Gameday Preview: Blue Jackets at Flyers

The Details

BLUE JACKETS at FLYERS
GAME INFO
COLUMBUS: 24-47-8, 8th in Metropolitan
PHILADELPHIA: 29-38-13, 7th in Metropolitan
WELLS FARGO CENTER, 7 p.m. ET
BROADCAST INFO
TV:
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What They're Saying

The Blue Jackets stepped onto the Nationwide Arena ice Monday for practice with enough skaters for three forward lines and three pairs of defensemen, but the reality of the situation is even a number of those players aren't ready for game action.
While it's nice to have such players as Justin Danforth, Jake Bean and Zach Werenski on the ice for practice, those players aren't yet healthy enough to help the Blue Jackets in games, which means the shuffle of skaters between Cleveland and Columbus will continue today.
Four players were sent from the Blue Jackets back to the Monsters after Saturday's game, taking part in the AHL squad's crucial Monday tilt, and five of them -- forwards Trey Fix-Wolansky, Josh Dunne and Carson Meyer as well as defensemen David Jiricek and Jake Christiansen -- have been recalled for tonight.
With so many players unavailable at the moment due to injury, it's just the latest reality head coach Brad Larsen has to deal with.
"Never been through this," Larsen said. "It's astounding where we are at as far as the numbers. It's nobody's fault. When you look at the numbers and you look at the guys we were supposed to start with, it's like 17-18 guys that are missing from our roster from original day one. It's just insanity, but like I said, it's nobody's fault. It's just how it's worked out."
That makes it hard for the team to develop any cohesiveness at all as it tries to snap its current three-game losing skid, not to mention a stretch of seven losses in eight games, but the Blue Jackets will hope to find something tonight against a Flyers in the midst of a similar stretch.

Know The Foe: Philadelphia Flyers

Head coach: John Tortorella (First season)
Season Stats: Goals per game: 2.64 (29th) | Scoring defense: 3.36 (23rd) | PP: 14.9 percent (32nd) | PK: 75.1 percent (274h)
The narrative: It was expected to be a tough season in Philadelphia with the Flyers essentially in the thick of a rebuild, and that's been proven true as after a hot start, the team has struggled its way to the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference. This year was always about establishing a culture under Tortorella, and the Flyers have generally played hard and started to sort through the young players -- Owen Tippett, Morgan Frost, Joel Farabee, Noah Cates and Cam York, all 23 or younger -- that will eventually be key part of the team's rebuilt core.
2022-23 leaders: While those players are coming along, a pair of veteran scorers have led the way. Travis Konecny is still just 25, and he's topped the Flyers with 29 goals and 56 points on the season, while Kevin Hayes has an 18-36-54 line and was the team's All-Star representative. Tippett (24-21-45) and Frost (19-24-43) follow.
In net, Carter Hart feels like he's been around forever in orange and black, but the netminder is still just 24. He has a team-best 53 starts on the season, going 21-23-10 with a 2.94 GAA and .907 save percentage.
What's new:Ever the tinkerer, Tortorella has actually spent a number of recent games in the press box watching with general manager Daniel Briere while turning over the bench to help assistant coaches Brad Shaw and Rocky Thompson gain experience running the show. Whatever the Flyers have done of late hasn't worked, though, as the team comes into the game riding a seven-game losing streak.
Trending: Columbus won the first two meetings of the season, just five days apart in November, before Philadelphia won the previous contest in the Wells Fargo Center in December. The Blue Jackets generally have had success against Philly in Metro play, posting a 21-9-2 mark in the series coming into this season.
Former CBJ: Cam Atkinson missed the entire season with a neck injury that required surgery, but the hope is he'll be able to return next season. Lukas Sedlak played 27 games with the Flyers before returning to his native Czechia.

