Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Philadelphia Flyers Pick & Prediction APRIL 15th 2025
Preview and Prediction
The Columbus Blue Jackets have achieved victory in four consecutive games, keeping their slim chances of making the playoffs alive.
The Blue Jackets (38-33-9, 85 points) will attempt to continue their climb on Tuesday as they face off against the Philadelphia Flyers (33-37-10, 76 points). They are hoping for a chance to secure a spot in the postseason.
Columbus currently trails the Montreal Canadiens by three points in the race for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, with only two games remaining. However, the Canadiens have the power to eliminate Columbus from playoff contention with a win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday night.
See also:
Veteran Islander Forward Cal Clutterbuck Retires from Hockey
See also:
Chris Drury, President and General Manager of the Rangers, Signs Multi-Year Contract Extension
"We were keeping an eye on (Montreal's previous) game last night during dinner when we arrived, and we'll also be watching their game (on Monday night)," said Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski. "We'll see what happens, but all we can do is focus on our own game. Hopefully things work out in our favor."
Things did work out in Columbus' favor on Sunday, as Adam Fantilli scored multiple goals for the second game in a row to help the team sweep a home-and-home series against the Washington Capitals.
Werenski, who also scored a goal in Sunday's 4-1 victory, leads the Blue Jackets in both assists (56) and points (78). He has scored three goals in three games against the Flyers this season, including two in a 3-2 shootout win in Columbus on January 14th.
Kirill Marchenko scored the game-winning goal in the shootout during that game. He currently leads the team with 31 goals this season, although he has not scored since his hat trick against the Nashville Predators on April 1st.
On Sunday, Jet Greaves made 29 saves for the Blue Jackets. He has stopped 90 of 93 shots in his last three games.
"We've seen it happen a number of times this year, and for him to come in and perform the way he has in these important games, it's been incredible," said Werenski of Greaves' performance. "I think it's given our team a huge boost. Hats off to him. He's played incredibly and has been playing a lot of hockey these past couple days."
The Flyers lost in overtime on Sunday, earning a point for the sixth time in seven games (5-1-1) since Brad Shaw took over as interim head coach.
See also:
Study: Initial NHL postseason viewership drops by 27%
See also:
"Recap of NHL Action: Stars Defeat Avalanche in Overtime"
"You play with pride in these games," said fourth-line player Garnet Hathaway after scoring a goal and an assist in Philadelphia's 4-3 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Sunday. "You play because you love it, you play because it's your job, and you play for the guy next to you. It shouldn't matter (where you are in the standings); we don't want to lose our identity, lose good habits, start playing sloppy hockey, and have that carry over into our summer.
"We take a lot of pride in wearing this jersey. So, you're going to see a competitive group until the end."
Travis Konecny scored two goals and assisted on three others in three games against Columbus this season.
Konecny leads the team in assists (51) and points (75), while his 24 goals are tied for the team lead with rookie Matvei Michkov and Tyson Foerster.
Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Philadelphia Flyers
Travis Konecny collected a goal and two assists to propel the Philadelphia Flyers to a 5-1 victory over the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday in the opener of a home-and-home series.
Kevin Hayes, Sean Couturier, Jakub Voracek and defenseman Philippe Myers also tallied for the Flyers, who leapfrogged Columbus and the idle New York Islanders into third place in the Metropolitan Division. Philadelphia will vie for a four-game season sweep of Columbus on Thursday when it visits Ohio.
Flyers captain Claude Giroux set up Voracek's goal midway into the third period for his 235th career power-play assist, passing Hall of Famer Bobby Clarke for the franchise record.
Second-year Philadelphia goaltender Carter Hart finished with 28 saves to improve to 15-2-2 at home this season.
Oliver Bjorkstrand scored his 13th goal in 16 games to boost his team-leading total to 20 for the Blue Jackets, who have dropped a season-high six in a row (0-3-3).
Rookie Elvis Merzlikins yielded four goals on 12 shots before being replaced by Matiss Kivlenieks (two saves on three shots).
Philadelphia opened the scoring in unconventional fashion, as Hayes' shot from behind the goal line caromed off both the right skate of rookie defenseman Andrew Peeke and the helmet of Merzlikins before going into the net. Hayes' 18th goal, at 3:28 of the first period, snapped a personal six-game point drought.
The Flyers doubled the advantage just 62 seconds later.
Couturier lost control of the puck as he attempted to shift to his backhand on a partial breakaway. The puck, however, continued to slide forward and found its way between the pads of Merzlikins for Couturier's 18th goal of the season and fifth in his past six games.
Myers gave the Flyers a 3-0 lead at 12:32 of the second period. He skated through the right circle before his attempted centering feed caromed into the net for his fourth goal of the season and first in 36 games.
Bjorkstrand trimmed the Blue Jackets' deficit to 3-1 under five minutes later.
Konecny chased Merzlikins by scoring his team-leading 20th goal at 3:40 of the third period. Voracek's tally at 10:14 of the third period was his 12th of the season.