Tuesday, October 15, 2024 – 7:00 PM EDT
Nationwide Arena – Columbus, Ohio
TV: Bally Sports Ohio; Radio: 97.1 FM
Opponent’s Site: Litter Box Cats
Florida Panthers (2-2-0, 4 points, t-3rd Atlantic, t-5th East)
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Columbus Blue Jackets (1-1-0, 2 points, t-4th Metro, t-10th East)
After an encouraging split on a season-opening road trip, the Blue Jackets return to Columbus for their first game of the season in front of the Fifth Line. In lieu of the typical opening night festivities (those have been postponed to Thursday’s game), this game will be a celebration of the lives of Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew. It’s sure to be an emotional night for all involved. In addition to the Columbus players who are mourning Gaudreau, Panthers forwards Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett played with Gaudreau in Calgary, while defenseman Adam Boqvist was his teammate for the last two years here.
Player to Watch
Kent Johnson
The most impressive player in preseason and the first two games of the season has been the former first round pick, who is entering his third full season in the NHL. He finally put on weight (and muscle) in the off-season, and is playing a much more assertive game. He is flashing the offensive skill that was promised, with a goal in each game so far. He is also earning the trust of the coaches on the other end, as he has received penalty kill minutes as well.
Jackets Notes
Zach Aston-Reese left Saturday’s game in the first period, but was back on the ice for practice on Monday. Dylan Gambrell took his spot on the fourth line in line rushes, however, so it’s possible ZAR gets this game off … Another lineup change appears to be Jordan Harris making his CBJ debut in place of Jack Johnson. Harris was the player Columbus received in exchange for Patrik Laine this summer … There was a special guest coach at practice, hockey dad and longtime youth coach Guy Gaudreau:
The Other Bench
The defending Stanley Cup Champions will be without their two best skaters: captain Sasha Barkov is out with an ankle injury after taking an awkward slide into the boards in Ottawa, and Matthew Tkachuk is out until next week with an illness … The Panthers are finishing a four game road trip and are on the back end of a back-to-back following a matinee game in Boston on Monday. They beat the Bruins 4-3 … Former Jacket Sergei Bobrovsky played yesterday, so expect Spencer Knight in net tonight.
Season Series
10/15/2024 FLA @ CBJ
03/06/2025 CBJ @ FLA
03/20/2025 FLA @ CBJ
Stats
Florida | Columbus | |
3.25 (16) | GPG | 4.00 (6) |
3.75 (23) | GAPG | 3.50 (17) |
13.3 (24) | PP% | 33.3 (8) |
85.7 (10) | PK% | 57.1 (28) |
53.6 (8) | 5v5 Shot Attempt % | 50.3 (15) |
49.6 (16) | 5v5 Unblocked Shot Attempt % | 48.4 (21) |
9.2 (13) | 5v5 Shooting % | 14.3 (2) |
88.0 (24) | 5v5 Save % | 93.0 (12) |
Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, 3 | G Leader | Zach Werenski, Kent Johnson, 2 |
Sam Reinhart, A.J. Greer, Evan Rodrigues, Matthew Tkachuk, Jesper Boqvist, 2 | A Leader | Yegor Chinakhov, 3 |
Sam Reinhart, 5 | P Leader | Yegor Chinakhov, 4 |
A.J. Greer, 16 | PIM Leader | Damon Severson, Cole Sillinger, 4 |
1-2-0 | Home/Road | 0-0-0 |
2-2-0 | Last 10 | 1-1-0 |
Projected Lines
Columbus Blue Jackets
Yegor Chinakhov | Sean Monahan | Kirill Marchenko |
James van Riemsdyk | Adam Fantilli | Kevin Labanc |
Mikael Pyyhtia | Cole Sillinger | Kent Johnson |
Dylan Gambrell | Sean Kuraly | Mathieu Olivier |
Zach Werenski | Ivan Provorov |
Jake Christiansen | Damon Severson |
Jordan Harris | Erik Gudbranson |
Elvis Merzlikins |
Daniil Tarasov |
Florida Panthers
Carter Verhaeghe | Sam Bennett | Evan Rodrigues |
Eetu Luostarinen | Anton Lundell | Sam Reinhart |
A.J. Greer | Jesper Boqvist | Mackie Samoskevich |
Jonah Gadjovich | Patrick Giles | Uvis Balinskis |
Gustav Forsling | Aaron Ekblad |
Niko Mikkola | Dmitry Kulikov |
Nate Schmidt | Adam Boqvist |
Spencer Knight |
Sergei Bobrovsky |