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Game 4 Preview: Can the Blue Jackets recharge against the Lightning?

Monday, August 17, 2020 – 3:00 EST
Scotiabank Arena – Toronto, Ontario
TV: Fox Sports Ohio & NBCSN; Radio: 97.1 FM
Opponent’s Blog: Raw Charge

#2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. #7 Columbus Blue Jackets

On Saturday night, in their eight game in 14 days, the Blue Jackets finally showed signs of fatigue and got heavily outplayed for the final 48 minutes of the game. The good news? They still scored twice and only lost by one goal. They need to play much, much better today but the series so far has proven that they can hang with the Lightning. This series is far from over, but a tied series helps mentally more than a 3-1 deficit would.

Player to Watch

Eric Robinson

The speedy young winger scored his first career playoff goal on Saturday. He was one of the few Blue Jackets who still had their legs. He got more work in the third period as reward; will this promotion carry over to today’s game? Further scoring from the depth forwards will take a lot of pressure off the top line forwards.

Jackets Notes

The Jackets did not practice yesterday. Obviously they could use the rest … No word yet on the status of forward Cam Atkinson, still listed as “unfit to play” … Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reported that the injury to goaltender Elvis Merzlikins is a groin injury. He is out indefinitely. Veini Vehvilainen has traveled to Toronto to serve as the third goalie.

The Other Bench

Rookie Carter Verhaeghe made his playoff debut on Saturday, and scored his first playoff point. It was a primary assist on Victor Hedman’s game-winning goal. That should be enough to keep him in the lineup.

Season Series

02/10/20 TBL 2 @ CBJ 1 (OT)

08/11/2020 CBJ 2 vs. TBL 3 (5OT)
08/13/2020 CBJ 3 vs. TBL 1
08/15/2020 TBL 3 vs. CBJ 2
08/17/2020 TBL vs. CBJ
08/19/2020 CBJ vs. TBL
08/21/2020 TBL vs. CBJ (if necessary)
08/22/2020 CBJ vs. TBL (if necessary)

Playoff Stats

Tampa Bay   Columbus
2.17(16) GPG 2.38 (14)
2.50 (9) GAPG 2.13 (6)
16.7% (11) PP% 7.7% (22)
87.0% (7) PK% 90.0% (4)
61.4% (1) 5v5 Shot Attempt % 42.1% (23)
60.3% (2) 5v5 Unblocked shot attempt % 43.0% (21)
5.4 (15) 5v5 Shot % 6.9 (12)
.931 (10) 5v5 Save % .966 (1)
Brayden Point, 4 G Leader Pierre-Luc Dubois, 4
Nikita Kucherov, 4 A Leader Pierre-Luc Dubois, Alexandre Texier, 4
Brayden Point, 7 P Leader Pierre-Luc Dubois, 8
Blake Coleman, 13 PIM Leader Nick Foligno, 10

Projected Lineups

Alexandre Texier Pierre-Luc Dubois Oliver BJORKSTRAND
Nick Foligno Boone Jenner Liam Foudy
Gustav Nyquist Riley Nash Alexander Wennberg
Eric Robinson Devin Shore Emil Bemstrom
Zach Werenski Seth Jones
Vladislav Gavrikov David Savard
Ryan Murray Dean Kukan
Joonas Korpisalo
Matiss Kivlenieks
Nikita Kuherov Brayden Point Ondrej Palat
Blake Coleman Yanni Gourde Barclay Goodrow
Alex Killorn Anthony Cirelli Tyler Johnson
Patrick Maroon Cedric Paquette Carter Verhaeghe
Ryan McDonagh Erik Cernak
Victor Hedman Zach Bogosian
Mikhail Sergachev Kevin Shattenkirk
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Curtis McElhinney