Tuesday, March 4, 2025 – 7:00 PM EST
Amalie Arena – Tampa, Florida
TV: FDSNOH; Radio: 93.3 FM
Opponent’s Site: Raw Charge
Columbus Blue Jackets (30-22-8, 68 points, 4th Metro, 7th East)
at
Tampa Bay Lightning (35-21-4, 74 points, 3rd Atlantic, 4th East)
After a triumphant win under the lights at Ohio Stadium on Saturday, the Blue Jackets have departed on their final four-game road trip of the season. First up: two games in the Sunshine State.
Player to Watch
Brandon Hagel
When Tampa gave up two first round picks for Hagel in 2022, I thought they were crazy. He was in just his second full-time NHL season and wasn’t yet a proven scorer. Then, in his first full season in Tampa, he hit the 30 goal mark. That earned him an 8 year, $6.5M AAV early extension from Tampa, which again felt like a risk given his relative lack of experience. He rewarded their trust with 26/49/75 in 82 games last season. Now, in the first year of the long term deal, he’s already at 30/38/68 in just 59 games. He has gone from solid depth player to a genuine secondary threat behind the Guentzel/Point/Kucherov line. He also earned himself a spot on Team Canada for the 4 Nations Face-off, along with linemate Anthony Cirelli, to serve on coach Jon Cooper’s fourth line.
Jackets Notes
Yegor Chinakhov practiced yesterday, taking line rushes with Boone Jenner and Kent Johnson. If he feels OK today, he could make his return to the lineup as soon as tonight.
The Other Bench
Tampa lost last night on the opposite side of the state, 2-1. That snapped an 8 game win streak and 10 game point streak.
Season Series
11/21/2024 TBL 6 @ CBJ 7 (OT)
12/17/2024 CBJ 3 @ TBL 5
03/04/2024 CBJ @ TBL
Stats
| Tampa Bay | Columbus | |
| 3.56 (2) | GPG | 3.35 (5) |
| 2.63 (6) | GAPG | 3.25 (25) |
| 27.3 (4) | PP% | 21.6 (17) |
| 81.1 (8) | PK% | 75.3 (25) |
| 49.7 (16) | 5v5 Shot Attempt % | 47.6 (29) |
| 49.5 (19) | 5v5 Unblocked Shot Attempt % | 48.0 (24) |
| 9.7 (5) | 5v5 Shooting % | 10.5 (3) |
| 92.6 (3) | 5v5 Save % | 90.9 (19) |
| Brayden Point, 31 | G Leader | Kirill Marchenko, 24 |
| Nikita Kucherov, 60 | A Leader | Zach Werenski, 46 |
| Nikita Kucherov, 87 | P Leader | Zach Werenski, 64 |
| Emil Lilleberg, 78 | PIM Leader | Mathieu Olivier, 99 |
| 21-7-2 | Home/Road | 10-16-4 |
| 8-1-1 | Last 10 | 6-3-1 |
Projected Lineups
Columbus Blue Jackets
| Dmitri Voronkov | Adam Fantilli | Kirill Marchenko |
| Yegor Chinakhov | Boone Jenner | Kent Johnson |
| Zach Aston-Reese | Justin Danforth | Mathieu Olivier |
| James van Riemsdyk | Sean Kuraly | Joseph LaBate |
| Zach Werenski | Dante Fabbro |
| Denton Mateychuk | Ivan Provorov |
| Jake Christiansen | Damon Severson |
| Elvis Merzlikins |
| Daniil Tarasov |
Tampa Bay Lightning
| Jake Guentzel | Brayden Point | Nikita Kucherov |
| Brandon Hagel | Anthony Cirelli | Zemgus Girgensons |
| Mitchell Chaffee | Nick Paul | Gage Goncalves |
| Michael Eyssimont | Luke Glendening | Nick Perbix |
| Victor Hedman | J.J. Moser |
| Ryan McDonagh | Erik Cernak |
| Emil Lilleberg | Darren Raddysh |
| Jonas Johansson |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy |