Columbus Blue Jackets (26-41-12, eighth in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Florida Panthers (49-24-6, second in the Atlantic Division)
Sunrise, Florida; Thursday, 7 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: The Columbus Blue Jackets visit the Florida Panthers after Kirill Marchenko's two-goal game against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Blue Jackets' 5-2 loss.
Florida has a 49-24-6 record overall and a 23-13-2 record on its home ice. The Panthers have a +59 scoring differential, with 253 total goals scored and 194 conceded.
Columbus has a 26-41-12 record overall and a 10-22-7 record in road games. The Blue Jackets have given up 285 goals while scoring 224 for a -61 scoring differential.
The teams meet Thursday for the third time this season. The Panthers won 5-2 in the previous meeting.
TOP PERFORMERS: Aleksander Barkov Jr. has 22 goals and 52 assists for the Panthers. Sam Reinhart has five goals and six assists over the past 10 games.
Marchenko has 23 goals and 18 assists for the Blue Jackets. Johnny Gaudreau has eight assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Panthers: 4-4-2, averaging 3.1 goals, 5.6 assists, 6.4 penalties and 15.5 penalty minutes while giving up 2.6 goals per game.
Blue Jackets: 3-7-0, averaging 2.4 goals, 4.4 assists, 3.2 penalties and 7.8 penalty minutes while giving up 3.5 goals per game.
INJURIES: Panthers: Aaron Ekblad: day to day (undisclosed), Steven Lorentz: day to day (illness), Carter Verhaeghe: out (undisclosed).
Blue Jackets: Boone Jenner: day to day (personal), Daniil Tarasov: day to day (upper-body), Yegor Chinakhov: out (upper-body), Sean Kuraly: out (lower body), Jake Bean: out for season (hand), Kent Johnson: out for season (shoulder), Patrik Laine: out (collarbone), Adam Boqvist: day to day (upper-body), Elvis Merzlikins: day to day (lower body), Carson Meyer: day to day (upper-body), Adam Fantilli: out (leg).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press
