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PHILADELPHIA FLYERS TUESDAY, JAN. 14 7:00 P.M. NATIONWIDE ARENA COLUMBUS, OH |
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The Columbus Blue Jackets can end a five-year drought Tuesday night.
That's how long it's been — almost to the week — since the Blue Jackets last won five straight games.
The club won six straight over a stretch between Jan. 11th and Jan. 22nd, 2020.
But a win over the Philadelphia Flyers tonight would make it W5 for Columbus as they continue to hold down the second wild card spot in a busy Eastern Conference.
Daniil Tarasov will tend the twine for Columbus, making his first start for the Blue Jackets since December 28th. It's not been good for Tarasov this season, as the 25-year-old has a goals against average of 4.23 and a save percentage of .857.
Overall, the last six games started by Tarasov have resulted in losses from Columbus. Tarasov's last win with the team was October 22nd, in just the second full week of the season. Only two of his ten starts this season have been labeled as a quality start based on the metrics at Hockey Reference.
Tarasov played with the AHL's Cleveland Monsters on Friday and Saturday night as part of a conditioning assignment. He struggled Friday night, allowing five goals, but was much better Saturday night, giving up just one. He had a .908 save percentage in the two games.
The Blue Jackets will need the Saturday version of Tarasov against the Flyers.
Here's what else to know Columbus and Philadelphia meet for the final time until the penultimate game of the regular season:
| PHI | SEASON STATS | CBJ | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9-9-4 | ROAD / HOME | 14-5-3 | ||
| t-13th | 3.02 | GOALS FOR | 3.40 | 5th |
| t-29th | 3.45 | GOALS AGAINST | 3.51 | 31st |
| t-27th | 16.8% | POWER PLAY | 24.1% | t-9th |
| t-20th | 78.3% | PENALTY KILL | 73.4% | t-26th |
| t-19th | 27.7 | SHOTS FOR | 30.0 | t-6th |
| t-6th | 26.5 | SHOTS AGAINST | 29.1 | 21st |
| 15th | 50.8% | FACE-OFFS | 48.2% | 27th |
| PHILADELPHIA: LAST THREE GAMES | ||||
| THU, 1/9 | vs. Stars | L, 4-1 | ||
| SAT, 1/11 | vs. Ducks | W, 6-0 | ||
| MON, 1/13 | vs. Panthers | W, 4-3 | ||
| PHILADELPHIA: TEAM LEADERS | ||||
| GOALS | Travis Konecny | 20 | ||
| ASSISTS | Travis Konecny | 30 | ||
| POINTS | Travis Konecny | 50 | ||
| ODDS & PROJECTIONS | ||||
| CBJ WIN PER MONEYPUCK: | 49% | |||
| CBJ ODDS PER ESPNBET: | -110 | |||
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RE: FLYERS
The second half of the back-to-back comes after a 4-3 win against Sergei Bobrovsky and the Florida Panthers on Monday night. The Flyers scored three times in the third for the come-from-behind victory. Overall, this will be their third game in four nights. ... Ivan Fedotov looks to be in net for the Flyers tonight. He's tall. Like, really tall. The 6'8" goalie has an .874 save percentage and 3.40 goals against average in 12 starts this season. ... Be careful about giving Philadelphia a man-advantage. Their power play is only 27th for the season, but they connected on two power play goals in each of their last two games. It's hot.
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GOOD AT HOME & GOOD AT SCORING
The Blue Jackets have points in 13 of their last 15 games at Nationwide Arena, going 10-2-3 in that span. They also lead the league in goals on home ice (92), in part because of a 31.0% power-play clip.
The hot play on home ice has helped orchestrate 146 total goals this season, which is the most goals scored through the first 43 games in franchise history. The Blue Jackets are also running a top ten power play right now, checking in tied for 9th at 24.1% on the season.
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PAYBACK.
The Flyers are behind the Blue Jackets in the standings... but not by much. Just three points separate the two teams. The lead could be much larger. Philadelphia beat Columbus in each of their first two meetings this season, both in December. The loss Dec. 21st was particularly painful, squandering three leads in the third period en route to an overtime loss. Columbus needs the mind of an elephant in this one: never forget.
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LINEUPS & PROJECTIONS
Almost identical to Saturday, the only change being Tarasov in place of Greaves. Elvis Merzlikins will back him up. Here are the complete projections:
| LW | C | RW | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Dmitri Voronkov | 19 | Adam Fantilli | 86 | Kirill Marchenko |
| 21 | James van Riemsdyk | 4 | Cole Sillinger | 91 | Kent Johnson |
| 27 | Zach Aston-Reese | 65 | Luca Del Bel Belluz | 24 | Mathieu Olivier |
| 82 | Mikael Pyyhtia | 7 | Sean Kuraly | 62 | Kevin Labanc |
| LD | RD | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Zach Werenski | 15 | Dante Fabbro |
| 5 | Denton Mateychuk | 9 | Ivan Provorov |
| 2 | Jake Christiansen | 78 | Damon Severson |
| Starting Goalie | Back-Up | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | Daniil Tarasov | 90 | Elvis Merzlikins |
