Scouting Report: Florida Heads to the Frigid North to Take on Columbus at Nationwide Arena

Columbus Blue Jackets (23-16-3) vs. Florida Panthers (17-18-5)

JANUARY 7, 2018, 5 p.m. (NATIONWIDE ARENA)

What should be a five-game road swing for the Florida Panthers – who probably wouldn't mind being in Miami right now given the cold snap that has covered the country – is now a four-game swing.

That frigid weather was accompanied by a bomb cyclone that hit the northeast starting Thursday, when Florida was scheduled to play Boston. So that game was postponed until later this year, and Florida hit the road to Detroit, where the team fell Friday by a 4-2 score.

It was a second straight loss after five consecutive wins moved the Panthers into a fourth-place tie in the Atlantic Division, though a wild-card berth seems unlikely at best given the strength of the Metro.

Still, Florida has points in 10 of the last 15 games and outshot the Wings 40-19, suggesting the team was hard done by that result in the Motor City.

“We had our chances,” Panthers coach Bob Boughner told reporters in Detroit. “We had 2-on-1s and 3-on-2s and on our power play, I thought we executed well. We had chances. Howard was good and we got to bear down.”

You Oughta Know: James Reimer

If you don't know him, you likely will on Sunday night as Reimer has started 13 consecutive games and played in 15 in a row while Roberto Luongo is out with injury. Reimer is 5-2-0 in his last seven starts, and in his last nine starts, he boasts a .938 save percentage and has allowed 18 goals for a goals-against of below 2.00. The 29-year-old from Manitoba seems to be playing some of the best hockey in his career in his second year in Florida after beginning his career with Toronto and then a cup of coffee in San Jose.

Fast Facts

• Reaching eighth all-time in consecutive games played during the 2016-17 season, defenseman Keith Yandle is set to play in his 674th consecutive game tonight.
• Jonathan Huberdeau has scored five goals over his last six games. Huberdeau has tallied 14 goals this season, with a team-leading 11 of those goals being scored at even-strength. He also has 16 primary assists, first on the team.
• Florida is just 4-10-3 when outshooting its opponent but 12-8-2 when being outshot.

Previous Matchups

THIS YEAR: Second matchup; Columbus won 7-3 in Sunrise on Nov. 2
ALL TIME SERIES: Columbus is 16-7-0-2 

Keys to the Game

ONE: Score first. Florida is 11-5-2 this year when scoring first and 6-13-3 when not. Considering the scoring slump the Blue Jackets are in, getting one on the board early could be the kind of thing that can open the floodgates.

TWO: We always come back to the power play but Florida enters with a red-hot penalty kill that has allowed five goals in the last 20 games. One of those goals came Friday in Detroit, so Columbus will want to try to build up some momentum there.

THREE: Reimer reason. The goaltender is hot right now but has struggled the past two seasons vs. the Jackets. Despite his strong play of late, his GAA is still above three, and Columbus will try to knock him off his game early.

Panthers Projected Lineup