYER NOTES

• CBJ lead the league in goals and goal percentage and ranks second in points, third-T in points percentage and fifth-T in assists with 42-112-154, 20.7 pct. of the club’s goals and 28.2 pct. of the team’s points in 61 contests.
• F Justin Danforth notched his third multi-point effort of the season with 1-1-2, including the game-winning goal, on Mar. 1 vs. Detroit and has recorded 3-2-5 in the past nine contests.
• C Adam Fantilli stretched his points streak to six-straight (3-4-7) after collecting an assist on Tuesday.  He has also recorded points in 11 of the past 14 contests (7-8-15).  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 18 of 23 contests since Jan. 1 (11-12-23, 19:41).  He has already set single-season career highs with 18-20-38 in 61 appearances in 2024-25.
• C Boone Jenner registered assists in his four games (0-7-7) since making his season debut on Feb. 22, including two assists against Detroit on Mar. 1.  He became 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 assists streak to four consecutive (1-4-5) and points streak to six-straight (4-4-8) with an assist on Tuesday.  He has also registered points in 14 of the past 15 contests (8-9-17), 15 of the past 17 contests (9-10-19) and 18 of the last 22 games (10-12-22).  The 22-year-old has recorded points in 34 of his 47 games this season (20-23-43) 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; 1.54), trailing only Tage Thompson (1.90) and Alex Ovechkin (1.62).
• RW Kirill Marchenko has recorded points in nine of his last 12 games (6-5-11), 15 of his past 19 contests (8-10-18), 23 of the last 29 games (14-19-33) and 26 of the past 33 (14-22-36).  The forward, who ranks second in the NHL in plus/minus rating, leads the club in goals and ranks second in assists, points, multi-assist and multi-point efforts in 2024-25 with 24-36-60, +32, nine multi-assist and 15 multi-point outings in 58 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, who signed a six-year contract extension with the club on Wednesday, has registered points in three of the past four contests (2-1-3).  He has already set single-season career highs in goals, points and ranks second in the NHL in hits and penalty minutes with 12-9-21, 113 PIM and 232 hits in 61 games.  He is one of two NHL players (Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk) with 10-plus goals and 70 penalty minutes in 2024-25.
• D Ivan Provorov collected his 200^th career assist against Detroit on Mar. 1 and has totaled 4-3-7 with two multi-point efforts in the past nine contests.
• LW James van Riemsdyk has recorded points in three of the past four contests (3-1-4) and 10 of the past 14 contests (6-6-12).  He has also registered 10-10-20 and five multi-point outings in the last 23 contests, while ranking second in the NHL in scoring/60 minutes during 5v5 play since Jan. 1 (3.76; 8-9-17).
• F Dmitri Voronkov became the third Blue Jacket to reach the 20-goal plateau this season with his team-leading eighth power play goal on Mar. 1 vs. Detroit.  He has registered 19-20-39 with 11 multi-point efforts and is +22 in his last 46 contests since Nov. 15 after starting the campaign with 1-0-1 in the first six.
• D Zach Werenski notched his third multi-goal effort and team-leading 16^th multi-point outing of the season with both CBJ goals at Tampa Bay on Tuesday.  He has posted multiple points in consecutive outings (2-2-4) and three of his past five contests (3-4-7).  He has notched points in 17 of his last 23 contests overall (9-18-27).
• 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, even strength points and shots on goal and ranks second in goals, points and power play goals (tied) with 20-46-66, 14-28-42 at even strength, five PPG and 216 shots on 26:56 of ice time in 60 contests this season.  He has already set single-season franchise records for goals (tied; Werenski, 20 in 2019-20), assists (Werenski, 46 in 2023-24) and points (Jones, 57 in 2017-18; Werenski, 57 in 2023-24) by a defenseman.

BLUE JACKETS MILESTONES

• LW Zach Aston-Reese is six points from 100 for his NHL career (46-48-94, 370 GP).
• F Boone Jenner is eight goals from 200 for his NHL career (192-179-371, 720 GP).
• RW Kirill Marchenko is five games from 200 for his NHL career (68-59-127, 195 GP).
• D Zach Werenski (258 in 546 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; (58 Games)
• C Sean Monahan (upper body); is on Injured Reserve retroactive to Jan. 7 (20 Games)
• RW Kevin Labanc (shoulder); is on Injured Reserve on Feb. 21 (5 Games)
• C Cole Sillinger (upper body); is on Injured Reserve on Feb. 27 (2 Games)

TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 262

COURTESY BLUE JACKETS COMMUNICATIONS