PREVIEW: Blue Jackets kick off road trip against Panthers

There are road trips and then there are road trips, and this one figures to be a tough set of games for the Blue Jackets.

Not only will Columbus play three games in four days, they’ll do so against top-notch competition. It starts this afternoon against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers, then the Blue Jackets hop on a flight to complete a back-to-back against Metropolitan Division leader Washington. The trip then finishes Tuesday against a Carolina team that’s made the playoffs seven years in a row and again will contend for a Metro crown.

Yet head coach Dean Evason said it feels like there are no easy nights in the NHL. As proof, look no further than this year’s Metro standings, where just five points separate the front-running Capitals and last-place Blue Jackets.

“Every year we seem to talk about parity and how close the league is, but this year it’s really, really tight, right?” Evason said. “Every night you come in and you’re like ‘Holy (cow).’ It’s just a grind. I think the condensed schedule and all of that provides for a little bit more intense hockey and grinding hockey. I’ve never seen it like that – not this close.”

The good news is that the Blue Jackets boarded their plane after Friday’s practice with some pep in their step and momentum on their side. Columbus has posted two straight victories, both of which were inspiring in their own right, as they rallied from an early deficit to beat New Jersey on Monday in a physical affair before taking a wild 6-5 victory in a shootout Thursday vs. Detroit at Nationwide Arena.

The victories gave the Blue Jackets seven comeback wins on the year, tied for eighth in the NHL, and showed again that while they may not always make it easy on themselves, this is a resilient group.

“That’s always tried to be our attitude, just keep going no matter what,” Kent Johnson said. “We have a resilient group. We always lean on each other, and guys are talking on the bench how we just have to keep playing to the end.”

Thursday’s victory was marked by the return of standout forward Kirill Marchenko, who scored a goal and notched the shootout winner, as well as excellent performances by Adam Fantilli (two goals), Sean Monahan (three assists) and Zach Werenski (three assists). Yet with the tough road trip on tap and points to make up in the standings a third of the way through the season, the Blue Jackets know there’s no time to rest on their laurels.

“It’s a good win tonight,” Marchenko said. “Everybody is happy, but we have a couple games (in the) future, too. It’s important games for standings, too, I think.”

Scratches: F Zach Aston-Reese, D Jake Christiansen

Injured reserve/Non-Roster: F Mathieu Olivier (upper body injury), D Erik Gudbranson (upper body injury), F Boone Jenner (upper body injury)

Roster Report: Jenner will not make the trip as he works his way back, and the Blue Jackets may not make any changes to the lineup leading into the game.

This Day in CBJ History

Dec. 6, 2005: Adam Foote is named the fourth captain in Blue Jackets history.

Dec. 6, 2010: Rick Nash scores an extra-attacker goal with 47 seconds to play and Kyle Wilson gets the decisive goal in the shootout as the Blue Jackets take a 3-2 victory vs. Dallas in Nationwide Arena.

Dec. 6, 2013: Three days after relieving the injured Sergei Bobrovsky in a combined shutout effort, Curtis McElhinney stops all 20 shots against as the Blue Jackets defeat Minnesota by a 4-0 score at Nationwide.

Dec. 6, 2018: Seth Jones scores 10 seconds into overtime as the Blue Jackets earn a 4-3 win at Philadelphia. Cam Atkinson assists on the goal to run his point streak to 12 games, one shy of a CBJ franchise record.

Dec. 6, 2022: Kirill Marchenko makes his NHL debut in the Blue Jackets’ game at Pittsburgh.

The Numbers Game

Coming off his third straight multipoint game (1-6-7), Zach Werenski remains tied for second among NHL defensemen in goals (nine), is second in points (29), is first in shots on goal (101), places second in average ice time (26:36) and is first in multipoint games (10). He has points in 10 of the last 11 games (5-13-18) and is tied for third in the NHL in scoring in that span. ... Sean Monahan has three goals and three assists in the last three games. … Adam Fantilli notched his ninth career multigoal game Thursday vs. Detroit and his seventh in the last 62 games. … Thursday’s game was full of milestones, as Dean Evason won his 200th game as an NHL head coach, Fantilli earned his 100th career point and Elvis Merzlikins won his 100th NHL game between the pipes. … Blue Jackets defensemen have scored 21 goals this season, one behind Washington for the most in the NHL. … Jet Greaves has posted a 4-0-4 record and .907 save percentage in his last eight starts. ... Denton Mateychuk’s six goals tie for fifth among NHL defensemen. ... Miles Wood had points in five of the last eight games, posting a 3-3-6 line. ... Dmitri Voronkov is one point away from 100 in his NHL career. ... The Blue Jackets have points in 11 of the last 13 games (6-2-5).

Know The Foe: Florida Panthers

Head coach: Paul Maurice (Fourth season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 2.92 (22nd) | Scoring defense: 3.15 (19th) | PP: 17.9 percent (20th) | PK: 80.5 percent (T-18th)

The narrative: After making just three playoff appearances from 1998-2019, Florida has become a model franchise under owner Vincent Viola and general manager Bill Zito, capturing two straight Stanley Cups and making it to the Final three years in a row. A former assistant general manager in Columbus, Zito has made daring moves on the trade market and found underappreciated players who have taken massive steps forward in Florida, and many of the top names are signed for the foreseeable future as the Panthers attempt to become a dynasty. Injuries have contributed to a rough start to this campaign, but will anyone count out the Panthers from being there at the end?

Scoring leaders: Standouts Matthew Tkachuk (groin) and captain Aleksander Barkov (knee) are yet to play this season because of injury, but there are still some high-powered weapons on the squad. At age 37, Brad Marchand has one-upped Ponce de Leon and found the fountain of youth in Florida, and he leads the way with 15 goals among his 27 points. Sam Reinhart is again producing with a 14-10-24 line, while Anton Lundell (6-14-20) and Carter Verhaeghe (5-12-17) follow. Seth Jones leads the defense with three goals among 13 points.

In net: A pair of familiar names hold down the fort in Sergei Bobrovsky and Daniil Tarasov, both former Blue Jackets as well as natives of Novokuznetsk, Russia. Bobrovsky is 10-8-1 with a 2.83 GAA and .886 save percentage, while Tarasov has made seven starts and is 2-4-1 with a 2.67 GAA and .907 SV%.

What's new: The injury list is extensive, with Eetu Luostarinen (burns), Jonah Gadjovich (upper body), Dmitry Kulikov (upper body) and Thomas Nosek (knee) joining Tkachuk and Barkov on the shelf. The Panthers are struggling coming in having posting a 1-4-1 record in the last six, but the Blue Jackets must beware – Florida has scored eight goals twice and six goals two other times on the season. When the offense comes, it comes in bunches.

Trending: It’s been a run of misery in recent years against the Panthers, as the Blue Jackets are just 3-13-4 the past five seasons against Florida, including a 1-8-1 record in Amerant Bank Arena.

Former CBJ: Bobrovsky is now in the final season of the seven-year contract he signed after winning a pair of Vezina Trophies in Columbus, and he’s joined by Tarasov after an offseason trade. Jones joined the Panthers at the trade deadline last year and has fit in nicely, while Luke Kunin has played 21 games with a 1-1-2 line after finishing last season with the Blue Jackets.