The Florida Panthers are just now hosting their home opener. NHL scheduling can be odd sometimes.
In the second road game of the season, the Blue Jackets will take on the Panthers, who they just edged out for a wild card spot in the playoffs last season.
The Blue Jackets bounced back from a tough opening night loss to the Carolina Hurricanes with a convincing 5-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night. The biggest questions after Friday night seemed to be lack of scoring, defensive lapses, and Sergei Bobrovsky's performance (well, sort of).
He was much better on Tuesday, but John Tortorella told reporters Thursday that Joonas Korpisalo will start against the Panthers.
All of those were answered soundly against the Avalanche, and the Blue Jackets hope to carry that momentum as they begin their mini-coastal road trip.
Projected Lineup
Forwards:
Panarin – Dubois – Atkinson
Foligno – Wennberg – Duclair
Jenner – Nash – Anderson
Milano – Sedlak – Bjorkstrand
Defensemen:
Werenski – Savard
Murray – Nutivaara
Harrington – Clendening
In Net:
Korpisalo
Storylines
- Blue Jackets' defenseman Gabriel Carlsson has been assigned to the Cleveland Monsters (AHL), giving a little more clarity that Scott Harrington and Adam Clendening will have the last defensive pair locked up until Seth Jones returns.
- John Tortorella told 97.1 The Fan that forward Anthony Duclair will be starting on the team's first power play unit against the Panthers. Duclair has certainly been given his fair share of responsibility thus far; will he continue to rise to the occasion?
- The Panthers are one of four teams who have only played one game thus far, with the Blue Jackets already at three. Will the couple game difference allow the Jackets to jump out front early?
- Florida struggled out of the gate last season, but made a late-season surge for the playoffs, similar to the Jackets. Ultimately the Panthers fell short of the postseason by two points, partially due to a loss against Columbus in late March. This might be in the back of their mind still.
- Panthers' starting goaltender Roberto Luongo will be out 2-4 weeks with a knee injury from their opening game, leaving the door open for James Reimer to be between the pipes.
