The Columbus Blue Jackets will look to extend their season-high winning streak to five games when they host the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night.
Columbus’ recent success has pushed the Jackets into the Eastern Conference’s final wild-card slot. Only five points separate the Blue Jackets from the 15th-place New York Islanders, underscoring the East’s congested nature.
Columbus is among the NHL leaders in goals allowed, so Saturday’s 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues was a much-needed defensive showcase for the club. Goaltender Jet Greaves made 31 saves and the Jackets blocked 23 shots, holding St. Louis off the scoreboard until the final 12 seconds of the third period.
“It’s a team game, right? Everybody’s buying in to do the right things to keep the puck out of the net. … We did a lot of really good things (to play) a sound defensive hockey game,” Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said.
The Jackets have been winning despite losing several key veterans (including captain Boone Jenner, Sean Monahan, Erik Gudbranson, and Justin Danforth) to injured reserve. Zach Aston-Reese is questionable to face Philadelphia after leaving Saturday’s game with an upper-body injury.
Amid these absences, the Blue Jackets’ younger stars have continued to excel. Adam Fantilli has six points (three goals, three assists) during a five-game point streak, and Kirill Marchenko (two goals, three assists) and Dmitri Voronkov (four goals, two assists) each are on a four-game point streak.
Zach Werenski leads Columbus with 48 points (13 goals, 35 assists) and is battling for the NHL lead in points by a defenseman.
Like the Blue Jackets, the Flyers are trying to recover from some early-season struggles, but comebacks have become a habit in Philadelphia. The Flyers’ 4-3 win over the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Monday marked Philadelphia’s NHL-high-tying sixth victory when trailing after the second period.
“We’re a resilient team. … If you want to be like one of these teams, you’ve got to beat them,” forward Noah Cates said. “And you’ve got to beat them at their own game, which is getting pucks in deep and playing hard.”
Cates scored twice on Monday, including a highlight-reel effort for the game-winning goal 14:09 into the third period. Cates has 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in his last 16 games.
Philadelphia has won its last two games, with two power-play goals in each contest. The 4-for-9 total with the extra attacker comes after a dismal 5-for-48 stretch for the Flyers’ long-struggling power-play unit.
In contrast, the Blue Jackets’ scorching-hot power play is 16-for-45 over the team’s last 17 games.
Since Samuel Ersson faced the Panthers on Monday, and either Ivan Fedotov or Aleksei Kolosov will start on Tuesday as the Flyers play for the second consecutive night. Philadelphia is 1-6-0 in the second half of back-to-backs this season.
Elvis Merzlikins is expected to start in the Jackets’ net on Tuesday. Merzlikins is 6-1-1 in his last eight games despite a lackluster 3.17 goals-against average.
Philadelphia has won both meetings with the Blue Jackets this season. The Flyers earned a 5-3 triumph in Columbus on Dec. 10, and a 5-4 overtime victory in Philadelphia on Dec. 21.
–Field Level Media
