PREVIEW: The Blue Jackets honor Gaudreaus in Tuesday's home opener

This one is for Johnny and Matthew.

The Blue Jackets will remember and honor the brothers before today's home opener against Florida, with the Gaudreau family in attendance and a No. 13 frozen in the ice behind each net.

It will certainly be a day full of emotions, but primarily there was a certain, if bittersweet, joy Monday as the brothers' father, Guy, was on the ice with the Blue Jackets for team practice.

Guy is a long-time coach and an outstanding player at a young age. His life revolves around the game. On Monday, he chatted with players and coaches, collected pucks, put a few shots on net and then posed for a team photo with the Jackets at the end of the session.

“It looked like he was just having fun skating,” head coach Dean Evason said. “We finished training, came in and I said to him, 'Anytime you want to come out, you're welcome.' And he said, “Well, are you going ice skating tomorrow morning?” I said yes, so he's coming out tomorrow too.

“He just wants to be around and that’s fantastic. After everything the family has been through, it was fantastic (to have him here). He had such a positive attitude in our room. We made a practice plan and he jumped in. “It was really nice that he could be near our hockey club.”

Gaudreau was also involved in Monday's final practice, known as the Johnny Skate. Since Evason has started training camp, at the end of practice a player has the chance to shoot a puck the length of the ice toward an open net in an attempt to save the team from conditioning rounds.

“If he gets into the net, it’s a round for the players. If he misses, it's three rounds. One-three,” Evason said. “So we said (to Guy): 'Do you want to shoot the net?' ?' And he goes, “Yeah, and I'm going to miss it on purpose.” So I went out and said, “Full disclosure, guys, Guy said this,” and Guy said, “I told him we were going to miss on purpose, so you have to skate.” And he missed on purpose and they skated.

“He just loves the game, loves hockey. It was a joy to have him out there.”

Blue Jackets players were happy to have Gaudreau at practice, where he was often no stranger to watching from the stands during Johnny's two years with the team. It was the start of a few days full of emotions, as there shouldn't be many dry eyes in the house before the puck drop on Tuesday.

After picking up a big win at Colorado on Saturday, the Blue Jackets look to continue playing the solid hockey they've shown in the first two games of the season. And when they need inspiration, they say they know where to find it.

“It’s going to be emotional,” Sean Kuraly said. “And then, just like John would do, we turn on the game and play hockey. We follow the things he would do and play his butt off, and we will do the same thing.”

One of Gaudreau's best friends, Sean Monahan, added: “When we step on the ice, I'm going to step on the ice and play for John. If he were here he would really look forward to a day like this.”

Know the Enemy: Florida Panthers

Head Coach: Paul Maurice (Third Season)

Team stats (2023-24): Goals per game: 3.23 (11th) | Point defense: 2.41 (1st) | PP: 23.5 percent (8th) | PK: 82.6 percent (12th)

The narrative: A year after narrowly avoiding winning Lord Stanley's Cup, the Panthers bounced back and reached the top of the mountain last season, defeating Edmonton in seven classic games in June to win the franchise's first Cup. It was a remarkable achievement for former CBJ assistant GM Bill Zito's team, and now the challenge is to repeat it. That's what Florida's Tampa Bay counterparts did in 2020 and 2021, so it's possible, and the Panthers still have the stars to do it.

Team leader: Sam Reinhart signed a long-term deal to remain in Florida after scoring 57 goals a season ago, ranking third in the league, including an NHL-best 27 power play points, and scoring a team-high 94 points. The next two season-leading scorers won't play tonight – Matthew Tkachuk is currently out with illness, but was second on the squad a season ago with a 26-62-88 record, while Aleksander Barkov (lower body) scored 23 of 80 points . Carter Verhaeghe was next at 34-38-72, while defenseman Gustav Forsling led the NHL with a plus-56 rating.

Sergei Bobrovsky looked like the “Bob” we knew a season ago, posting a 36-17-4 record with a 2.37 GAA and a .915 save percentage in 58 appearances. This year he will be joined by Spencer Knight, who gave up four goals in a loss in his season debut with Buffalo.

What's new: The core of the team remains largely the same, but there have been some changes this offseason. Three key defenders, Brandon Montour, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Josh Mahura, have left, as have former CBJ striker Kevin Stenlund, fellow wings Ryan Lomberg and Vladimir Tarasenko, and goalkeeper Anthony Stolarz. The new additions are highlighted by the Boqvist brothers – striker Jesper and defender Adam – as well as defender Nate Schmidt and striker Tomas Nosek. Rookie winger Mackie Samoskevitch — a Michigan product who will be familiar to many of the Blue Jackets — also joins the mix after being a first-round pick in 2021.

Despite missing Tkachuk and Barkov, Florida improved to 2-2-0 with a 4-3 victory in a Monday matinee in Boston, in which Reinhart and forward Anton Lundell each scored two goals.

Trending: The Panthers won all three contests a year ago – a 5-4 overtime win at Sunrise on Nov. 6, a 5-2 final in Columbus on Dec. 10 and a 4-0 overtime win on the 11th April in Florida. Columbus has won just three of 17 contests over the last four seasons (3-11-3).

Former CBJ: Now, six years into the seven-year contract he signed with Florida at the end of his CBJ tenure, Bobrovsky captured his elusive Cup ring in the spring. Adam Boqvist was acquired by the Blue Jackets this summer and joined the Panthers, but in the opening game against Boston he took a puck in the face. he returned in Monday's win over the Bruins.