3 Keys to the Game

Who wants it more? With two teams battling on the wrong side of the playoff line, this game could come down to which team is most motivated.
Show you belong: Columbus has been shuttling players back and forth with Cleveland, but it's an opportunity for some of those young players to shine.
Keep it simple: With so many new faces and so little chemistry, to play off one another, the Jackets will likely have to play a north-south game.

3 Stats to Know

• Kirill Marchenko has 21 goals and four assists on the season, making him the only CBJ player in history to score at least 15 times in a season with less than 10 assists. Only one player in the NHL's modern era -- Florida's Brandon Pirri, with 22-2-24 in 2014-15 -- has finished a season with at least 20 goals and only four assists, per Hockey Reference.
• Johnny Gaudreau has 20 multipoint games on the season.
• Milestone watch: Joona Luoto notched his first career goal Thursday. … Marchenko passed Pierre-Luc Dubois' CBJ rookie record with his 21st goal of the season last Sunday. … Boone Jenner (170-159-329) is six points from surpassing Nick Foligno (142-192-334) for third most in Blue Jackets history. … Goalie Michael Hutchinson played in his 150th career game Saturday.

Who's Hot

With goals in two of the last four games, Eric Robinson has a career-high 12 on the season. … Gaudreau is the fourth player in team history with at least 50 assists in a season, joining Panarin (twice), Ray Whitney and Jakub Voracek. … Jack Roslovic has eight points (4-4-8) in the last eight games … Marchenko's 21 goals are tied for second in the league among rookie goal scorers with Wyatt Johnston of Dallas, two behind Matty Beniers of Seattle. … Kent Johnson's 16-24-40 line places him in the top 10 in team history among rookies in goals (tied for fourth), assists (fourth) and points (third). He ranks tied for fifth in the NHL in goals and is fourth in points among rookies. … Columbus is first in the NHL in goals among rookies with 52 and second to Montreal in points with 110. … Andrew Peeke, who ranks fourth in the NHL in blocked shots with 187, has surpassed Ryan Murray (171 in 2015-16) for the most blocked shots in a single season in club history (since 2005-06).

This Day in CBJ History

April 11, 2015: Columbus overcomes deficits of 3-1 and 4-2 in the third period, tying the game on Scott Hartnell's extra-attacker goal with 1:35 to go, and Cam Atkinson scores the deciding goal in a shootout in a 4-3 win at the New York Islanders. The win extended the Blue Jackets' franchise-best points streak to a record 13 games (12-0-1).
April 11, 2021: The Blue Jackets trade captain Nick Foligno to Toronto ahead of the trade deadline, acquiring a 2021 first-round pick (Corson Ceulemans) and a 2022 fourth-round pick (traded to Nashville for Mathieu Olivier).

Roster Report

Projected Lineup (subject to change)
Johnny Gaudreau - Boone Jenner - Kirill Marchenko
Kent Johnson - Jack Roslovic - Trey Fix-Wolansky
Liam Foudy - Sean Kuraly - Emil Bemstrom
Carson Meyer - Josh Dunne - Hunter McKown
Gavin Bayreuther - Andrew Peeke
Tim Berni - Adam Boqvist
Jake Christiansen - David Jiricek
Michael Hutchinson OR Jon Gillies
Scratches:Eric Robinson (upper body, day to day); Lane Pederson (upper body, day to day); Patrik Laine (triceps strain, out two to four weeks as of March 24); Nick Blankenburg (ankle, week to week); Mathieu Olivier (lower leg bone bruise, out 2-4 weeks as of March 27); Erik Gudbranson (separated shoulder, out six weeks as of March 27); Elvis Merzlikins (lower body, day to day)
Injured reserve:Jake Bean (shoulder, out four to six months after surgery in November); Zach Werenski (shoulder surgery, out for season); Justin Danforth (shoulder surgery, out for season)
Roster Report:The Blue Jackets have recalled Fix-Wolansky, Dunne, Meyer, Jiricek and Christiansen from Cleveland after last night's Monsters win. Robinson is expected to be out after being injured Saturday and is officially day to day.