Blue Jackets projected lineup
Dmitri Voronkov -- Adam Fantilli -- Kirill Marchenko
James van Riemsdyk -- Boone Jenner -- Kent Johnson
Zach Aston-Reese -- Justin Danforth -- Mathieu Olivier
Joseph LaBate -- Sean Kuraly -- Yegor Chinakhov
Zach Werenski -- Dante Fabbro
Denton Mateychuk -- Ivan Provorov
Jake Christiansen -- Damon Severson
Elvis Merzlikins
Daniil Tarasov
Scratched: Jack Johnson, Jordan Harris, Mikael Pyythia
Injured: Cole Sillinger (upper body), Erik Gudbranson (upper body), Sean Monahan (wrist)
Panthers projected lineup
Carter Verhaeghe -- Aleksander Barkov -- Sam Reinhart
Mackie Samoskevich -- Sam Bennett -- Evan Rodrigues
Eetu Luostarinen -- Anton Lundell -- Jesper Boqvist
A.J. Greer -- Tomas Nosek -- Jonah Gadjovich
Gustav Forsling -- Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola -- Seth Jones
Nate Schmidt -- Dmitry Kulikov
Sergei Bobrovsky
Vitek Vanecek
Scratched: Uvis Balinskis, NIco Sturm
Injured: Matthew Tkachuk (lower body)
Status report
Chinakhov, who returned for a 6-2 loss at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday after being out since Nov. 27 with an upper-body injury, remains in the lineup but will begin the game on the fourth line Thursday; coach Dean Evason saying the move was made to get Chinakhov more acclimated to playing again. ... Vanacek will back up Bobrovsky after being acquired in a trade with the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday. ... Goalie Chris Driedger, who backed up Bobrovsky in a 2-1 win against the Lightning on Monday, was traded to the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. ... Florida also acquired Sturm, a forward, in a trade with the Sharks on Thursday; he could make his Panthers debut against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.Chinakhov, who returned for a 6-2 loss at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday after being out since Nov. 27 with an upper-body injury, remains in the lineup but will begin the game on the fourth line Thursday; coach Dean Evason saying the move was made to get Chinakhov more acclimated to playing again. ... Vanacek will back up Bobrovsky after being acquired in a trade with the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday. ... Goalie Chris Driedger, who backed up Bobrovsky in a 2-1 win against the Lightning on Monday, was returned to Charlotte of the American Hockey League on Thursday.
