GameDay Caterwaul: Florida Panthers at Columbus Blue Jackets

Panthers (3-0-0 6P) at Blue Jackets (2-2-3 7P)

• WHEN: 7:00 p.m. ET
• WHERE: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
• ON THE TUBE: FOX Sports Florida, Fox Sports Ohio
• ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM (D/B), 640 WMEN (PB), 1370 WAXE (TC), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
• SOCIALS: #FlaPanthers, #CBJ, #FLAvsCBJ, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
• ENEMY INTEL: Jackets Cannon
• FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 2 of 8 (1-0-0)
• LAST MEETING: FLA 4, @CBJ 3 (SO) - (Recap) - 1/26/2021
• NEXT MEETING: March 9, 2021
• PROJECTED STARTERS: Driedger (1-0-0 .933/ 2.00 0SO) vs Merzlikins (1-1-1 .891/ 3.34 0SO)
• PLAYER STATS: Florida / Columbus

Scouting Report

It’s a matchup on the ice between a pair of teams from the newly-formed Central Division on the ice in the Buckeye State. The Florida Panthers are on the road as they play the second game of a two-game series with the Columbus Blue Jackets Thursday night. In the opening game of the series Tuesday night, it was Florida skating away with a 4-3 shootout victory to draw first blood in the series. Will the Panthers leave town with a two-game sweep or will the Blue Jackets find a way to get in the win column here?

Florida had to dig deep but came up with the victory in a shootout to skate away with the two points in the opening game of this series. The Panthers entered Wednesday tied for second in the Central Division, one point behind Columbus for the top spot though they have four games in hand. Florida stands second in the league in scoring with 4.33 goals per game this season. The Panthers are tied for 16th in goals against by allowing three goals per contest. Florida is tied for 11th in power play success as they have converted 27.3 percent of their chances with the man advantage. The Panthers stand tied for 22nd in penalty killing as they successfully navigate 72.7 percent of their shorthanded situations on the year.

Columbus earned a point in Tuesday’s contest but it still goes down as a loss, their fifth in the seven games they’ve played this season. Three of those defeats have resulted in points but their 2-2-3 mark leaves them only one point ahead in the Central Division with four of the five teams tied for second place each having at least one game in hand. Columbus is 23rd in the league in goals for as they average 2.57 goals per contest. The Blue Jackets are tied for 16th in goals against as they allow three goals a night on the year. Columbus stands 30th in the league in power play success as they successfully convert on 5.4 percent of their chances with the man advantage. The Blue Jackets are ninth in penalty killing as they successfully get through 87.5 percent of their shorthanded situations on the year. They have one shorthanded goal on the books this season.

Full preview at Winners & Whiners

Thursday in the Central (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances):

• TAMPA BAY (3-1-0 6P) at CAROLINA (2-1-0 4P) 7 p.m.
• DETROIT (2-4-1 5P) at DALLAS (3-0-0 6P) 8:30 p.m.

Panthers, SoFla Media & Loyal Opposition on the Tweets