Game #65 preview, the Blue Jackets hope for a brighter night in south Florida

The Blue Jackets make their final stop in Florida this season, taking on the Panthers tonight. They will look to steal a much needed two points from the back-to-back defending Stanley Cup Champions, who are falling out of the playoff race.

We were pleasantly surprised by the effort the Blue Jackets put forth in their last game, winning 5-2 in Tampa Bay on Tuesday night. The Jackets dominated the game at 5 on 5 and smothered the Lightning late, cruising to the big win.

They will need a similar type of effort tonight. The Panthers may be down in the standings. They may have a lot of guys out of the lineup. But, this is still that hungry, competitive team with a championship pedigree. They would love to spoil the mood of the Blue Jackets tonight.

The Opponent

The Panthers look to be showing signs of fatigue. Three straight trips to the Stanley Cup Finals have taken their toll, and as a result, some of their very best players have missed a lot of time this season.

Captain Aleksander Barkov has missed the entire year so far, after suffering tears in his ACL and MCL before the season. They have only gotten 17 games from Matthew Tkachuk, and 40 games from Seth Jones. With so many guys having injuries pile up, we might have to wait until game time to see what the Florida lineup might look like.

They are led in scoring by Sam Reinhart, who has 28 goals and 59 points to lead the way. Their second leading scorer is Brad Marchand, and he will definitely not play tonight (out week-to-week).

Still, I am far from writing this game off as an easy win for the Blue Jackets. No matter who is in the lineup for the Panthers, they are going to compete hard, and they still have enough talent to beat any team in the league. If the Jackets aren't ready to play, they will get burned tonight.

In goal, the Panthers feature two former Blue Jackets. Sergei Bobrovsky was not dealt at the trade deadline. He remains a Panther for now, as his agent tries to agree to a new contract extension. Backing him up is Daniil Tarasov.

The Jackets have faced each of them once this season, scoring 6 on Bobrovsky in a losing effort back on December 6th; and 4 on Tarasov as they won last Thursday. Hopefully they can find another 5 goals tonight and maintain that average, regardless who is in net. And keep the Panthers under 5.

Update: it will be Bobrovsky.

The Good Guys

After a very inspiring performance on Tuesday night, it's hard to imagine any major lineup changes for the Blue Jackets ahead of this one. The team got positive contributions from all four lines on their way to a big win against the Lightning.

It sounds like Elvis Merzlikins earned a second consecutive start with his effort in that game. He made some big saves in key moments, especially on those two late second period power-plays.

The top two lines looked very good, scoring four goals in the win. Meanwhile, Zach Werenski started looking like his usual self, picking up two assists and playing nearly 23 minutes.

It's pretty simple: if they play like that each and every night, they can beat any team in the league. Let's hope they stick to that game plan tonight.

Update: Merzlikins does appear to have the crease, and early line indications show Dmitri Voronkov coming back into the lineup in place of Danton Heinen.

Three Keys to Success

1. Weather the storm. The Panthers win games with momentum swings. The Blue Jackets have a tendency to lose games with momentum swings. Bending without breaking when the home team starts buzzing around is vital.

2. Get a push in the man advantage department. Same key as last week: the Panthers get the most power-play opportunities in the league. The Blue Jackets get the fewest. Can they avoid having a large gap in these chances tonight?

3. Keep rolling. Tuesday night's game was a 10/10, no notes kind of effort from this team. If not for a deflection and a softie from their own goaltender, that was a 5-0 hockey game from start to finish. Play like that again tonight, no matter what the other team does.

Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:00 Eastern time from Ft Lauderdale. The Blue Jackets have no won a game there in more than four years. Hopefully they can change that tonight. Let's go Jackets!