PREVIEW: Blue Jackets face another key division game in Philadelphia

Scratches: Dmitri Voronkov, Miles Wood, Jake Christiansen, Egor Zamula

Injured Reserve: D Brendan Smith (knee surgical procedure, out three to 4 months as of Jan. 8)

Roster Report: The Blue Jackets will not make any modifications to the lineup tonight with Greaves getting the beginning.

This Day in CBJ History

March 24, 2001: Espen Knutsen turns into the primary participant in CBJ historical past to notch 5 assists and 5 factors in a game, doing so in a 6-4 win vs. Calgary at Nationwide Arena. It’s a pair of franchise data which have been tied however by no means topped.

March 24, 2002: The Blue Jackets host the Seventh Annual Willie O’Ree All-Star Weekend, which options youngsters ages 10-12 who’re contributors in the NHL Diversity Task Force program. The game drew a document crowd in extra of 4,000 followers at Nationwide Arena.

March 24, 2004: Marc Denis stops 20 pictures to gather his fifth shutout of the season in a 2-0 win vs. Minnesota at Nationwide Arena. Aaron Johnson and Rick Nash rating the 2 CBJ targets in the second interval.

March 24, 2015: Scott Hartnell collects his first CBJ hat trick, scoring three targets in a 5-3 win vs. Anaheim at Nationwide Arena.

March 24, 2019: In a key win, Sergei Bobrovsky stops all 21 pictures in opposition to because the Blue Jackets – who entered the game 4 factors out of a playoff spot – earn a 5-0 shutout victory at Vancouver. At the tip of a highway journey that began with three straight losses, the struggling Blue Jackets staged a key staff assembly earlier than the game in an effort to proper the ship, they usually’d go on to win seven of the final eight beginning in Vancouver to clinch a postseason bid.

March 24, 2023: Boone Jenner scores on the ability play 40 seconds into additional time – the primary extra-time tally of his profession – to present the Blue Jackets a 5-4 house win over the Islanders. Hunter McKown notches an help in his first profession NHL game whereas Kent Johnson scores the first-ever “Michigan” objective in franchise historical past.

The Numbers Game

Columbus is 19-3-4 since Jan. 11 and leads the NHL in factors proportion (.808) in that span. … Zach Werenski has moved into sixth place in CBJ single-season annals with 75 factors this yr. With 20 targets and 55 assists – 4 in need of tying the franchise document – he’s tied for third amongst NHL defensemen in targets and locations second in factors. Werenski has factors in 27 of his final 33 video games (11-34-45) in addition to 38 of the final 47 (16-48-64). He leads NHL defensemen in multipoint video games (24, tied for ninth total in NHL) and is one shy of Artemi Panarin’s staff document set in 2018-19. …Adam Fantilli has eight targets in the final 14 video games and posted a 9-13-22 line in the final 20 video games. He noticed a six-game level streak (3-5-8) ending Sunday. … Kirill Marchenko is one help from 100 in his NHL profession and one level from 200. He has a 7-10-17 line in the final 18 video games, is second in the NHL with six shootout targets and has scored on 10 of 15 profession shootout makes an attempt, the very best mark amongst all energetic NHLers and second greatest in league historical past (minimal 10 makes an attempt). …Charlie Coyle has 11 targets and 30 factors in the previous 26 video games in addition to a 7-18-25 line in the final 21 contests, putting him eighth in the NHL in factors in that span. …Jet Greaves is 11-1-2 in his final 15 appearances with a 2.25 GAA, whereas Elvis Merzlikins is 8-2-2 in his final 13 with a 2.50 GAA. … Mathieu Olivier has 10 targets in the final 19 video games. … Blue Jackets defensemen have scored 52 targets this season, essentially the most in the NHL and a brand new franchise document. … Columbus has scored first in 43 of 70 video games total, tied with Washington for essentially the most in the NHL. …The Blue Jackets are 6-1 in shootouts this yr. … Boone Jenner has 209 profession targets, 4 behind Cam Atkinson for second in staff historical past.

Know The Foe: Philadelphia Flyers

Head coach: Rick Tocchet (First season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 2.80 (twenty fifth) | Scoring protection: 3.00 (thirteenth) | PP: 14.9 % (thirty second) | PK: 77.9 % (twenty second)

The narrative: The Flyers have missed the playoffs 5 straight seasons and parted methods with head coach John Tortorella on the finish of final season, bringing in Tocchet – the 2023-24 Jack Adams Award winner and an 11-year Flyer as a participant – to take over. Not many pundits anticipated the staff to return to the postseason getting into the yr, however the Flyers try to hold in there in the Eastern Conference, sitting 5 factors behind the Blue Jackets and 4 behind Detroit for the final wild card spot.

Scoring leaders: The perennially constant Travis Konecny ​​leads the way in which with a 25-35-60 line due to 11 targets in his final 20 video games, and Konecny ​​has 20 targets and 38 factors in 32 profession video games vs. Columbus. Trevor Zegras had back-to-back 60-point seasons in Anaheim however had struggled to search out that kind the previous two years, ensuing in him being traded this offseason to the Flyers; it has been Philly’s acquire, because the 24-year-old is subsequent with 22 targets and 55 factors. Owen Tippett has 24 targets amongst 42 factors, whereas Travis Sanheim (8-23-31) is the top-scoring defenseman.

In web: Goaltending has been a perennial bother spot for the Flyers, however the addition of Dan Vladař has helped stabilize issues, as he has posted a 23-11-7 document, 2.41 GAA and .908 save proportion. Samuel Ersson is 11-10-5 with a 3.28 GAA and .864 SV%.

What’s new: The Flyers struggled by means of the beginning of 2026, successful simply 5 of 16 video games going into the Olympic break, however the staff will not go away. Philadelphia is 9-1-2 in its final 12 video games and is coming off a California journey that included three straight victories over Anaheim (3-2 in additional time), Los Angeles (4-3 in a shootout) and San Jose (4-1 in regulation). Defense has led the way in which, as Philly has allowed simply 26 targets in that span (2.17 per game); Injuries are piling up among the many ahead ranks, as Sean Couturier, Denver Barkey and Luke Glendening missed the final game in San Jose.

Trending: The Blue Jackets have received each earlier conferences this season, taking a 5-3 victory Jan. 28 in Nationwide Arena then the 2-1 shootout win simply 10 days in the past in Philadelphia. Columbus has received 4 in a row in the collection and is 3-0-1 in his final 4 visits to the City of Brotherly Love.

Former CBJ: The solely former Blue Jacket to see motion for the Flyers this season is Lane Pederson, a ahead who has performed in 5 video games with out a level. Philadelphia did purchase 2022 CBJ first-round decide David Jiricek in a deal on the commerce deadline, however he stays with the staff’s AHL squad.