PREVIEW: Blue Jackets host Flyers in key Metro matchup

If there was any worry the Blue Jackets might have lost a little momentum with their unscheduled snow day Monday, Rick Bowness attacked that when his team stepped on the ice yesterday for practice.

In a move that brought some energy to the proceedings right away, the CBJ head coach had players on the team go through a mini-game playing with their off-handed sticks. Lefthanders became righties, righthanders became southpaws and the team had a good laugh before getting down to business.

There are a few lessons that can be learned from the drill about rolling with the punches – as well as a comfort that returns when the correct sticks are in hand – but it was mostly just about one of Bowness’ favorite things to bring into the workday.

“Just having a little fun out there,” Bowness said. “They're great athletes. Make them switch hands and you see the coordination isn’t as easy. That’s just a fun way to get practice going. It gets them into it. It does. It gets them ready for practice because we have fun out there, and it shows them how hard it is to switch those hands and everything. They had fun, we got them ready, and then we had a really good practice.”

The last part of the equation was important to Bowness, who felt his team was ready to play Monday before the winter weather postponed the contest against the Kings. Having a chance to get in some extra practice was good, though, going into tonight's game with the Flyers, especially with the condensed schedule and the continued tweaks to what the Blue Jackets are doing under Bowness since he was hired just over two weeks ago.

It’s fair to say those changes are starting to click, with the Blue Jackets having posted three consecutive wins, all over teams in playoff position. The new head coach has pushed a high-tempo, pressure-style that’s more about getting in the face of the opposition rather than sitting on your heels, and Mathieu Olivier said he’s starting to see the impact of that in the team’s play.

“I think the pressure of our game in those two games was very consistent and very high,” Olivier said. “In talking to people that we know throughout the league and on those other teams, a few guys on Tampa, they felt like we gave them no time, no space out there. When you have guys telling you that, that tells you what we’re doing is really good. That’s been the main change I feel like as a team is we just bought into that and we’re executing that right now.”

Columbus also should have some offensive confidence in tonight's divisional showdown after posting eight goals Saturday against one of the best defensive teams in the league in Tampa Bay. The tradeoff was ceding five goals to the Lightning, but the Blue Jackets felt they stuck to their game enough and saw the offense come as a result.

“I think that says a lot about the skill in this room and resiliency and how much we don’t quit,” Adam Fantilli said after the Blue Jackets won a game of momentum shifts. “It was great.”

Scratches: Danton Heinen, Jake Christiansen, Dante Fabbro (lower body injury)

Injured Reserve: D Brendan Smith (knee surgery, out three to four months as of Jan. 8)

Roster Report: The Blue Jackets activated Mateychuk from injured reserve Tuesday and will likely do the same today for Wood, as both are expected back in the lineup after missing time with injury. Forwards Zach Aston-Reese and Brendan Gaunce were placed on waivers Tuesday, as well, to make room on the roster.

This Day in CBJ History

Jan. 28, 2006: David Vyborny scores twice and Rostislav Klesla provides three assists as the Blue Jackets earn a 4-3 victory vs. Nashville in Nationwide Arena. Vyborny’s goal with 1:23 to play broke a 3-3 tie.

Jan. 28, 2021: Alexandre Texier debuts the shootout move that would become synonymous with his name, scoring a “firepoker” goal for the first time to give the Blue Jackets a 3-2 win over Florida in Nationwide Arena. Texier skated in from the right side, looked to be pulling the puck to his backhand as he neared the net and quickly poked the puck through the legs of goalie Chris Driedger, providing the only goal of the shootout and creating a highlight that spread like wildfire.

The Numbers Game

Dmitri Voronkov is set to play in his 200th career NHL game. ... Zach Werenski has a point in 18 of the last 19 home games with 33 points (14-19-33) in that span. After two assists Saturday vs. Tampa Bay, he has points in 15 of the last 17 games (10-15-25) as well as 26 of the last 31 (15-29-44). He is first among NHL defensemen in goals (19), third in points (55), second in average ice time (26:39) and is first in multipoint games (18). With one more goal, he’ll notch his third 20-goal season and become the fourth active NHL defenseman with three-plus 20-goal seasons. ... Mason Marchment notched his third career hat trick and the second for the Blue Jackets this season (Kirill Marchenko at Minnesota on Oct. 11) on Saturday night. With eight goals and 11 points since joining the team, Marchment has set franchise records in both categories by a player in his first nine games with the franchise. ... Marchenko has eight points in the last seven games (2-6-8) and points in 12 of the last 16 games (8-9-17). ... With a goal and two assists Saturday, Charlie Coyle notched his fifth game with at least three points this season. ... Goaltender Jet Greaves has won his last four decisions and has a .915 save percentage in his last 13 appearances. ... Blue Jackets defensemen have scored 38 goals this season, the most in the NHL. … Columbus has scored the first goal in 15 of the last 20 contests and is 5-1 in shootouts this year.

Know The Foe: Philadelphia Flyers

Head coach: Rick Tocchet (First season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 2.92 (22nd) | Scoring defense: 3.12 (21st) | PP: 15.6 percent (30th) | PK: 78.0 percent (20th)

The narrative: The Flyers have missed the playoffs five straight seasons and parted ways with head coach John Tortorella at the end of last season, bringing in Tocchet – the 2023-24 Jack Adams Award winner and an 11-year Flyer as a player – to take over. Not many pundits expected the team to return to the postseason entering the year, but the addition of Trevor Zegras has helped add offensive punch and the Flyers remain in the mix.

Scoring leaders: Zegras had back-to-back 60-point seasons in Anaheim but had struggled to find that form the past two years, resulting in him being traded this offseason to the Flyers; it’s been Philly’s gain, as the 24-year-old leads the way with 19 goals and 46 points. The perennially consistent Travis Konecny follows with a 17-28-45 line and has 17 goals and 35 points in 30 career games vs. Columbus. Owen Tippett has 18 goals among 33 points, while Travis Sanheim (6-16-22) is the top-scoring defenseman.

In net: Goaltending has been a perennial trouble spot for the Flyers, but the addition of Dan Vladař has helped stabilize things, as he was 16-7-4 with a 2.46 GAA and .905 save percentage in 28 starts before suffering a lower-body injury two weeks ago; he appears close to a return. Samuel Ersson is 8-9-5 with a 3.39 GAA and .860 SV%.

What's new: The Flyers improved to 20-11-7 with a win Dec. 30 and were third in the Metropolitan Division in Tocchet’s first year, but they’ve hit a rough patch with a 4-7-2 record since then after Tuesday night’s 4-0 home loss vs. the New York Islanders. They’ve also won just two of their last 10 contests and fallen on the wrong side of the playoff line, but being in the race is a good thing for a franchise looking to recapture its proud history.

Trending: The teams are meeting for the first time this year and the only time in Nationwide Arena. It’s been a pretty even series the last four years – Columbus is 8-5-2 in that span – and the Blue Jackets have won four of six in Nationwide Arena.

Former CBJ: The only former Blue Jacket to see action for the Flyers this season is Lane Pederson, a forward who has played in the last four games without a point.