Blue Jackets at Flyers
The Columbus Blue Jackets can pull into a tie in points for third place in the Metropolitan Division on Thursday should they extend their winning streak to a season high-tying six games with a regulation victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. The Blue Jackets have outscored the opposition 21-11 during their win streak, although offense has been in short supply as the teams have played to three 2-1 decisions, with the Flyers winning two of them.
"We get on a little bit of a run here, now it puts us in the picture to compete for the playoffs," Columbus coach John Tortorella said. "That's all it's done. We're not in, but it gives you a chance." Sergei Bobrovsky posted his eighth win in 12 decisions after turning aside 38 shots in Monday's 5-2 triumph over Montreal, and the two-time Vezina Trophy winner has dominated his former team to the tune of posting a 9-3-1 career mark with two shutouts. The Flyers defeated Bobrovsky in a pair of meetings in February, but have slumped to a 1-5-1 mark in March. Petr Mrazek made 19 saves to highlight his Philadelphia debut in a 2-1 victory over the Blue Jackets on Feb. 22, but has yielded 22 goals for an .878 save percentage in his last six outings.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Ohio (Columbus), NBCS Philadelphia
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (37-28-5): Seth Jones became just the sixth defenseman in NHL history to record the game-winning goal in three consecutive team games when he tallied against the Canadiens. The 23-year-old pushed his point total to 12 (seven goals, five assists) in the past nine games and to 48 overall, three shy of tying James Wisniewski (2013-14) for the most by a defenseman in franchise history. Jones exited with an upper-body injury versus Montreal and missed Wednesday's practice with a maintenance day, but Tortorella expects him in the lineup against Philadelphia.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (35-24-11): Captain Claude Giroux, who scored and set up a goal in Monday's 3-2 setback to Vegas, has three goals and five assists during his seven-game point streak while former Blue Jacket Jakub Voracek has two of each during his four-game stretch. While those two have been consistent, others have been mired in pronounced goal droughts - most notably Sean Couturier (team-leading 29 goals), who has failed to score in a 12-game stretch since tallying 1:52 into overtime against Columbus on Feb. 16. The 25-year-old Couturier is not alone as Valtteri Filppula is mired in a 24-game goal drought, defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere has failed to score in his last 19 and Michael Raffl hasn't scored in his last 15.
OVERTIME
1. Columbus LW Artemi Panarin has scored six goals and set up nine others over his last 12 games to bolster his team lead in goals (21), assists (40) and points (61).
2. Giroux has scored a goal and set up two others versus the Blue Jackets this season to extend his point total to 21 (seven goals, 14 assists) in 24 career encounters.
3. Columbus' 24th-ranked penalty kill has thwarted 30 of its last 34 short-handed situations over the last 14 contests.