Columbus comes in off a game that took some grit. The Blue Jackets beat Vegas 2-1 past regulation without Ivan Provorov, Dante Fabbro or Isac Lundestrom. After the teams traded 1st-period goals, it was 40 scoreless minutes. Holding Vegas to 1 goal with that blue line is a real result, even with Mitch Marner out of the Golden Knights' lineup. Cam Talbot is new in Columbus this year. He made 20 saves and stopped all 3 shootout attempts in his Blue Jackets debut against Pittsburgh.
Both teams look similar right now: thin rosters getting by on goaltending and low scores. Columbus has kept games close without 2 of its regular defensemen. Philadelphia has been winning 3-1 and 3-2 without its top 2 right wings. That points to a tight game, and it probably goes to whichever team gets a veteran back first. If Tippett is back in the lineup Tuesday, the Flyers' forward group looks a lot less like a call-up roster.
The Flyers' list is long. Cam York's upper-body injury left Rick Tocchet unsure about him even before the Anaheim game. Nikita Grebenkin is out at least 4 months after back surgery. Columbus has the opposite problem: its injuries are on defense, and it has been patching together a blue line on the fly. Whichever team's depth defenders hold up better at Xfinity Mobile Arena at 7:00 PM ET probably wins it. If both groups struggle, the Anaheim game showed how fast this can turn into a high-scoring night.