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Columbus Blue Jackets Lines, Defensive Pairings, & Scratches For Tonight's Game vs. Vegas Golden Knights

Columbus Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli (19) controls the puck against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first period at Amalie Arena. Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Columbus Blue Jackets and Vegas Golden Knights play this season for the second and final time.

Columbus Blue Jackets (70 pts) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (83 pts) Game PreviewColumbus Blue Jackets (70 pts) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (83 pts) Game PreviewThe Columbus Blue Jackets welcome the Vegas Golden Knights into Nationwide Arena on Thursday. The Blue Jackets won their only meeting of the season in Vegas back on Jan. 30 in OT

Projected Lineup **Lines Subject to Change 

Dmitri Voronkov - Adam Fantilli – Kirill Marchenko

Kent Johnson – Boone Jenner – Mathieu Olivier

James van Riemsdyk – Justin Danforth – Luke Kunin

Zach Aston-Reese - Sean Kuraly – Christian Fischer

Zach Werenski - Dante Fabbro

Denton Mateychuk - Ivan Provorov

Jake Christiansen - Damon Severson

Starter: Elvis Merzļikins

Scratches: Jordan Harris, Jack Johnson, Yegor Chinakhov

Injuries

  • Erik Gudbranson (upper body) is on Injured Reserve on Oct. 16 (61 Games)
  • Sean Monahan (upper body) is on Injured Reserve retroactive to Jan. 7 (23 Games)
  • Kevin Labanc (shoulder) is on Injured Reserve as of Feb. 21 and out for the season (8 Games)
  • Cole Sillinger is day-to-day with an upper body injury (5 Games)

TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 274

How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be on FanDuel Sports Network. Steve Mears will be on the play-by-play. The radio broadcast will be on 97.1 The Fan, with Bob McElligott behind the mic doing the play-by-play.

Let us know what you think below.

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NHL Rumor Roundup: Off-Season Moves Coming For The Blackhawks And Canadiens

Tyler Bertuzzi and Juraj Slafkovsky (Matt Marton-Imagn Images)

The Chicago Blackhawks were busy sellers leading up to the March 7 NHL trade deadline.

Since Jan. 24, they have sent Taylor Hall to the Carolina Hurricanes as part of the three-team deal involving Mikko Rantanen's ill-fated move to the Hurricanes. They also shipped Seth Jones to the Florida Panthers in a multi-player move and dealt Petr Mrazek and Craig Smith to the Detroit Red Wings for Joe Veleno.

Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno told reporters the team is more cohesive after trading away “some distractions.” 

Following the trade deadline, GM Kyle Davidson told the media it was time to shift from making moves for draft picks and prospects for deals that bring in players. He didn't rule out drawing on his stockpile of picks to swing a major trade during the off-season.

Davidson spent the past two seasons adding veterans via trades and free agency, but most were past their prime. What the Blackhawks need are players in their twenties who are also in their playing prime, including a winger who can play alongside young franchise center Connor Bedard. 

NHL Rumor Roundup: What Could The Off-Season Hold For The Sabres And Flyers?NHL Rumor Roundup: What Could The Off-Season Hold For The Sabres And Flyers?The Buffalo Sabres made one of the notable moves leading up to last Friday's NHL trade deadline, shipping center Dylan Cozens to the Ottawa Senators for center Josh Norris. 

Turning to the Montreal Canadiens, GM Kent Hughes made no moves during the trade deadline. He said he wasn't worried about losing David Savard, Joel Armia and Christian Dvorak to free agency this summer, saying he felt it was best to keep them so his younger players could lean on their experience and leadership as they jockey for a wild-card berth down the stretch. 

Hughes didn't attempt to shop for a second-line center to replace the sidelined Kirby Dach, saying the trade deadline wasn't necessarily the best time to fill that position. He said he spoke with other GMs to “spitball” some ideas, including those involving players who didn't appear in the rumor mill before the trade deadline. 

Dach's injury history makes finding a second-line center a priority this summer for Hughes. He could go the free-agent route, but it's likelier he'll attempt to address that issue in the trade market, finding a player in his mid to late twenties who could fit into the Canadiens' long-term plans.

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Joel Armia Battling a UBI

Joel Armia was out for the game against the Seattle Kraken. That hurt, but it happens and there’s no timetable for his return. Patrik Laine was the player who was back in the lineup and that was a positive but all of these changes to the lineup are tough on a team. 

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Armia remains questionable for Saturday’s game against the Florida Panthers. If the Canadiens stay in the race, they must beat Florida. Getting one point at this time of the year isn’t that much of a benefit especially if it’s against a team you’re chasing. The Canadiens aren’t chasing Florida but they are chasing the Ottawa Senators and the Columbus Blue Jackets. 

I cover the Flyers too and last season they missed the playoffs on the last day of the season. It went a bit further than I thought and that is what I’m seeing for the Canadiens. Unless you can win 5-7 in a row and have the teams you’re chasing lose regulation games, the math becomes the enemy.

Next Tuesday the Canadiens play the Senators at home. They can’t lose that game. Even an overtime loss would be costly. They play them again on April 11th in Ottawa. The hope is that the game means something. The Canadiens are done with the Blue Jackets. 

I always say the NHL schedule maker works with math geniuses to get these kinds of races because of the loser point. That’s what creates a lot of this. The NHL Is never boring and they do get that part right.