Game #61 preview, the Blue Jackets will try to tame the cats on home ice

The Blue Jackets play for the last time before the trade deadline, taking on the Florida Panthers tonight at Nationwide Arena. Stop me if you've heard this before: it's a vital two points up for grabs in the standings.

After losing their first two post-Olympic break games, the Jackets have won two in a row. Suddenly, they have 5 points in their last 3 games, and are right back into the playoff race.

Meanwhile, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers seem to finally be running out of steam. They have played a lot of hockey in the preceding three seasons, and that toll seems to be coming at them hard this season.

The Opponent

The Panthers aren't quite out of the playoff race yet, but, they are on life support at this point. They come into tonight's game in 15th place in the Eastern conference, with a 30-28-3 record (63 points). They have just two wins in their last 10 games, and are 10 points back of the last wild card spot-with one more game played than that team.

With that in mind, it will be interesting to see what their lineup looks like tonight. They are already missing two very high end players due to injury (Aleksander Barkov and Seth Jones), but it's possible that they could sit some other guys who could be on the move, to avoid risking injury ahead of the deadline.

That could be the case with future Hall of Fame goaltender (and former Blue Jacket) Sergei Bobrovsky. Another former Jacket (Daniil Tarasov) was in the starter's crease this morning. It's possible that Bob has played his last game in South Florida.

Regardless who the Panthers have in their lineup tonight, this is still a very good team. They are led in scoring by Sam Reinhart, who has 28 goals and 57 points in 61 games. He joined their next two leading scorers for team Canada at the Olympics (Brad Marchand, 27-26-53; Sam Bennett, 22-25-47).

One thing I know: all of those guys are playing tonight, barring any injuries or illnesses that have not yet been announced. They will give the Jackets all they can handle, and they still have some excellent support pieces as well. There are plenty of guys here that won't be traded, and who are still very, very good NHL players.

Tarasov gets his first career start against the Blue Jackets. He has actually put up better numbers than Bobrovsky this season, with an 8-9-2 record, 2.79 goals against average, and .903% save percentage in 19 starts. Worth noting: he doesn't have a shutout yet. You know what that means.

The Good Guys

The Blue Jackets are going to have some game-time decisions. Zach Werenski remains questionable with an illness, and Dante Fabbro also did not skate this morning. That would force Jake Christiansen into the lineup. Here is how they skated this morning:

The good news here, Boone Jenner will return tonight after missing last game due to what the team called maintenance-and then a lower-body injury. Jet Greaves will start in goal for the second consecutive game.

Hopefully one of Werenski or Fabbro can go tonight. This team needs all the help they can get right now, if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Islanders took a big loss last night, so there is an opportunity to gain some ground.

Three Keys to Success

1. Get a push in the penalty department. I'm leading off with this one. The first time these two teams played was an absolute clown show as far as the officiating was concerned. We didn't think it was funny. The Jackets need to keep the penalties at least close to even tonight, if they want to win.

Side note: the Panthers lead the league in power-play opportunities (222), with players such as Brad Marchand, Sam Bennett, and Matthew Tkachuk on the roster. Strange. Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets are dead last-with 79 fewer opportunities (143).

2. Defend your own goal better. Both goals from the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night, were scored because the Blue Jackets got out-worked in front of their own net. That's an easy thing to clean up, and there's no excuse for that to happen again tonight.

3. Grit it out. We know how this Florida team is going to play. They are a proud group with a championship pedigree. The Blue Jackets need to match their intensity and physicality tonight, or they will get steam-rolled.

Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:00 Eastern Time from Nationwide. This is the second of three matchups between these two teams, with the Panthers winning the first one 7-6 back on December 6th. They will meet again one week from tonight, back in South Florida. Let's go Jackets!