Game Preview: On Home Ice For The First Time In Weeks, Blue Jackets Face Lightning Saturday Night At Nationwide Arena

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

27-20-5 (59 pts; .567%) 4th, Atlantic Division ROSTER SCHEDULE

7:00 P.M. – SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10 NATIONWIDE ARENA COLUMBUS, OH

TELEVISION: Bally Sports Ohio ESPN+ Power Play (Out of Market)

It's been 11 days since the last Columbus Blue Jackets game. 

It's been even longer since they've allowed a goal.

Elvis Merzlikins made 21 saves and the Blue Jackets recorded their first shutout in over two calendar years in a 1-0 victory over the St. Louis Blues all the way back on Tuesday, January 30th. The game concluded a five-game road trip in which the Blue Jackets went 2-2-1 heading into the All-Star Break.

The second (and shorter) half of the season begins Saturday, when Columbus faces the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second of three meetings on the schedule. It's a one-off for the Blue Jackets at home, who hit the road for four games and will be away from the 5th Line for nearly two weeks following the game.

Here's what else to know when the Blue Jackets and Lightning drop the puck at Nationwide Arena:

TALKING POINTS: TB

• These aren't the Lightning of years ago. Age and the salary cap have caught up to them, and they're clinging to one of the two wildcard spots in the Eastern Conference — with most teams they're fighting having played at least one fewer game.
   
• They do still have the Nikita Kucherov of years ago, though. The forward has picked up at least one point in six straight games, has 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in his last ten games, and has more 3+ point games (13) than no-point games (10) this season. It likely goes without saying that Kucherov leads the NHL in points, with 87. 
   
• Even with Kuch playing like a man possessed, the Lightning have been outscored 9-3 in a pair of losses post-break; they fell 3-1 to the Rangers and 6-2 to the Islanders on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. This will be their third game in four nights, and Tampa has struggled away from Amalie Arena, posting a record of 10-15-2. 

TALKING POINTS: CBJ

• How do the Blue Jackets follow a shutout performance? Who knows? Last Tuesday's blanking of the Blues was Columbus' first shutout in 179 games and 747 days. A week and a half off only adds to the unpredictable nature of Saturday's affair at Nationwide, but this much is true: Columbus handled the Lightning pretty well in their first meeting of the season, a 4-2 Blue Jackets victory in November. 
   
• The 21 shots Columbus allowed in St. Louis was the fewest they've given up in a game all season, and one of just three times in the season's 50 games they've allowed less than 25. They play a slower and more deliberate game on the road, it seems: the Blue Jackets have allowed at least 27 shots on goal in every home game this season.
   
• Projected lineups for Saturday's game...