Game Preview: Blue Jackets Look For Third Straight Win; Face League-Leading Florida Panthers

FLORIDA PANTHERS

31–9–5 (67 points; .744%) ROSTER / SCHEDULE

7:00 P.M. – MONDAY, JANUARY 31 NATIONWIDE ARENA  COLUMBUS, OH

BALLY SPORTS OHIO ESPN+ (Out of Market)

Prior to Sunday's 6-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens, the last time the Columbus Blue Jackets scored six goals in a game was in a 6-0 route of the Carolina Hurricanes on January 13th.

The next game, Columbus suffered their worst loss of the season, falling 9-2 to the Florida Panthers.

The Blue Jackets' opponent Monday night at Nationwide Arena — a game after scoring six times? Those same Panthers.

History certainly can't repeat itself, right?

A win Monday by Columbus would put the Blue Jackets back at the .500 mark on the season and would give them three wins in a row for the first time since late November. Perhaps more valuable than either of those, it would also give the young Jackets a bit of retribution from the seven-goal loss less than three weeks ago. 

It’ll be a big ask, though; the Panthers 67 points are tied with the Colorado Avalanche for the most points in the NHL.

RE: FLORIDA

The Panthers are showing no signs of slowing down. They've won five of their last six games, the sole loss coming 5-3 to the Seattle Kraken in what seems like an anomaly. Florida has outscored their opponents 25-14 during the stretch and have converted on 5 of 16 power play opportunities (31.3%). 

With 17 goals and 45 assists, Jonathan Huberdeau's 62 points leads the NHL. There's a bit of an asterisk on this — he's played five more games than Leon Draisaitl (61p) and Nazem Kadri (59p), and six more than Connor McDavid (58p) — but facts are facts, and Huberdeau is the leading man in the box. 

Huberdeau is one of five Panthers with 15 or more goals so far this season (the Blue Jackets have one) and one of eight in double digits (the Blue Jackets have four). They're averaging more than four goals per game, second in the NHL. The Panther power play has warmed up, but they remain a middle-of-the-road 20.6% for the season, 14th of 32 in the league. 

STORYLINES

• THEY'RE WARMING UP
  Columbus' 11 goals in the last two games is their best two-game goal output of the season. Sure, one of those was against the worst-ranked defense in the league (Montreal), but the other was against a top-five Rangers defense (and backup goalie, to provide full disclosure). But goals are contagious, and the Blue Jackets will look for another strong output in Monday's match.
   
• LAINE SIGHTING'S
  If Patrik Laine's stat line were extrapolated over an 82-game season, the 23-year-old would end the season at 29G-39A-68P. Those 68 points would be just two off his career-high of 70. Sunday's win gave Laine his first two-goal game of the season and his second consecutive multi-point game, something he hadn't done since his return from an oblique injury. 
   
• THE KIDS GOT GOING!
  Both Yegor Chinakhov and Cole Sillinger scored Sunday. It was just the second time this season — the other being that 6-0 win over Carolina — where both rookies scored in the same game. The Blue Jackets are hoping they are building towards something special in the years to come, and the development of these two will be paramount in that. Games like Sunday were as good for the future as they were in real time. 

PROJECTED LINES*

*SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Jonathan Huberdeau