Game Preview: Blue Jackets, Panthers Meet Thursday Night With Plenty On The Line For Florida

FLORIDA PANTHERS

49-24-6 (104 pts; .658%) 2nd, Atlantic Division ROSTER SCHEDULE

7:00 P.M. – THURSDAY, APRIL 11 AMERAMNT BANK ARENA SUNRISE, FL

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

Following consecutive three-goal losses to start their final road trip of the season, the Columbus Blue Jackets will hope to bounce back Thursday night when they face the Florida Panthers.

It'll be a tall task — the defending Eastern Conference champions have been amongst the best in the league throughout the season, and they still have plenty to play for; more on that below.

For the Blue Jackets, it's one of three games that remain in an extremely tough ending to an extremely tough season. They'll conclude their road trip in Nashville this weekend before the home finale Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Columbus is locked into the 4th-worst record in the NHL standings.

Here's what else to know when the Blue Jackets and Panthers hit the ice in south Florida:

TALKING POINTS: FLA

• This is a huge game for the Panthers. They are three points behind the Boston Bruins for the top spot in the Atlantic Division, with both teams having three games remaining. But they're also just three points ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have four games left and is Florida's opponent in the season finale. There is a good chance that we see a Leafs-Panthers matchup in the first round of the playoffs, but which team has home ice is still far from decided. Florida has to view Thursday's game as a must-have two points.
   
• The Panthers offensive attack is a four-headed monster: Sam Reinhart, Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov, and Carter Verhaeghe all have 20+ goals, 35+ assists, and 70+ points. Reinhart has 53 goals, which is 20 more than he had in any of his previous nine years in the NHL. Only Auston Matthews, with 66, has scored more than Reinhart this season.

TALKING POINTS: CBJ

• Columbus is locked into the fourth-worst record in the NHL, becoming the first team in the NHL to be locked into their lottery position. They will have a 9.5% chance of winning the lottery, a 9.5% chance of drafting two, a 15.4% chance of selecting fourth, a 44.6% chance of owning the 5th spot, and a 20.8% chance of falling to sixth.
   
• Zach Werenski needs one more assist to break the club record for assists in a season by a defenseman. He tied James Wisniewski on Tuesday night with his 44th assist. With 53 points, Werenski is also just four points behind Seth Jones single-season record for points by a defenseman, set in the 2017-18 season.
   
• Lines are based on Tuesday's game and are subject to change: