Columbus Blue Jackets at Philadelphia Flyers
Thursday, January 4, 2024 – 7:00 PM EST
Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
TV: Bally Sports Ohio – Radio: 97.1 FM
Columbus Blue Jackets (12-19-8, 32 points, 8th Metropolitan, 15th East)
at
Philadelphia Flyers (19-13-5, 43 points, 4th Metropolitan, 7th East)
After being overwhelmed despite playing well against the Bruins on Tuesday, the Blue Jackets will look to get to .500 on the calendar year in Philly.
Player to Watch
Who’s the All Star?
Okay, this is kinda cheating, but it probably deserves it’s own block. The NHL will reveal the first 32 All Stars tonight during their Penguins-Bruins coverage, including one representative from your Columbus Blue Jackets. With Zach Werenski and Boone Jenner injured, the Jackets have three real candidates: Johnny Gaudreau, Adam Fantilli, and Kirill Marchenko. Johnny Hockey leads the team with points at 25, but has only seven goals. Marchenko leads the team in goals at 13, and would bring immaculate vibes for the events surrounding the game, but is almost completely unknown on the national stage. That leaves Adam Fantilli as the likely choice, with 11 goals, 12 assists, and coming off an incredible December. Plus, the Bedard v. Fantilli rookie showcase storylines would be fun.
Jackets Notes
Zach Werenski remains out long-term. … Fantilli did have his point streak snapped against Boston, but is the fourth rookie in CBJ history with a four-game point streak. … Dmitri Voronkov is on a three-game point streak; a point tonight have him join Fantilli as the fifth member of the CBJ rookie-four-game-streak club. … This game makes me think about how much I miss Jakub Voracek and now I’m a little sad. : (
The Other Bench
Former head coach John Tortorella has led the Broadstreet Bullies to a surprisingly good season, with the Flyers current in the Eastern Conference’s first wildcard spot. … Five teams are within three points of them, however. … The Flyers are dead last in the league in powerplay percentage.
Season Series
10/12/2023 – PHI 4 at CBJ 2
11/19/2023 – CBJ 2 at PHI 5
1/4/2024 – Columbus at Philadelphia
4/6/2024 – Philadelphia at Columbus
Stats
| Philadelphia | Columbus | |
| 2.92 (25) | GPG | 3.08 (17) |
| 2.78 (9) | GAPG | 3.67 (30) |
| 10.2% (32) | PP% | 15.2% (25) |
| 85.3% (4) | PK% | 80.6% (14) |
| 49.5% (17) | 5v5 Shot Attempt % | 46.8% (27) |
| 51.6% (11) | 5v5 Unblocked Shot Attempt % | 47.0% (25) |
| 8.3% (20) | 5v5 Shooting % | 10.1% (5) |
| .913 (15) | 5v5 Save % | .907 (20) |
| Travis Konecny, 18 | G Leader | K. Marchenko and B. Jenner, 13 |
| Travis Sanheim, 21 | A Leader | Zach Werenski, 24 |
| Travis Konecny, 33 | P Leader | Z. Werenski and J. Gaudreau, 25 |
| Garnet Hathaway, 58 | PIM Leader | Erik Gudbranson, 49 |
| 8-7-1 | Home/Road | 4-8-5 |
| 4-3-3 | Last 10 | 3-4-3 |
Projected Lines
Columbus Blue Jackets
| Johnny Gaudreau | Adam Fantilli | Jack Roslovic |
| Yegor Chinakhov | Dmitri Voronkov | Kirill Marchenko |
| Kent Johnson | Cole Sillinger | Emil Bemstrom |
| Alexandre Texier | Justin Danforth | Brendan Gaunce |
| Damon Severson | Ivan Provorov |
| Jake Bean | David Jiricek |
| Jake Christiansen | Erik Gudbranson |
| Elvis Merzlikins |
| Spencer Martin/Daniil Tarasov |
Philadelphia Flyers
| Joel Farabee | Sean Couturier | Travis Konecny |
| Owen Tippett | Morgan Frost | Bobby Brink |
| Tyson Foerster | Ryan Poehling | Cam Atkinson |
| Marc Staal | Scott Laughton | Garnet Hathaway |
| Cam York | Travis Sanheim |
| Nick Seeler | Sean Walker |
| Egor Zamula | Rasmus Ristolainen |
| Carter Hart |
| Samuel Ersson |