The Columbus Blue Jackets are home without the hometown remix (HTR) as the Blue Jackets host the Florida Panthers in their second and final meeting in Columbus. The only date in Florida is March 30th, 2027.
This contest is one of the few nationally televised games by the partners of ESPN, meaning this game is available on Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+ in the States, and SportsNet in Canada.
Florida dominated Columbus last time by the score of 7-3 after a Brady Tkachuk hat-trick that set franchise history for the Panthers. Since then, the Panthers have their tandem back healthy and are reportedly two weeks away from a return Sasha Barkov and Brad Marchand to their dominant and gritty offense. Florida is seeking a win after losing a back to back in Washington and Boston.
Columbus is looking to extend their home winning streak to four games with a starting Cam Talbot being a calming and successful presence over Greaves’ not-so-great start to the season, expect a bit less of a one-sided affair. Over the weekend, the recalls of Jack Williams and Steven Lorentz and demotions of Danton Heinen and Emil Andrae have saved the Jackets a few thousand dollars as Issac Lundestrom inches closer to a return.
Really wonder if this starts some selling on the Jackets end of things. Erik Gudbranson, Jake Christiansen, and Carson Soucy are pending UFAs on the defense, and thinking one of them could be eligible. Danton Heinen, Owen Sillinger, Cam Talbot, and Phoenix Copley are also UFA, and Talbot may be worth the most at this point. Lundestrom is the only remaining that has not played a game yet. Also wondering if the Voronkov talk heats up as his frustration and the organization’s inability to maneuver and adapt also continue to boil over.
As Bones continues to adjust the lineup while being told to silence his hate speech for the club and victim play in the market, the offensive lines have been adjusted. Monahan moves up to center the college kids, and Fantilli slides down to center the Russians. The fourth line is reworked based on the recalls. The defense also sees change to the bottom 2 pairs, as Mateychuk joins Provorov, and Fabbro gets Gudbranson. Great, here comes a gud check from behind, thankfully AJ Greer is gone.
Jake Christainsen and the birthday boy, Luca Del Bel Belluz are the healthy scratches. Wonder if that was a mistake on Bowness part, gotta play the hot hand? Maybe health bomb Lomberg while he has no points in 14 games. Might frustrate him as his former club is in town. Between Lomberg, Lorentz, and Gudbranson being former Panthers, expect some agitation, right?
Publishing this as the Michkov rumors begin to swirl out of Philadelphia after last night’s game with Seeler, I wonder if the Briere and Russian connection inspires a move between this Metropolitan foes. Voronkov is on the block. Garland and Tocchet have a healthy relationship between days in Arizona and Vancouver. Nichushkin came to Columbus to join Marchenko, but is Michkov an acceptable upgrade?
Projected Lineups
Florida Panthers
Brady Tkachuk -- Sam Bennett -- Matthew Tkachuk
Carter Verhaeghe -- Sam Reinhart -- Lars Eller
Eetu Luostarinen -- Anton Lundell -- Jack Devine
Bokondji Imama -- Cole Schwindt -- Garnet Hathaway
Gustav Forsling -- Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola -- Seth Jones
Uvis Balinskis -- Radko Gudas
Jacob Markstrom
Akira Schmid
Scratched: Dmitry Kulikov, Cole Reinhardt
Injured: Sandis Vilmanis (upper body), Aleksander Barkov (knee), Brad Marchand (knee), Jonah Gadjovich (neck)
Columbus Blue Jackets
Matthew Knies -- Sean Monahan -- Kent Johnson
Valeri Nichushkin -- Adam Fantilli -- Dmitri Voronkov
Cole Sillinger -- Charlie Coyle -- Mathieu Olivier
Jack Williams -- Steven Lorentz -- Ryan Lomberg
Zach Werenski -- Damon Severson
Ivan Provorov -- Denton Mateychuk
Dante Fabbro -- Erik Gudbranson
Cam Talbot
Jet Greaves
Scratched: Luca Del Bel Belluz, Jake Christiansen
Injured: Isac Lundestrom (lower body), Conor Garland (upper body)
Players to Watch
Florida — Seth Jones — the former Columbus Blue Jackets’ right handed defenseman is off to a hot start with 20 points in 18 games. As a fantasy holder of him in one of my two teams and as a former Blue Jackets’ defender and part of the Sillinger package, I am rooting for his success, even as a 2025 Cup Champion.
Columbus — Steven Lorentz — the 2024 Florida Panthers’ own Stanley Cup champion is on the main roster after a hot start in Cleveland. Will his scoring abilities transfer against his former club?
Predicted Final Scores
With the odds favoring the visiting Cats as a -120, the Jackets are at +100 according to the NHL DraftKings Sportsbook.
FLA — 4
CBJ — 5