Gameday Preview: Blue Jackets at Rangers

The Details
There are just 10 games left in the Blue Jackets' season, five at home and five on the road, with two away from Nationwide Arena set to be knocked out with this trip to New York and Boston. The cities are good and the teams are even better, with both getting ready to make playoff appearances and both set on making sure they're playing hockey deep into the spring.

BLUE JACKETS at RANGERS
GAME INFO
COLUMBUS: 22-40-7, 8th in Metropolitan
NEW YORK: 43-20-10, 3rd in Metropolitan
MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, 7 p.m. ET
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What They're Saying

We all know the Blue Jackets have had an injury-plagued season, but this is starting to border on the ridiculous.
Just when it appeared the squad was getting healthier down the stretch, five players went down in the latter half of last week. Patrik Laine was injured during practice Thursday, the trio of Erik Gudbranson, Mathieu Olivier and Nick Blankenburg was dinged up during Saturday's win over the New York Islanders, and Elvis Merzlikins had to leave Saturday's loss at Montreal as well.
Columbus is now at 464 man games lost to injury for the season and will pass the 500-game mark by the end of the campaign, as well as the team record of 508 set during the 2014-15 season.
Considering the Blue Jackets are hoping to see AHL Cleveland make the postseason, having to recall such Monsters stalwarts as Trey Fix-Wolansky, Jake Christiansen and Billy Sweezey down the stretch just to field a healthy lineup was not the goal. At the same time, the Blue Jackets are in a boat they've been in for most of the season, knowing they can't do anything but put their heads down and try to finish strong.
"It's frustrating," head coach Brad Larsen said after practice Monday. "It's just really challenging. You're just trying to keep this thing afloat here, and we get dinged up again, some key guys in some key areas. It's kind of been how the year has been. You get a little spell of health, and then we lose some guys. You deal with it. Today we work at practice and get ready for tomorrow."

Know The Foe: New York Rangers

Head coach: Gerard Gallant (Second season)
Season Stats:Goals per game: 3.33 (12th) | Scoring defense: 2.69 (4th) | PP: 22.4 percent (10th) | PK: 80.9 percent (12th)
The narrative: Whomever comes out of the Eastern Conference will have to survive a gauntlet, but one would be wise not to discount the Rangers. A finalist in the East a season ago, New York beefed up its offense at the trade deadline with the acquisitions of Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrik Kane and already boasted one of the best defenses in the league, especially if Igor Shesterkin is playing at a high level. This squad looks like it will be a tough out in the spring.
2022-23 leaders:There's no shortage of star power on Broadway, and it starts with a familiar face. Artemi Panarin leads New York in scoring this year and is 17th in the league with a 24-58-82 line that looks a lot like his two years in Columbus. Mika Zibanejad follows with a team-best 37 goals among his 79 points to place 12th in the league in tallies, while Adam Fox has followed up his Norris campaign with a 11-54-65 line. Vincent Trocheck's first year in New York has been solid with 19 goals and 57 points, while Chris Kreider adds 32 tallies.
In net, Shesterkin hasn't quite had the same year he did a season ago on the way to the Vezina win, but he's still one of the top 10 goalies in the league statistically with a 33-12-7 record, 2.55 GAA and .914 save percentage.
What's new:The Rangers are trending the right direction at the moment with points in nine of the last 10, including an 8-1-1 record in that time span. New York is outscoring teams 38-19 in that time, and the Rangers are getting solid contributions from deadline acquisitions Tarasenko (5-9-14 in 22 games), Kane (4-4-8 in 12 games) and Tyler Motte (3-3-6 in 15 games). The best news, though, might be Shesterkin's .931 save percentage in the last 10 games.
Trending:The teams have split the two previous games on the docket, with Columbus taking a 5-1 win in MSG early in the season before the Rangers won 3-1 in Columbus. They'll meet again April 8 to close the season series.
Former CBJ: Panarin and Motte, who rejoined the team after being acquired from Ottawa, lead the way, while the Rangers have found a regular shift for veteran defenseman Ben Harpur, who was with the Jackets during training camp.

