Projected Lineups for Blue Jackets vs Panthers – 3/6/25

The Columbus Blue Jackets take on the Florida Panthers today. Here are the projected/expected lineups sourced from NHL.com staff writers, independent correspondents, and others.

BLUE JACKETS (30-23-8) at PANTHERS (38-21-3)

7 p.m. ET; FDSNOH, SCRIPPS

Blue Jackets projected lineup

Dmitri Voronkov — Adam Fantilli — Kirill Marchenko
James van Riemsdyk — Boone Jenner — Kent Johnson
Zach Aston-Reese — Justin Danforth — Mathieu Olivier
Joseph LaBate — Sean Kuraly — Yegor Chinakhov

Zach Werenski — Dante Fabbro
Denton Mateychuk — Ivan Provorov
Jake Christiansen — Damon Severson

Elvis Merzlikins
Daniil Tarasov

Scratched: Jack Johnson, Jordan Harris, Mikael Pyythia

Injured: Cole Sillinger (upper body), Erik Gudbranson (upper body), Sean Monahan (wrist)

Status Report:

Chinakhov, who returned for a 6-2 loss at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday after being out since Nov. 27 with an upper-body injury, remains in the lineup but will begin the game on the fourth line Thursday; coach Dean Evason saying the move was made to get Chinakhov more acclimated to playing again.

Latest for THW:

• Blue Jackets’ Olivier’s Extension Shows Belief in Where Team is Going
• Blue Jackets’ Mathieu Olivier Well-Deserving of New Contract
• Blue Jackets Sign Mathieu Olivier to 6-Year Extension

Panthers projected lineup

Carter Verhaeghe — Aleksander Barkov — Sam Reinhart
Mackie Samoskevich — Sam Bennett — Evan Rodrigues
Eetu Luostarinen — Anton Lundell — Jesper Boqvist
A.J. Greer — Tomas Nosek — Jonah Gadjovich

Gustav Forsling — Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola — Seth Jones
Nate Schmidt — Dmitry Kulikov

Sergei Bobrovsky
Vitek Vanecek

Scratched: Uvis Balinskis

Injured: Matthew Tkachuk (lower body)

Status report:

Vanacek will back up Bobrovsky after being acquired in a trade with the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday. … Goalie Chris Driedger, who backed up Bobrovsky in a 2-1 win against the Lightning on Monday, was returned to Charlotte of the American Hockey League on Thursday.

Latest for THW:

• Panthers Now Have Goaltender Dilemma With Spencer Knight Traded
• Panthers Acquire Goaltender Vitek Vanecek From Sharks
• A (Mostly) Levelheaded Look at the Panthers’ Trade for Seth Jones