Game Preview: Blue Jackets, Flyers Meet Again As Columbus Concludes Three Straight Home-And-Homes

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

22–37–11 (55 points; .393%)

7:00 P.M. – THURSDAY, APRIL 7TH NATIONWIDE ARENA COLUMBUS, OH

Bally Sports Ohio ESPN+ (Out of Network)

The Philadelphia Flyers were the medicine the Columbus Blue Jackets sorely needed for a boost of confidence.

After dropping seven straight games — four of them in one-goal fashion — the Blue Jackets traveled to the City of Brotherly Love earlier in the week and picked up a 4-2 win against their division rivals.

The victory put Columbus back above .500, and at 33-32-6 with just eleven games left in the season, finishing with a winning record is a legitimate possibility. For a franchise that was expected to be at or near the bottom of the standings, finishing at (or above) .500 would be the icing on the cake of a better-than-expected season. 

The Blue Jackets have a chance to go two games ahead in the win column Thursday night when Philadelphia and Columbus meet again. The scene shifts to Nationwide Arena for this one, as the teams conclude a home-and-home and the Blue Jackets wrap up three consecutive home-and-homes. 

RE: FLYERS

Despite the loss, Philadelphia had 49 shots on goal Tuesday. That's only the third time they have went above the 40 shot mark this season, and was the most they've had in any game this season by a fairly wide margin — the previous high was 43. Shot quality is always more important than quantity though, and the proof is in the pudding: The Flyers have five or more goals in eight games this season, and the most shots they've had in any of those games is 34. Meanwhile, in the 11 games they've fired at least 37 shots on goal, they've scored more than three goals only once (a 4-3 overtime win) and have a 3-5-3 record in those games. 

The Flyers will have one significant change in the lineup from Tuesday's game: Martin Jones will be between the pipes. The 32-year-old veteran has struggling this season, posting a 3.38 goals against and a .902 save percentage in 26 starts with the Flyers.

STORYLINES

• MIGHTY MEYER
  After playing just 3:16 in his NHL debut Monday against the Bruins, Carson Meyer saw over nine minutes of action the next night in Philadelphia and picked up his first career goal and assist in the Blue Jackets victory. As Bally Sports analyst Jody Shelley pointed out during the broadcast, Meyer is the first Columbus-born NHL'er to score his first big-league goal as a member of the Blue Jackets. That's really cool. Meyer is expected back in the lineup Thursday — can he pick up career goal #2 in front of the home crowd?
   
• ALSO MIGHTY: MERZLY
  Elvis Merzlikins was fantastic Tuesday, stopping 47 of 49 shots in a game that the Flyers probably should have won. It was the first time Elvis made more than 40 saves in a win in all 47 starts this season and the most saves he's made in a victory in his NHL career. With head coach Brad Larsen saying that Merzlikins is expected to start the final eleven games of the season, the Columbus netminder has a chance to end a tough season on a high note.

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