Saturday, February 10, 2024 – 7:00 P.M. EST
Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
TV: Bally Sports Ohio; Radio: 97.1 FM
Opponent’s Site: Raw Charge
Tampa Bay Lightning (27-20-5, 59 points, 4th Atlantic, 7th East)
at
Columbus Blue Jackets (16-24-10, 42 points, 8th Metro, 16th East)
After a lengthy bye week, the Blue Jackets should be well-rested as they kick off the second half of the season at home. Or will they be rusty against a Lightning team that has already played twice since returning from their break?
Player to Watch
Nikita Kucherov
Kucherov won the Hart Trophy in 2019 by putting up a line of 41/87/128 in 82 games. Through 51 games, he has 33/54/87, so he’s on pace to blow by those totals. He leads the league in assists and points. Could we win MVP for the second time?
Some have suggested that he shouldn’t win MVP due to his loafing during the All-Star Skills Competition. I think this is ridiculous since he shouldn’t be judged for that award based on what he did in an exhibition. I do think his performance was embarrassing, however. Dude, if you’re not going to give it your all, then you could have skipped it in favor of someone else.
What do you think?
Jackets Notes
Some good news on the injury front, as Adam Boqvist appears to be ready to return to the lineup, on a pair with Zach Werenski. He still bears some wear and tear after getting hit with a puck:
The Cleveland Monsters blew a 3-0 lead and lost in overtime last night.
The Other Bench
Scary moment on Wednesday as defenseman Mikhail Sergachev suffered a gruesome leg injury. He had surgery on Thursday to repair a broken tibia AND fibula. Yikes. Best wishes for a full recovery.
Season Series
11/02/2023 TBL 2 @ CBJ 4
02/10/2024 TBL @ CBJ
04/09/2024 CBJ @ TBL
Stats
| Tampa Bay | Columbus | |
| 3.40 (9) | GPG | 2.92 (23) |
| 3.33 (25) | GAPG | 3.66 (31) |
| 30.0 (1) | PP% | 14.7 (26) |
| 81.2 (12) | PK% | 77.6 (24) |
| 50.9 (12) | 5v5 Shot Attempt % | 47.7 (23) |
| 50.5 (15) | 5v5 Unblocked Shot Attempt % | 47.9 (23) |
| 9.0 (11) | 5v5 Shooting % | 9.4 (7) |
| 90.0 (31) | 5v5 Save % | 90.7 (25) |
| Nikita Kucherov, 33 | G Leader | Kirill Marchenko, 15 |
| Nikita Kucherov, 54 | A Leader | Zach Werenski, 27 |
| Nikita Kucherov, 87 | P Leader | Johnny Gaudreau, 32 |
| Austin Watson, 69 | PIM Leader | Erik Gudbranson, 51 |
| 10-15-2 | Home/Road | 9-13-4 |
| 7-3-0 | Last 10 | 3-5-2 |
Projected Lines
Columbus Blue Jackets
| Johnny Gaudreau | Boone Jenner | Yegor Chinakhov |
| Kent Johnson | Dmitri Voronkov | Kirill Marchenko |
| Alexandre Texier | Cole Sillinger | Jack Roslovic |
| Justin Danforth | Sean Kuraly | Mathieu Olivier |
| Zach Werenski | Adam Boqvist |
| Ivan Provorov | Damon Severson |
| Jake Bean | Erik Gudbranson |
| Elvis Merzlikins |
| Daniil Tarasov |
Tampa Bay Lightning
| Steven Stamkos | Brayden Point | Nikita Kucherov |
| Nick Paul | Anthony Cirelli | Brandon Hagel |
| Michael Eyssimont | Tyler Motte | Conor Sheary |
| Austin Watson | Luke Glendening | Mitchell Chaffee |
| Victor Hedman | Darren Raddysh |
| Emil Martinsen-Lilleberg | Erik Cernak |
| Calvin De Haan | Nick Perbix |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy |
| Jonas Johansson |