Gameday Guide: Feb. 24 at Florida

For today's game preview, we wrote about how the Blue Jackets have overcome adversity and injuries of late to post their best stretch of the season.
And Thursday brought another blow with the news All-Star defenseman Zach Werenski did not travel with the team with the team on this two-game road trip, which begins tonight with a matchup against Florida.

He'll join regulars Alexandre Texier, Eric Robinson and Jake Bean out of the lineup
tonight as Columbus takes on a Florida team
that has flummoxed them all season, but the mentality remains a next player up belief that the team can still get the job done.
"We've had a lot of this happening here, so it's not unique to our team," head coach Brad Larsen said. "It's happening throughout the whole league."

3 Keys to the Game

A strong start: The last thing you want to do against Florida is play from behind, as the Jackets have had to do in both matchups this year. The Panthers have a goal in the first minute of each of the first two matchups, so getting into the game will be key.
Stay with them: Florida can score with the best of them, but Columbus has been filling up the net recently with 18 goals in the past three games. The best way to beat the Panthers might be by simply outscoring them.
Help out the goalie: The Blue Jackets will again turn to Jean-Francois Berube, who is 2-0 this season. He's gotten a lot of help from his friends the first two games.

Notable

With a 4-3 win over Toronto on Tuesday night in Nationwide Arena, Columbus has won eight of 10 overall. With 46 goals in that span, the Blue Jackets have set a franchise record for tallies in a 10-game stretch. … Patrik Laine has stayed red hot, extending his point streak to 10 games with two more goals against the Maple Leafs to become just the fourth CBJ player in team history to reach that mark. He has a 12-8-20 line in those contests, eight multipoint games and five multigoal games in that span. He is also tied for the NHL lead with three overtime goals. … Forward Brendan Gaunce notched his first three-goal game ever in the NHL vs. Buffalo on Sunday and followed it up with another goal Tuesday against Toronto … Oliver Bjorkstrand is two goals from 100 in his CBJ/NHL career. … CBJ captain Boone Jenner has 21 goals on the season and six points (2-4-6) in his last three wo games. Jenner also boasts an 9-11-20 line in the last 18 games, and his 142 goals in a CBJ sweater are tied with former captain Nick Foligno for third-most in team history. ... Gustav Nyquist has a 9-12-21 line in the last 22 games. He also has four shorthanded goals on the season, tied for first in the NHL with Florida's Aleksandar Barkov and Anaheim's Isac Lundestrom. … After notching his 200th career assist Sunday night, Max Domi is one goal from 100 and one point from 300 in his NHL career. … With his 10th goal of the season Tuesday vs. Toronto, Adam Boqvist became just the sixth CBJ defenseman to reach double digits in goals in a season. … Columbus has killed off 47 of 53 opponent power-play chances over the last 18 games (88.7 percent). … The Blue Jackets have trailed in 16 of their 26 wins this year and have seven wins when trailing after two periods, the most in the NHL. ... Coumbus is an NHL-best 9-1 this year in extra time (6-0 in OT, 3-1 in shootouts). … Defenseman Andrew Peeke will be playing near his hometown of Parkland, Fla. … Columbus is 1-7-2 in 10 matchups against Florida the past two seasons, being outscored 48-22 in that span.

Projected Lineup

(Subject to change)
Patrik Laine - Boone Jenner - Jakub Voracek
Gus Nyquist - Cole Sillinger - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Max Domi - Sean Kuraly - Yegor Chinakhov
Brendan Gaunce - Jack Roslovic - Justin Danforth
Vladislav Gavrikov - Andrew Peeke
Dean Kukan - Adam Boqvist
Gavin Bayreuther - Gabriel Carlsson
Jean Francois-Berube (confirmed starter)
Jet Greaves
Scratches:Emil Bemstrom, Jake Christiansen, Zach Werenski (upper body, day to day)
Injured Reserve:Elvis Merzlikins (lower-body, day to day); Joonas Korpisalo (lower body, day to day); Daniil Tarasov (hip surgery; out for season); Alexandre Texier (fractured finger; out four weeks as of Jan. 27), Jake Bean (groin strain; out four weeks as of Jan. 30); Eric Robinson (knee; out six weeks as of Jan. 31)
Roster Report:Carlsson going in for Werenski will be the only change against the Panthers.

This Day in CBJ History

Feb. 24, 2007: Columbus scores two shorthanded goals in a game for the first time in team history to overcome a 2-0 deficit to beat the New York Rangers 3-2 at Madison Square Garden. Jason Chimera's goal at 11:02 of the second period tied the game at 2-2 and Rick Nash's tally just 4:52 later is the game-winner.
Feb. 24, 2018: Columbus posts a 3-2 win over Chicago at Nationwide Arena thanks to Josh Anderson's third-period goal, starting a franchise record-tying eight-game home winning streak that would run through March 22.
Feb. 24, 2020: Emil Bemstrom scores in overtime as the Blue Jackets earn a 4-3 win over Ottawa in Nationwide Arena.