PREVIEW: Jackets finish long road trip with Sunday night game in Tampa

BLUE JACKETS (15-25-9) at LIGHTNING (31-14-2)

"I am tired of losing the game," Merzlikins said
among other heartfelt comments
. "I know we are trying, but this is getting embarrassing. It is what it is. I am trying to be honest with you guys. It's painful."
The Blue Jackets knew they'd be in for a tough stretch run when they traded veterans Nick Foligno, David Savard and Riley Nash and shut down veterans Gus Nyquist, Boone Jenner and Zach Werenski with injuries, but living through the reality has been perhaps more difficult than anyone imagined.
With that in mind, head coach John Tortorella said the Jackets have tried to keep things light as much as possible, as there's no reason to make things feel worse. Saturday's practice was an example of that, touching on a few things within the team's concept before the Jackets played competitive small-ice games.
"I want the players to try to enjoy some of the time that is left here, so we are trying to act accordingly here," Tortorella said. "My shift in mind-set has gone that way. They don't deserve to be grinded. As much as the year that we've had has been a very bad year, I am not going to double it up and grind them through this here."
Right now, the biggest problem for the Blue Jackets has been a lack of offense, something that's perhaps not a surprise when you take five forwards and one of the top offensive defensemen in the NHL out of the lineup. The margin of error is so thin that mistakes or fluke plays can make the difference, something that happened Thursday night when the Lightning used a turnover in the neutral zone and a goal seconds after a missed penalty to take the win over Columbus.
"We played a good hockey game the other night," Tortorella said. "The past two out of three, we have played a couple of really good hockey games. We just can't score. We are trying to keep it loose, trying to keep it with some energy."
Know the Foe
Down two of the top players in the NHL at the moment in forwards Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov, the Lightning are trying to catch Carolina and Florida down the stretch, currently holding third place in the Central Division with a 7-8-0 record in the last 15 games.
The Lightning's 3-1 win over Columbus on Thursday stemmed the bleeding, but the Bolts have been struggling a bit down the stretch, being outscored by an average mark of 3.20-2.60 per contest in that 15-game span.
Still, this remains one of the best teams in the league, a Stanley Cup contender again with 31 wins in the first 47 games. The Lightning are place in the top 10 in scoring (3.30 goals per game, fifth in the league) and team defense (2.57 goals per game, seventh in the NHL) while also boasting top-10 power-play and penalty-kill units.
Victor Hedman is one of the rare near point-per-game players from the blue line with 42 points in 47 games (eight goals, 34 assists) to place second in the NHL in scoring among defensemen, while Jackets killer Brayden Point is right behind with a 20-19-39 line. Ondrej Palat also has 39 points on 13 goals and 26 helpers, while the injured Stamkos has 17-17-34. Yanni Gourde adds 16-16-32, while Alex Killorn has 12 goals, Mathieu Joseph has 11 and Blake Coleman reached 10 with two goals Thursday night.
Andrei Vasilevskiy is in the Vezina race yet again with an impressive resume in 36 starts. The 2019 winner of the trophy that goes to the top goalie in the league is 27-8-1 with a 2.08 goals-against average and .930 save percentage.
3 Keys to the Game
Get to Vasy: While Vasilevskiy is one of the top goalies in the league, he's struggled some vs. Columbus, posting a .903 save percentage against the Jackets. It's by far his worst number against any opponent this season.
Find some goals: With just six goals in the last five games, it's no secret the Jackets are having trouble scoring, but you could also argue they're due. Maybe this will be the breakout.
Stay positive: The Blue Jackets have played some decent hockey at times but not been rewarded with the win of late. The team just has been keep battling and one will come down the stretch here.
Of Note
Oliver Bjorkstrand leads the team in goals and points this year with a 15-21-36 line, while Cam Atkinson (14-17-31) and Jack Roslovic (10-20-30) follow. … Roslovic, whose 30 points are a career high, has eight points (4-4-8) in the last nine games. … Atkinson is one point from 400 in his career (212-187-399). … Three players in the projected CBJ lineup (Ryan MacInnis, Josh Dunne and Mikko Lehtonen) are searching for their first NHL goals. … Tortorella has 670 career wins, two behind Mike Keenan for 12th place in NHL history. … Columbus has stopped 42 of 46 power-play chances against (91.3 percent) in the last 18 games. … The game ends a six-game road swing before Columbus plays five of the final six at home. … The Blue Jackets have tallied first in 29 of 49 games but won just 12 of those contests. … Columbus is 3-3-1 this year vs. the Lightning.
Projected Lineup presented by Blue Technologies
(Subject to change)
Eric Robinson - Max Domi - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Patrik Laine - Jack Roslovic - Cam Atkinson
Stefan Matteau - Alexandre Texier - Nathan Gerbe
Ryan MacInnis - Josh Dunne - Mikhail Grigorenko
Michael Del Zotto - Seth Jones
Vladislav Gavrikov - Mikko Lehtonen
Gavin Bayreuther - Dean Kukan
Joonas Korpisalo (confirmed starter)
Elvis Merzlikins
Scratches: Zac Dalpe (paternity), Kevin Stenlund, Kole Sherwood, Gabriel Carlsson, Scott Harrington, Andrew Peeke
Taxi squad: Cliff Pu, Adam Clendening, Matiss Kivlenieks, Cam Johnson
Injured reserve: Gus Nyquist (shoulder, out 5-6 months as of November), Zach Werenski (sports hernia, out for the season), Emil Bemstrom (lower body, rehabbing with a timetable TBD), Boone Jenner (broken finger, out six weeks as of April 7), Brandon Dubinsky (wrist, LTIR).
Roster report:Columbus will make one change to the lineup, inserting Grigorenko for Sherwood, while Korpisalo will start in net.