Columbus Blue Jackets (64 pts) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (93 pts) Game Preview
Per the usual, the Jackets will play another team on a bit of a hot streak, because why not?
Even though the Bolts lost their last game, they're 7-2-1 in their last 10 and have gone 11-4 since March 1st. And even with all that winning, that's still only good enough for 4th in the Atlantic division. But as we all know, the Lightning know how to turn it on when the playoffs start. If the playoffs started today, they would draw the Boston Bruins, and that would be a heck of a series. Tampa has Nikita Kucherov with his 136 points and Andrei Vasilevskiy in goal, so anything can happen.
The Lightning currently sit 4th in the Atlantic, 6th in the East, and 12th in the NHL. They're also currently occupying the 1st wildcard spot.
Series History vs. The Lightning
- Columbus is 5-14-4 on the road vs Tampa, and 15-26-7 in all regular season meetings. The Jackets also swept the Lightning in the first round of the 2019 playoffs.
- The Jackets are 0-5-1 in their last six games in Tampa.
Who To Watch For The Lightning
- Nikita Kucherov has 37 points in 26 games against the CBJ, and has 136 points this season.
- Brayden Point has 27 points in 25 games vs. the Jackets and has 85 points this season.
- Victor Hedman has 27 points in 37 games against Columbus. he also has 75 points this season.
- Andrei Vasilevskiy has a record of 29-18-2 with a save % of .900.
CBJ Player Notes vs. The Lightning
- Johnny Gaudreau has 19 points in 18 games.
- Damon Severson has 12 points in 24 games.
- Zach Werenski has 12 points in 20 games.
Injuries
- Patrik Laine (clavicle fracture-Dec. 14; NHL Player Assistance Program-Jan. 28); 17 games (for injury)
- Adam Fantilli (calf laceration on Jan. 28); expected to miss 8 weeks (29 games)
- Kent Johnson (shoulder injury on Feb. 28); out the rest of season (20 games)
- Yegor Chinakhov (upper-body injury on Mar. 12); is day-to-day (13 games)
- Adam Boqvist (upper-body injury on Mar. 14); out indefinitely (12 games)
- Elvis Merzlikins (lower-body injury on Apr. 1); is day-to-day (4 games)
- Jake Bean (broken hand on Apr. 4); out rest of season (2 games)
- Daniil Tarasov (upper-body injury on Apr. 4); is day-to-day (2 games)
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 293
How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be on Bally Sports Ohio. As always, the legendary Jeff Rimer will be on the play-by-play. The radio broadcast will be on 97.1 THE FAN with Bob McElligott behind the mic doing the play-by-play.
More From THN Columbus
Join Jason Newland's Columbus Blue Jacket page on Bunches, a new app that connects sports fans. Also, you can watch a new YouTube game show about the Blue Jackets, Around the Fifth Line.