Blue Jackets (29-8-4 62P) at Panthers (19-17-8 46P)
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- WHEN: 7:00 p.m. ET – LBC GameThread right here at 6:30ish
- WHERE: BB&T Center – Sunrise, FL
- ON THE TUBE: FOX Sports Florida, FOX Sports Ohio
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM, 640 WMEN
- TICKETS: via the Club
- GOODIES: PanthersPalooza III & Nole Night TONIGHT! /
REMINDER: For every use of #PanthersPalooza tonight, the Panthers Alumni Association will donate .25 to benefit Youth Hockey Initiatives!
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) January 14, 2017
- SOCIALS: #FlaPanthers, #CBJ, #CBJvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: The Cannon
- SB NATION: Game Feature Hub
- BACK-TO-BACK? (FLA/CBJ): Back/Back
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 2 of 3 (1-0)
- ALL-TIME vs CBJ (RS): 8W-8L-0T 3OTL 3SOL 51GF 63GA
- ALL-TIME at FLA (RS): 5W-2L-0T 3OTL 1SOL 29GF 30GA
- LAST FIVE vs CBJ (RS): 4-0-1 13GF 10GA
- LAST MEETING: FLA 2 at CBJ 1 (SO) (The Cannon’s Recap) – 11/26/2016
- NEXT MEETING (RS): Thursday 03/16/17 at ‘Lumbus
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Reimer (6-6-3 .916/2.59 0SO) vs Korpisalo (1-0-0 .969/1.00 0SO)
- TALE OF THE TAPE via Left Wing Lock
- JAGR WATCH: All-time vs CBJ (RS): 21GP 8G-10A 18P +4 0GWG
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Columbus/
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Scouting Report:
The Jackets came back from an early deficit to defeat the host Tampa Bay Lightning 3-1 on Friday night. Columbus got goals from Josh Anderson, Nick Foligno and Boone Jenner. With the win, Columbus remained No. 1 in the NHL with 62 points, quite remarkable for a team that has never won a playoff series in its 16-year history.
The Jackets finished 27th in the NHL last season. But this season, the first full year under coach John Tortorella, has been a stunning success, complete with a franchise record 16-game win streak and a 14-0-0 record in December.
January hasn’t been quite as kind to the Jackets, who are 3-3-0 this month, a fact that has not escaped Tortorella.
“We’ve dipped a bit,” Tortorella told the media after Friday’s win over Tampa Bay. “I think this was a good way to get a win — grab a hold of ourselves and grind away.” (More via Yahoo! Sports/AP)
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Last game by the Cats: 5-2 home loss to the Isles Friday. Last five: 3-2-0 (streak: 1L)
Last game by ‘Lumbus: 3-1 victory in Tampa Bay Friday. Last five: 2-3-0 (streak: 1W)
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Saturday in the Atlantic Division (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances):
- Philadelphia (22-16-6 50P) at BOSTON (22-18-5 49P), 1:00 NHLN
- NY Rangers (28-14-1 57P) at MONTREAL (26-11-6 58P), 7:00
- TORONTO (19-13-8 46P) at OTTAWA (22-14-4 48P), 7:00
- Pittsburgh (26-10-5 57P) at DETROIT (17-19-6 40P), 7:00 NHLN
- Idle: TB (44P), BUF (41P)/
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