PREVIEW: Blue Jackets celebrate the 5th Line vs. Flyers

The inexplicable end to the Blue Jackets season, with a nearly healthy roster a month ago somehow seemingly losing a piece every game down the stretch, has reached another level of absurdity going into tonight’s contest against Philadelphia.

Based off of head coach Pascal Vincent’s injury updates Friday, the Blue Jackets will likely be without 10 players because of injury or personal matters against the Flyers. After injuries suffered Thursday against the New York Islanders by defenseman Jake Bean and goalie Daniil Tarasov, the Jackets will be without those two players as well as forwards Sean Kuraly, Adam Fantilli, Patrik Laine, Boone Jenner, Yegor Chinakhov and Kent Johnson; defenseman Adam Boqvist; and goalie Elvis Merzlikins.

It’s enough to make a coach pull their hair out, but Vincent is choosing to take a much more philosophical approach.

"You know what? Adversity and challenges will define who you are as a person,” Vincent said. “Yeah, we're getting hit in the gut right now. How we approach that, how we fight through that, these are great lessons.

“The guys are showing a lot of character. That’s a big piece of the foundation moving forward.”

Despite all the missing pieces, the Blue Jackets have hung in there in recent games. Columbus is 2-2 in the last four, posting home victories against Pittsburgh and Colorado as well as suffering one-goal losses to the Pens and New York Islanders.

All four of those teams – as well as the six left on the docket – are playoff teams or battling for postseason position, but the Blue Jackets have been able to battle their way to some results down the stretch.

“I think it shows that we care,” forward Alexandre Texier said. “We have character in this group, and we are not going to give up. We are going to play like we’re fighting for the playoffs. That’s how we should be. That’s our job in the NHL, and we have to do it.”

Know The Foe: Philadelphia Flyers

Head coach: John Tortorella (Second season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 2.87 (24th) | Scoring defense: 3.11 (17th) | PP: 12.9 percent (32nd) | PK: 83.7 percent (3rd)

The narrative: Philadelphia has been one of the surprises of the season, using a strong start to jump into a playoff spot and holding it throughout much of the season. But can the Flyers make it to the finish line? Tortorella has started to instill a winning culture, but his recent focus is getting the Flyers over the hump during the hardest time of year, and the team is currently tied for the third spot in the Metropolitan Division. The Islanders, Capitals, Red Wings and Penguins are on their heels, though, and the margin of error is slim down the stretch.

Team leaders: All-Star Travis Konecny has been the driving force behind the Flyers this season, leading the squad all season long with 31 goals, 34 assists and 65 points. From there, the forwards are led by some relatively young talent, as 24-year-old Owen Tippett has a 28-23-51 line, 23-year-old Joel Farabee has 21-28-49 and 24-year-old Morgan Frost is at 13-28-41. Travis Sanheim leads the defensemen with 10 goals and 43 points.

Philadelphia has used five goaltenders this season, in large part because of the off-the-ice situation involving Carter Hart. Second-year netminder Samuel Ersson has taken over as the No. 1, going 21-16-7 with a 2.81 GAA and .891 save percentage, while massive Russian Ivan Fedotov just came over to North America and is currently serving as the backup.

What's new: The Flyers are trying to get to the finish line despite some recent struggles, including a current six-game losing streak and a 2-4-5 record in the last 11. Team defense and relentlessness, in the Tortorella way, have been keys all season but the Flyers have given up 47 goals in the last 11 games and 27 in the last six. Captain Sean Couturier, who has been in Tortorella’s crosshairs throughout the season, is out with injury, as is defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen.

Trending: Columbus won the last meeting, a 3-2 shootout victory in the City of Brotherly Love, on Jan. 4 after falling to the Flyers on opening night (4-2 in Nationwide Arena) and Nov. 19 (5-2 in Philly). The Blue Jackets have won at least two of the four meetings between the teams in eight of the previous nine seasons the teams have met in Metro play (23-10-3 from 2013-14 to 2022-23).

Former CBJ: One of the top players in CBJ history in terms of production, Cam Atkinson has returned to the ice after missing all of last season and has a 13-15-28 line in 65 games but has gone 19 straight games without a point.

Roster Report

Projected Lineup (subject to change)

Johnny Gaudreau – Dmitri Voronkov – Alex Nylander
Alexandre Texier – Cole Sillinger – Kirill Marchenko
Mikael Pyyhtia – Justin Danforth – Mathieu Olivier
James Malatesta – Brendan Gaunce – Carson Meyer
Zach Werenski – Damon Severson
Ivan Provorov – Erik Gudbranson
Nick Blankenburg – David Jiricek
Jet Greaves
Malcolm Subban

Scratches: Adam Fantilli (calf laceration), Sean Kuraly (lower-body), Yegor Chinakhov (upper-body), Adam Boqvist (upper body), Boone Jenner (day to day), Elvis Merzlikins (lower body), Daniil Tarasov (upper body), Jake Bean (upper body)

Injured reserve: Kent Johnson (torn labrum in left shoulder, out for season)

Roster Report: Injuries to Bean and Tarasov led to the Friday emergency recalls of Blankenburg and Subban, while Trey Fix-Wolansky was returned to Cleveland with Gaudreau healthy.

3 Stats to Know

• Zach Werenski has set a career high with 49 points on the season thanks to seven goals and 42 assists. His point total is third all-time for a single season among CBJ defensemen, and his assist total is second behind only James Wisniewski (44, 2013-14).
• Dmitri Voronkov’s 18th goal of the season Thursday moved him into third place alone in CBJ annals in goals for a rookie, behind only Kirill Marchenko (21, 2022-23) and Pierre-Luc Dubois (20, 2017-18). He is currently fourth this season among NHL rookies in tallies.
• Milestone watch: Johnny Gaudreau is three assists from 500 for his NHL career (242-497-739, 757 GP). ... Werenski is six points from 300 for his NHL career (86-208-294, 479 GP).

Who’s Hot

Kirill Marchenko has scored in three straight games and has a 3-2-5 line in that span, while Cole Sillinger has a 2-3-5 line in the last four contests. ... Alex Nylander’s 10 goals since making his Blue Jackets debut Feb. 23 are a franchise record for a player in his first 18 games with the squad. He has three multigoal contests in that time span. ... Zach Werenski has a 3-8-11 line in the last 11 games, and his six goals since Feb. 17 are tied for third among NHL defensemen. ... Johnny Gaudreau has a 4-23-27 line in the last 28 games and has reached the 40-assist plateau for the second straight season. ... The team’s rookie stat line of 31-38-69 is first in the NHL in goals and fourth in points.

This Day in CBJ History

April 6, 2014: Sergei Bobrovsky stops 31 shots while making his second shutout in four days as the Blue Jackets post a 4-0 home win over the New York Islanders.

April 6, 2017: Columbus native Jack Roslovic makes his NHL debut in Nationwide Arena, playing for the visiting Winnipeg Jets.

April 6, 2019: One day after clinching a playoff spot with a shootout win at the New York Rangers, Columbus defeats Ottawa 6-2 to close out the second-best season in franchise history at 47-31-4 (98 points).