The Blue Jackets are back in action tonight, hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning at Nationwide Arena. Another very elite team comes to town, and both teams might be in a bit of a bad mood.
The Lightning lost in overtime last night in Detroit, by a 2-1 final. This dropped their record to 1-2-2 (4 points) on the season, certainly not the kind of start they are accustomed to.
Like the Blue Jackets, the Bolts seem to be trying to discover their game early this season. In their five games played, they've given up 4 or more goals in three of them.
But, those were the first three games of their season. In the last two games, they've only allowed 5 goals - with 2 of them coming in overtime. Their issue of late has been finding offense, with just 3 in their opponents' net.
Meanwhile, the Jackets are expected to come out and play their best game of the entire season, in just their fifth game of the year. That's not a dramatic statement - Dean Evason said as much yesterday:
Today was definitely a work day for #CBJ -- not a lot of chatter during practice after last night's loss in which Dean Evason didn't like his team's compete level. Mathieu Olivier: "That's perfect. That's what the team needed."
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) October 17, 2025
Evason said he expects a response from his team…
I certainly hope that's the case, because this CBJ team never found its game on Thursday night against Colorado. Another loss like that tonight, and this season might just be slipping away before it really gets going.
The opponents:
Despite their sluggish start, the Lightning are still one of the most elite teams in the NHL. Through 5 games, they're led in scoring by Jake Guentzel (1g, 4a) and Brayden Point (2g, 3a) with 5 points apiece.
They still have Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov, Brandon Hagel, and a wealth of other talent, including former Blue Jacket Oliver Bjorkstrand. Here is a look at how they will likely line up.
The good news for the Jackets is, they may not have to face Andrei Vasilevskiy. He played last night in Detroit. One traditional weak spot for the Lightning is their backup position, though Jonas Johansson was solid and picked up Tampa Bay's lone win in his only start so far.
The good guys:
Dean Evason put the Jackets into a line blender at practice after Thursday's abysmal performance. As a result, it looks like we're going to see the reunion of Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson on the second line (finally). They'll be joined by Boone Jenner if this holds true:
Lines/pairs as #CBJ start drills today (perhaps a notable look on D):
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) October 17, 2025
Voronkov-Monahan-Marchenko
Jenner-Fantilli-Johnson
Sillinger-Coyle-Olivier
ZAR-Lundeström-Chinakhov
Werenski-Mateychuk
Provorov-Severson
Christiansen-Fabbro
The other notable change is Denton Mateychuk joining Zach Werenski on the top pair. I'm really excited to see how these two play off of each other tonight, they have been the team's two most consistent defensemen so far this season.
One gripe: why are they still trying to force that Ivan Provorov - Damon Severson second pairing? Last year, Severson played very well with Jake Christiansen early in the season.
Putting those two together and trying Ivan Provorov with Dante Fabbro seems more logical to me. I'll be watching to see if that's an in-game adjustment that gets made tonight.
Expect the team to continue their starting goaltender rotation, until someone proves they either do or do not deserve the reins. That means we should see Jet Greaves tonight.
Good morning. Welcome to the weekend. #CBJ running an optional this morning in advance of tonight’s game against the Lightning.
— Mark Scheig (@mark_scheig) October 18, 2025
Jet Greaves is working in the home net and is your projected starter.
Three keys to success:
1. Compete. I can't believe I'm having to say this with this team this season. Especially not this early. But, here we are. They have got to compete on every puck tonight, or they will get burned by another elite team. That can't happen for the second straight game at home.
2. Quick start. The Lightning played last night, so they will be ready for this game. They're a veteran team, and they will not ease into this one. The Jackets have to get on their game early and try to get a lead.
3. Find secondary chances. Stealing this one from our last preview, because it still holds true. For the love of all things mighty, can we find a greasy goal that actually counts? Bury a rebound. Get an ugly deflection. Shoot a puck off of someone's shin pads.
Just find a way to score a goal off of an in-zone play for a change!
The Jackets will be celebrating their inaugural team for their 25th Anniversary season tonight. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00, but if you're going, get there early. If you aren't going, you can catch the game via all of the usual methods.