COLUMBUS, OH – The Florida Panthers will try to snap out of a three-game slide when they open a back-to-back against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Thursday.
With the trade deadline coming up on Friday, the Panthers enter tonight’s matchup with a 30-28-3 record that places them 10 points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
“We’re in a tough spot, but we can’t do anything about it now,” forward Carter Verhaeghe said of the team’s playoff push. “We’re just trying to focus on what we can build and ways we can get better. That’s it. Every day, it’s a new game. We’re going into it one game a time.”
Dropping the first two games of their important four-game road trip, the Panthers followed a 5-4 loss on Long Island with a 5-1 defeat at the hands of the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.
Notching the 200th point of his budding NHL career, Anton Lundell scored the lone goal for the Panthers against the Devils, who received a 20-save performance from Jacob Markstrom.
“He’s 24 years old and run in the number one hole against the other team’s best all year long,” Maurice said of Lundell, a first-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. “He started to get a feel of what that’s like, but it’s good for those young guys to get a taste of the pressure.”
Getting the nod in net against his former team, Daniil Tarasov will start for the Panthers.
Owning an 8-9-2 record, he’s posted a .903 save percentage this season.
Due to the unpredictable environment the impending trade deadline poses, head coach Paul Maurice did not announce any concrete lineup changes head into tonight’s contest.
"I'll let you know when we get back to the rink,” Maurice said. “It's that time of year."
In the hunt for a playoff spot, the Blue Jackets sit at 31-21-8 and find themselves just three points behind the Boston Bruins for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Surging up the standings, the Blue Jackets are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games.
Winning each of their last two games, the Blue Jackets enter tonight’s matchup on the heels of 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators that kicked off a four-game homestand.
Trailing 2-1, Sean Monahan scored a shorthanded goal to tie the game for Columbus at 1:52 of the third period. Just a few minutes later, Charlie Coyle netted his 16th goal of the season to put the Blue Jackets up 3-2 at 6:07. In net, Jet Greaves stopped 21 of 23 shots in the win.
Owning a 19-12-7 record with a .909 save percentage, Greaves is likely to start tonight against the Panthers.
Day-to-day with an injury and possibly not playing against the Panthers, Zach Werenski, who had the primary assist on the golden goal for Team USA at the Winter Olympics, leads Columbus in scoring and ranks second among NHL defensemen with 65 points (20G, 45A).
Up front, Kirill Marchenko paces Blue Jackets forwards with 51 points (22G, 29A), while Coyle ranks second with 46 points (16G, 30A). Finding a productive groove in 2026, Coyle has been a point-per-game player since Jan. 1, logging 21 points (10G, 11A) in 21 games.
“They’re great players,” defenseman Niko Mikkola said. “Need to know when they’re on the ice and need to work together to stop them.”
Meeting for the second time this season, the Panthers topped the Blue Jackets 7-6 in a wild back-and-forth game -- on “6-7 Night,” no less -- back on Dec. 7 at Amerant Bank Arena.
In the win, the Panthers overcame a three-goal deficit in the second period and a two-goal deficit in the third period against Columbus. Nine different Panthers made a dent on the scoresheet, with Sam Bennett posting four points (1G, 3A) and scoring the game-winner.
“That was a crazy game,” Verhaeghe said. “There’s definitely some things on the power play we took from it. We watched some video. We’ll see tonight. I think it’s mostly on us. It’s not necessarily our opponent. It’s how we want to play. We want to build our game every day.”
THEY SAID IT
“He came in as an 18-year-old, and I can’t believe he’s still only 24. He handles himself like he’s a lot older than that. He keeps on growing every year.” – Carter Verhaeghe on Anton Lundell
“Lots of close support, and with that as much speed as you can generate. That’s what we’re looking for here tonight.” – Paul Maurice on what he’d like to see against the Blue Jackets
FIVE CATS STATS
- Four different Panthers have recorded at least 20 points on the road.
- The Panthers rank second in the NHL with 1,523 hits.
- Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Panthers are 19-3-2 vs. the Blue Jackets.
- Sam Bennett is one assist away from his 200th NHL assist.
- Brad Marchand has recorded a team-high five multi-goal games.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Check back closer to puck drop.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- March 4: G Louis Domingue agreed to terms on a two-way, one-year NHL contract for remainder of 2025-26 season
- March 2: F Luke Kunin loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Thursday, March 5 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Nationwide Arena – Columbus, OH
TV & Streaming: WSFL, WHDT, WFTX, PanthersPlus.TV
Radio: 560 WQAM-AM (Dade/Broward); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); Panthers GameDay App; SiriusXM App & Streaming 931
Cats on Tap: Click Here
