The Blue Jackets are on the road with an early start, taking on the Panthers in Florida today at 3:30pm Eastern Time. They hope to extend their winning streak to three games against a team that is struggling.
The Jackets won a back-and-forth matchup against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night, 6-5 in a shootout for their second straight win. Meanwhile, the Panthers lost their fourth in a row on Thursday night, 2-1 at home.
The back-to-back defending champion cats are in the middle of a six-game homestand, where they have lost all four games so far. This is about the worst situation the Blue Jackets could walk themselves into for an early Saturday start. We will see what they are made of today.
The Opponent
Through 26 games, the Panthers have 26 points in the standings – good enough to tie them for dead last in the Eastern Conference.
They have struggled out of the gate this year because their roster has been decimated by injuries. Currently, there are 7 players listed as injured or questionable on their roster.
Most notably, star forwards Aleksandr Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk have yet to play a game for the team this season. Those are massive shoes to fill. They are two of the best players in the entire NHL.
As a result, the Panthers are 25th in the NHL in scoring, which is the main reason for their struggles.
Still, this team has at least been able to tread water and is still very dangerous on any given night. They’re led in scoring by 37 year old Brad Marchand, who has 15 goals and 27 points in 25 games.
Even without their two best players, the Panthers still have a lot of weapons, including Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe, Anton Lundell, Seth Jones, and Evan Rodrigues. They aren’t back-to-back Cup champions by mistake.
In goal, the Panthers have two former Blue Jackets: Sergei Bobrovsky and Daniil Tarasov. Neither guy has made a huge difference for them so far this season, but we all know how these games usually go.
The Good Guys
The Blue Jackets have managed to string together consecutive wins for the first time since November 11th and 13th. They did so with Elvis Merzlikins in goal for both games.
Today will be a much different task than their last two games. Call it a combination of both opponents: the Panthers will be physical and nasty like the Devils were on Tuesday night; but also hungry and desperate for points in the standings like the Red Wings were on Thursday.
The Jackets will need contributions from all 20 guys today if they are going to have any chance against a hungry Florida team. They have lost 8 straight games against the Panthers, with their last win coming 11/20/2022.
Look for them to roll out a similar lineup to the one they used on Thursday, but with one likely exception: I would expect Jet Greaves to get the start in goal.
Three Keys to Success
1. Win (or tie) the first 10. I expect the Panthers to come out with a fire lit under them, having lost four straight games at home over the last week. If the Jackets can at least get a push from the first 10 minutes, doubt may start creeping into Florida’s game.
2. Don’t get sucked in. The Panthers play bully hockey, and the Blue Jackets are without their two toughest players. This is not the game to get sucked into a penalty filled affair, it would fire up the crowd and likely be a lose-lose situation without Mathieu Olivier or Erik Gudbranson patrolling the ice.
3. Keep rolling. The last two games haven’t been perfect, but the Jackets have found a way. Just keep playing through the momentum swings and take advantage of your chances.
Puck drop is scheduled for 3:30 from South Florida. You can catch the action via Fan Duel Sports Network or ESPN+; or tune in to Bobby Mac via NHL Radio.