A Game of Cat and Mouse

After a 5-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes, the Columbus Blue Jackets head to Sunrise, Florida to face-off against the Florida Panthers.

Tuesday night was an action-packed fight for Columbus. It was their first game without forward Brandon Dubinsky, but they were able to hold it together against the Colorado Avalanche.

The first period was excellent as the boys in blue scored two unanswered goals. Captain Nick Foligno scored the first one less than seven minutes into the game, and then Pierre-Luc Dubois scored a power play goal shortly thereafter.

In the second period, Columbus fell apart a bit. Their passes got sloppier and they allowed the Aves to tie the game. Colorado got their first goal three minutes into the period. Defense had all but disappeared in the second 20, and Bob was left out to dry. Fortunately for the veteran goaltender, Columbus got their groove back early on in the final period.

At the 5:14 mark, Artemi Panarin put the Jackets in the lead with a pass from Markus Nutivaara. About six minutes later, Foligno scores his second of the night. The final goal came in the form of an empty-netter from Josh Anderson.

Unfortunately, Foligno wasn’t able to clinch a hat trick, but the game was a redemption for the team, nonetheless, after a disappointing loss during their home opener against the Hurricanes.

Tonight, the Jackets take on the Florida Panthers who are looking for redemption of their own.

Florida has only played one game so far. They lost in the shootout against Tampa Bay last Saturday, and tonight is their home opener.

Regardless, Columbus has a promising chance tonight when you look at the two teams history. In the past 20 matches, Columbus is 15-3-2 and have won their last four encounters.

Additionally, the Panther’s primary goalie, Roberto Luongo, will be missing in action after he suffered a sprained collateral ligament during the fight against Tampa. James Reimer is expected to take his place.

Last season, Reimer started 42 games and brought home 22 victories. He also had four shutouts during that time.

200 feet away, Joonas Korpisalo will start in net for the CBJ.

CBJ Projected Lineup

Artemi Panarin — Pierre-Luc Dubois — Cam Atkinson

Nick Foligno — Alexander Wennberg — Anthony Duclair

Boone Jenner — Lukas Sedlak — Oliver Bjorkstrand

Zach Werenski — David Savard

Ryan Murray — Markus Nutivaara

Scott Harrington — Adam Clendening

Joonas Korpisalo

Sergei Bobrovsky

Florida Panthers Projected Lineup

Evgenii Dadonov -- Aleksander Barkov -- Nick Bjugstad

Jonathan Huberdeau -- Vincent Trocheck -- Mike Hoffman

Frank Vatrano -- Jared McCann -- Denis Malgin

Troy Brouwer -- Juho Lammikko -- Colton Sceviour

Keith Yandle -- Aaron Ekblad

Mike Matheson -- Mark Pysyk

Jacob MacDonald - Alexander Petrovic

James Reimer

Michael Hutchinson