Happy thoughts: Cats are 2-5-1 all-time in Ohio.
- WHO:Florida Panthers (9-6-6 24P) at Columbus Blue Jackets (6-15-2 14P)
- WHEN: 7:00 p.m. ET (LBC GameThread at 6:30ish)
- WHERE: Nationwide Arena - Columbus, OH
- HOW TO WATCH: Fox Sports Florida (FLA); Fox Sports Ohio (CBJ)
- HOW TO LISTEN: WQAM 560 (FLA); WBNS 97.1 (CBJ)
- ENEMY INTEL:The Cannon
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 1 of 3 (0-0)
- ALL-TIME VS CBJ: 4W-7L-0T 3OTL 1SOL 34GF 47GA
- PLAYER STATS:Florida / Columbus
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Last game for Florida: 3-2 regulation victory vs. Ottawa. The longtime anti-Florida juggernaut known as "Andy" fell to the Cats for only the fourth time in 15 games as the Panthers, riding high on goals from Dylan Olsen, Sean Bergenheim and Jimmy Hayes, topped their former backup in a 46-shot performance Saturday in Sunrise. Vincent Trocheck, a demon in Ottawa's defensive zone throughout the evening, notched 2 assists and first-star honors. Al Montoya stopped 22 Senators shots. Roberto Luongo (arm strain) is on the trip after goaltender Dan Ellis was reassigned to San Antonio Sunday. F Jussi Jokinen (flu) is expected to return.
Last game for Columbus:2-1 regulation loss in Nashville.Ryan Johansen's ninth goal of the season (and 25th point!) knotted the score early in the third period before Nashville's Colin Wilson nailed his game-winner late in the same frame as the Preds sealed a fourth-straight win. Worthy of mention: the Jackets had the only power-play goal of the game, led in hits (25-14), face-off wins (35-31), and blocked shots (21-10). All that against the Central Division leader, so regardless of a horrific injury situation, they're not mailing it in. Keep in mind: the Jacks are 8-0 vs Florida in the past eight contests.
NHL Preview:
Monday in the Atlantic Division
| Matchup | Record / Points | Atlantic Rank | Start (ET) | |||
| Tampa Bay | 16-6-2 / 34P | 1st | 7:00 | |||
| NY Rangers | 11-8-4 / 26P | Metro | ||||
| Montreal | 16-7-2 / 34P | 2nd | 9:00 | |||
| Colorado | 9-10-5 / 23P | Central | ||||
| Boston | 14-9-1 / 29P | 4th | 10:00 | |||
| Anaheim | 14-6-5 / 33P | Pacific |
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