3 Keys to the Game

Don't let them get going: Madison Square Garden can get pretty fired up when the Rangers are flying, so it's up to the Jackets to keep momentum on their side the way they did earlier this year in a win in the iconic building.
Stop the rush: Montreal was able to take advantage of the Blue Jackets in transition multiple times in that 8-2 win. Columbus can't let the Rangers get going in the neutral zone.
Finish strong: We're down to the final 10 games, and Columbus only has a few more chances to lay it all on the line before heading out for summer.

3 Stats to Know

• Kirill Marchenko has 19 goals and three assists on the season, making him the only CBJ player in history to score at least 15 times in a season with less than 10 assists. Only one player in the NHL's modern era -- Florida's Brandon Pirri, with 22-2-24 in 2014-15 -- has finished a season with at least 15 goals and only three assists, per Hockey Reference.
• The Blue Jackets rank fourth in the NHL in power-play percentage since Jan. 21, converting on 20 of 73 opportunities over the last 24 contests (27.4 percent). Columbus also has power-play goals in nine of the last 12 games (11 of 32, 34.4 percent).
• Milestone watch: McKown became the 325th player in CBJ history when he made his debut Friday against the Islanders. Goalie Jon Gillies would be the 326th if he plays tonight. … Michael Hutchinson earned his first win with the Blue Jackets on Friday night. … Boone Jenner (169-158-327, 650 GP) is eight points from surpassing Nick Foligno (142-192-334) for third most in Blue Jackets history.

Who's Hot

Johnny Gaudreau has a 3-9-12 mark in the last eight games. … Jack Roslovic has points in three straight games (2-3-5). … Eric Robinson has scored in two of three games to tie his career high with 10 tallies. ... Liam Foudy has notched six goals in the last 17 contests. … Marchenko's 19 goals are the second-most ever for a CBJ rookie, one behind Pierre-Luc Dubois (2016-17), and he is third in the league among rookie goal scorers. … Kent Johnson has 2-7-9 in the last eight games, and his 15-23-38 line places him in the top 10 in team history among rookies in goals (sixth), assists (fourth) and points (tied for fourth). He ranks sixth in the NHL in goals and is fourth in points among rookies. … Now with a team-best 25 goals on the season after scoring six in the last eight games, Jenner has consecutive 20-goal campaigns. ... Columbus is first in the NHL in goals among rookies with 48 and second to Montreal in points with 99.

This Day in CBJ History

March 28, 2012: The Blue Jackets sign second-round pick Jenner to an entry-level contract after he posted 45 goals in his final season with Oshawa of the OHL.
March 28, 2013: Cam Atkinson scores 10 seconds into the Blue Jackets' game at Edmonton, tying a franchise record for the fastest goal to begin a game. He later scored 27 seconds into the third to give Columbus a 4-3 lead, but the Oilers tallied three unanswered from there to take a 6-4 victory.

Roster Report

Projected Lineup (subject to change)
Johnny Gaudreau - Boone Jenner - Kirill Marchenko
Lane Pederson - Jack Roslovic - Kent Johnson
Eric Robinson - Sean Kuraly - Trey Fix-Wolansky
Liam Foudy - Hunter McKown - Emil Bemstrom
Tim Berni - Andrew Peeke
Jake Christiansen - Adam Boqvist
Gavin Bayruether - Billy Sweezey
Michael Hutchinson
Jon Gillies
Scratches:Patrik Laine (triceps strain, out two to four weeks as of March 24); Nick Blankenburg (ankle, week to week); Mathieu Olivier (lower leg bone bruise, out 2-4 weeks as of March 27); Erik Gudbranson (separated shoulder, out six weeks as of March 27); Elvis Merzlikins (lower body, day to day)
Injured reserve: Jake Bean (shoulder, out four to six months after surgery in November); Zach Werenski (shoulder surgery, out for season); Justin Danforth (shoulder surgery, out for season)
Roster Report:Another day, another set of injuries, and the Blue Jackets have recalled Sweezey to take Blankenburg's spot in the lineup, while Gillies looks set to dress in in place of Merzlikins, who did not practice Monday.