The first place (thank you, Vegas) Florida Panthers (38-21-3) welcome the surprising Columbus Blues Jackets (30-23-8) to Amerant Bank Arena for the first and only time this season, barring a postseason match-up between the two clubs.
Florida kicked off the Seth Jones era with a key, hard-fought 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday, extending its winning streak to four while ending the Bolts eight-game run of success. Aleksander Barkov was a force, scoring both goals in the second period, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 28 saves to backstop the Panthers to their second win of the season against the Lightning. Rookie Mackie Samoskevich collected his 10th assist on Barkov’s second goal to reach the 20-point mark.
The Blue Jackets hit Sunrise fresh off a one-sided 6-2 loss to the Lightning at Amalie Arena on Tuesday, which snapped a four-game winning streak. Norris Trophy candidate Zach Werenski scored both Columbus goals to hit the 20-goal mark for the second time in his career. Werenski is second in scoring by a defensemen, behind Colorado’s Cale Makar with 66 points. Forward Yegor Chinakhov returned to action after missing 39 games with a back injury.
- WHEN: 7 p.m. ET
- WHERE: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
- ON THE TUBE: Scripps, FDSNOH
- ON THE DIAL: Radio Libre 790 (D/B), 1230 The Gambler (PB), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
- SOCIALS: #TimeToHunt, #CBJ, #CBJvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: The Cannon
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 2 of 3 (1-0)
- LAST MEETING: FLA 4, @CBJ 3 (Recap) – 10/15/2024
- NEXT MEETING: March 20, 2025
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Florida: Bobrovsky (26-13-2 .906 / 2.55 3SO) Columbus: Merzlikins (22-15-4 .896 / 3.02 1SO)
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Columbus
Thursday in the Atlantic (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances)
- Utah (27-25-9 63P) at DETROIT (30-25-6 66P) 7 p.m.
- BUFFALO (24-30-6 66P) at TAMPA BAY (36-21-4 76P) 7 p.m. (ESPN)
- BOSTON (28-27-8 64P) at Carolina (36-22-4 76P) 7 p.m.
- MONTREAL (30-26-5 65P) at Edmonton (35-22-4 74P) 9 p.m.
Idle: TOR (79P), OTT (67P)