| CBJ | TB | |
|---|---|---|
| 15-13-3 | ROAD / HOME | 19-10-0 |
| 3.16 | GOALS FOR | 3.53 |
| 3.21 | GOALS AGAINST | 2.74 |
| 19.7% | POWER PLAY | 22.2% |
| 77.6% | PENALTY KILL | 82.0% |
| 29.9 | SHOTS FOR | 28.4 |
| 30.0 | 27.0 | 29.9 |
| 50.4% | FACEOFF % | 47.2% |
| TAMPA BAY: LAST THREE GAMES | ||
| THU, 3/5 | @ Jets | L, 4-1 |
| SAT, 3/7 | @ Maple Leafs | W, 5-2 |
| SUN, 3/8 | @ Sabres | L, 8-7 |
| TAMPA BAY: TEAM LEADERS | ||
| GOALS | Nikita Kucherov | 34 |
| ASSISTS | Nikita Kucherov | 69 |
| POINTS | Nikita Kucherov | 103 |
| ODDS & PROJECTIONS | ||
| CBJ WIN PER MONEYPUCK: | 34% | |
| CBJ ODDS PER DRAFTKINGS: | +210 | |
Coming off back-to-back overtime losses, the Columbus Blue Jackets (32-12-10) begin a key three-game road trip Tuesday night when they face the Tampa Bay Lightning (39-19-4).
The pair of OTL's sent the Blue Jackets to 3-1-3 since the Olympic break. They trail the Boston Bruins by two points for the final wild card spot, and the New York Islanders by three for a top-three, guaranteed playoff spot in the Metro division.
With the Bruins and Islanders both in action Tuesday, it makes a Blue Jackets win — which would extend their point streak to seven games — that much more important.
Here are five things to know as the road trip kicks off:
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The Lightning are amongst the best teams in the league, but could Columbus be catching them at the right time? They're 1-4-0 since the break and have allowed 25 goals in five games. Eight of those came in a chaotic, 8-7 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday evening. ... Nikita Kucherov has seven points in his last two games and is third in the NHL with 103 points. He has 52 points (16 goals, 36 assists) in 23 games in 2026. ... The Bolts are the only team in the league without a home overtime loss.
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Columbus has given up five goals in each of their last two goals, something they haven't done since allowing 5+ in three straight in January, in the days leading up to the firing of former head coach Dean Evason. “We’re scoring four goals, we should be winning games,” said new bench boss Rick Bowness. “You give up five (each) in the back-to-back, that’s really disappointing. That’s not who we are.”
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No official goaltending announcements have been made, but all signs point to Elvis Merzlikins versus Andrei Vasilevskiy. In their most recent starts, Merzlikins gave up five goals in Saturday's overtime loss to the Utah Mammoth, while Vasilevskiy gave up two goals to the Toronto Maple Leafs that same night. For the season, Vazy is 29-10-3 with a .913 save percentage and 2.28 goals against average. Merzlikins is 12-9-2 with an .884 save percentage and 3.53 GAA.
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Conor Garland scored his first — and second — goal with the Blue Jackets in Monday's OTL. He seems to be fitting right in with linemates Sean Monahan and Kent Johnson; look for them to continue to skate as a trio.
- The team is not skating today, so any lineup changes won't come until late afternoon. One thing we do know: Erik Gudbranson, who left Monday's game with an injury, is not on the road trip and is out of the lineup. Egor Zamula is likely to take his place in the lineup. Here are the complete projections:
| LW | C | RW | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | Mason Marchment | 19 | Adam Fantilli | 86 | Kirill Marchenko |
| 91 | Kent Johnson | 23 | Sean Monahan | 83 | Conor Garland |
| 4 | Cole Sillinger | 3 | Charlie Coyle | 24 | Mathieu Olivier |
| 21 | Isac Lundeström | 38 | Boone Jenner | 11 | Miles Wood |
| LD | RD | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Zach Werenski | 78 | Damon Severson |
| 9 | Ivan Provorov | 5 | Denton Mateychuk |
| 6 | Egor Zamula | 15 | Dante Fabbro |
| Starting Goalie | Back-Up | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 90 | Elvis Merzlikins | 73 | Jet Greaves |
