Columbus @ Florida preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 5, 2019 ) Columbus 4, Florida 3

The Florida Panthers, who were making a run at first place in the Atlantic Division two weeks ago, look to snap out of a slump as they continue a nine-game homestand Saturday night against the struggling Columbus Blue Jackets. The Panthers, who have lost seven straight against the Blue Jackets, had put together an 11-3-3 run before dropping four of their last five contests and coughed up a two-goal lead in Tuesday’s 4-2 loss to Minnesota.

“We started to get sloppy at the blue line, started turning pucks over,” Florida defenseman MacKenzie Weegar told reporters of Tuesday’s collapse. “We know that we can play offense, but it’s just been kind of the story this year. We’ve been giving up too many chances, and in the second and third we did that.” Sergei Bobrovsky, who won two Vezina Trophies in seven seasons with Columbus before signing as a free agent with the Panthers last July, has struggled this season with an .884 save percentage but could get a chance against his old teammates after being benched the last two games. Artemi Panarin, another former Blue Jackets star, scored the winning goal Thursday as the New York Rangers handed Columbus its third straight loss and fifth in the last seven outings 3-2. “It isn’t an effort thing,” Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno told reporters. “We’ve got to bury our opportunities, and I’m tired of hearing about, ‘We’ve got to score more.’ There’s a process to it. That’s the end result. We’ve got to remain positive in the process, understanding how we’re going to do that.”

TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Ohio (Columbus), FS Florida

ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (11-13-4): Columbus entered Friday 29th out of 31 teams in goals per game despite being seventh in shots per outing, and does not have a player with 20 points through 28 contests. Pierre-Luc Dubois tops the team with 10 goals, although he is mired in a six-game drought, and the 21-year-old center shares the lead in points alongside wing Gustav Nyquist at 18. Defenseman Seth Jones scored Thursday and has six of his 16 points in the last eight games while Foligno owns five of his 13 over the past five contests - including his 300th with Columbus in the last outing.

ABOUT THE PANTHERS (13-9-5): Florida entered Friday giving up the third-most goals per game in the league but career minor leaguer Chris Driedger allowed three goals on 52 shots in the past two contests, including a shutout of Nashville last Saturday. The Panthers were fifth in the league in scoring through Thursday and left wing Jonathan Huberdeau leads the team with 33 points after posting two versus Minnesota. Captain Aleksander Barkov has scored in back-to-back games and is one point behind Huberdeau while Brett Connolly tops Florida with 12 goals.

OVERTIME

1. Columbus D Andrew Peeke made his NHL debut Thursday and could play Saturday near his home of Parkland, Fla.

2. The Panthers recalled F Aleksi Saarela, who was recently acquired from Chicago, from AHL Springfield on Friday.

3. Blue Jackets G Joonas Korpisalo has allowed 19 goals in his last eight games and is 3-1-0 against Florida.

PREDICTION: Panthers 4, Blue Jackets 3