Columbus Blue Jackets (70 pts) vs. Florida Panthers (85 pts) Game Preview
Russell LaBounty-Imagn ImagesThe Columbus Blue Jackets and Florida Panthers play the third and final game of the season series. The Panthers have won both games played this year.
For the Columbus Blue Jackets, there's only one thing to do - WIN! Quite literally, nothing else matters.
The Blue Jackets, thanks to a four-game losing streak, are now 6th in the Metro and three points out of the second wild card spot. These are dire times and the team's sense of urgency must be as high as it has been all season.
But, to win, they have to score goals. And that's something they haven't done much lately, and it won't get any easier facing Sergei Bobrovsky if that's who the Cats put in the net.
Elvis Merzļikins should be rested and have plenty of energy to play the defending Cup Champions.
Panthers Stats
- Power Play – 24.1% - 9th in NHL
- Penalty Kill – 81.2% - 11th in NHL
- Goals For - 217 – 8th – 3.19 GPG – 11th
- Goals Against – 184 – 9th – 2.71 GPG – 9th
Series History vs. The Panthers
- Columbus is 16-7-3 at home vs. Florida and 26-21-5 in 52 all-time games.
- Columbus is 0-6-1 in the last 7 games against the Panthers.
Who To Watch For The Panthers
- Sam Reinhart leads the team with 33 goals and 72 points.
- Aleksander leads Florida with 44 assists.
- Sergei Bobrovsky is 28-15-2 with a .906 SV%.
CBJ Player Notes vs. Panthers
- Boone Jenner has 20 points in 24 games against the Panthers.
- Zach Werenski has 15 points in 24 games.
- James van Riemsdyk has 25 points in 42 career games vs. Florida.
Injuries
- Erik Gudbranson (upper body) is on Injured Reserve on Oct. 16 (64 Games)
- Sean Monahan (upper body) is on Injured Reserve retroactive to Jan. 7 (26 Games)
- Kevin Labanc (shoulder) is on Injured Reserve as of Feb. 21 and is out for the season (11 Games)
- Cole Sillinger is day-to-day with an upper-body injury (8 Games)
- Jake Christiansen (upper body); (2 Games)
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 288
How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be on FanDuel Sports Network. Steve Mears 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.
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