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CBJ G79 @ Tampa Bay Lightning |
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The Columbus Blue Jackets are on their second game of four on their southern road trip with this evening’s tilt hailing from Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. The Blue Jackets conclude their third and final meeting with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Fox Sports. Watch party is also at the Columbus Brewing Company downtown with prizes.
The Blue Jackets and Bolts are split on the season series, with both teams even at 6-6 in the goal scoring. Both games wound up being a 4-2 result. Since they last met, the Lightning added to their depth by acquiring Matt Dumba from Arizona and Columbus legend Anthony Duclair from San Jose.
Boone Jenner remains questionable dealing with the grief of the tragic family loss. The Cleveland Monsters goaltending tandem remains the Blue Jackets’ duo. The defense is still crippled with the loss of Jake Bean on the season.
A Tampa loss may cement them in the first wild card spot with them likely facing Boston in the first round. A Tampa win will get them four points behind the Leafs. A Columbus loss or win keeps them at 29th overall in the league standings.
Andrei Vaslievsky gets the go against Jet Greaves.
Projected Lineups
Tampa Bay Lightning
Anthony Duclair -- Brayden Point -- Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel -- Anthony Cirelli -- Steven Stamkos
Michael Eyssimont -- Nicholas Paul -- Mitchell Chaffee
Tanner Jeannot -- Luke Glendening -- Tyler Motte
Victor Hedman -- Darren Raddysh
Matt Dumba -- Erik Cernak
Emil Lilleberg -- Nick Perbix
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Matt Tomkins
Scratched: Conor Sheary
Injured: Haydn Fleury (upper body), Jonas Johansson (lower body), Mikhail Sergachev (leg surgery)
Columbus Blue Jackets
Johnny Gaudreau -- Dmitri Voronkov -- Alex Nylander
Alexandre Texier -- Cole Sillinger -- Kirill Marchenko
Mikael Pyyhtia -- Sean Kuraly -- Justin Danforth
James Malatesta -- Brendan Gaunce -- Mathieu Olivier
Zach Werenski -- Damon Severson
Ivan Provorov -- Erik Gudbranson
Nick Blankenburg -- David Jiricek
Jet Greaves
Malcolm Subban
Scratched: Carson Meyer
Injured: Adam Fantilli (calf laceration), (lower body), Yegor Chinakhov (upper body), Adam Boqvist (upper body), Elvis Merzlikins (lower body), Jake Bean (broken hand), Daniil Tarasov (upper body), Boone Jenner (personal)
Players to Watch
Tampa Bay — Steven Stamkos — this may become the last game Stamkos wears a Bolts’ sweater against the Blue Jackets. Stammer had 7 goals in his last five games. 73 points in 74 games on the season. Most goals all time in Tampa. He has 2 cups back to back. The 34 year old has 1129 points on 1077 career games. He is a true Hall of Famer.
Columbus — David Jiricek — the depleted defense means more time with the big boys for rookie Jiricek. This is where he belongs. The back and forth must stop for his growth and the team’s success.
Predicted Final Score
TBL - 4
CBJ - 1