Columbus visits Florida following shutout victory

Columbus Blue Jackets (17-17-1, fifth in the Metropolitan) vs. Florida Panthers (25-7-5, first in the Atlantic)

Sunrise, Florida; Saturday, 6 p.m. EST

LINE: Panthers -288, Blue Jackets +235; over/under is 6

BOTTOM LINE: The Florida Panthers host Columbus after the Blue Jackets shut out Carolina 6-0. Elvis Merzlikins earned the victory in the net for Columbus after collecting 31 saves.

The Panthers are 17-4-3 in Eastern Conference games. Florida leads the Eastern Conference shooting 36.7 shots per game while averaging 4.0 goals.

The Blue Jackets are 4-7-0 against opponents from the Metropolitan. Columbus ranks seventh in the Eastern Conference averaging 5.5 assists per game, led by Jakub Voracek with 0.7.

The teams face off Saturday for the first time this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Aleksander Barkov leads the Panthers with 15 goals, adding 13 assists and totaling 28 points. Jonathan Huberdeau has five goals and 15 assists over the last 10 games for Florida.

Voracek leads the Blue Jackets with 24 total assists and has 25 points. Alexandre Texier has four assists over the last 10 games for Columbus.

LAST 10 GAMES: Panthers: 7-2-1, averaging 4.8 goals, 8.3 assists, 4.2 penalties and 12.2 penalty minutes while giving up 3.3 goals per game with a .909 save percentage.

Blue Jackets: 4-6-0, averaging 3.2 goals, 5.5 assists, 3.3 penalties and 6.9 penalty minutes while giving up 3.6 goals per game with an .894 save percentage.

INJURIES: Panthers: Jonas Johansson: out (covid-19), Markus Nutivaara: out (undisclosed), Mason Marchment: out (covid-19).

Blue Jackets: Daniil Tarasov: day to day (lower body), Jakub Voracek: out (covid-19).

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