Gameday Preview: Blue Jackets vs. Rangers

The Details

BLUE JACKETS vs. RANGERS
GAME INFO
COLUMBUS: 13-27-2, 8th in Metropolitan
NEW YORK: 24-13-7, 3rd in Metropolitan
NATIONWIDE ARENA, 7 p.m. ET
BUY TICKETS
BROADCAST INFO
TV:
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CBJ Player Statistics
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NHL Standings
RECENT ARTICLES
SvoNotes: The Marchenk-Show
Prospect Report: Checking in on Cleveland
Laine's 'Pat trick'

What They're Saying

The Blue Jackets woke up Saturday morning tied for last place in the NHL with Chicago and half of the season still to go. It wasn't a spot anyone figured Columbus would be in when the campaign began, but it was the reality that faced the CBJ as they headed to the Motor City for a game against Detroit.
Whether it was motivation from that or energy provided by the returns of captain Boone Jenner, Eric Robinson and Nick Blankenburg from injury, the Blue Jackets had their legs Saturday night, outskating the Wings all over the ice and taking a 4-0 lead. It got hairy at the end as the Red Wings scored a trio of third period goals, but the Blue Jackets were able to hold on for the victory two nights ago.
"It's amazing, especially how the guys played," goalie Elvis Merzlikins said when asked how it felt to be back in the win column. "I am really proud of them. We are dead last, but we are not quitting playing hockey. We played hard, and we were blocking shots and we were doing simple things, and we played amazing. I am really happy and proud of my teammates."
In the end, what Merzlikins referenced was likely the difference. The Blue Jackets played a simple game, taking what was given to them and playing in fives all over the ice. That approach limited the chances by Detroit but also gave Columbus the puck more often, which gave the team the chance to make things happen in transition.
That's the way head coach Brad Larsen has hoped the Blue Jackets would play, and it paid off in a victory Saturday night.
"Two real solid periods," Larsen said. "We had a couple of turnovers there in the second, but the first period was outstanding. We were just (playing) a very simple game (with) puck support. If we didn't have it, we got above it. We obviously got rewarded with some goals. The second period, we could have pushed it to five or six there. He made some saves to keep it at four. … We got through (the third) and that's a big step for this group."

Know The Foe: New York Rangers

Head coach:Gerard Gallant (Second season)
Season Stats:Goals per game: 3.16 (16th) | Scoring defense: 2.66 (5th) | PP: 22.1 percent (16th) | PK: 79.8 percent (13th)
The narrative:We've seen a number of teams -- the Detroits, Ottawas and Buffalos of the world -- go young in hopes of rebuilding into a contender, but the Rangers took a bit of a different route. Four straight non-playoff seasons from 2018-21 netted the team young talents Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko in the top two picks of the draft, but the free-agent market has been bigger for New York, which has added such pieces as Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck in recent years. Add in a trade for Adam Fox and such standouts as Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad and the pieces are there for last year's Eastern Conference finalists to be good for a while.
2022-23 leaders: Panarin has put up excellent offensive numbers since joining the Broadway Blueshirts and is doing so again, leading the way with a 12-35-47 line. Zibanejad and Kreider are tied for the team lead with 19 goals, and the former's 45 points are second on the team. Fox has a 9-35-44 line that puts him fourth among NHL defensemen in scoring, while Trocheck has been a nice addition with a 13-18-31 line.
In net, Igor Shesterkin is showing last year's Vezina Trophy season was no fluke as he has posted a 20-7-6 record in 32 starts with a 2.43 GAA and .918 save percentage. He played last night, so the net could go to Jaroslav Halak (4-6-1, 2.85, .896).
What's new:The Rangers had won five of six before a loss last night vs. Montreal, a 2-1 setback before the team hopped on a plane to head to Columbus. In all, this is one of the hottest teams in hockey, as New York is 13-3-2 in its last 18 games while allowing just 43 goals, an average of 2.39 per game. Kreider missed last night's game with illness that seems to be going through the squad, so it will be interesting to see if anyone else is impacted Monday.
Trending:Columbus won the first game of the season series Oct. 23 at Madison Square Garden, posting a 5-1 victory in the Big Apple. The Blue Jackets have now won two in a row in the series after the Rangers won four of five. Before that was a series of CBJ dominance, with the Jackets going 9-3-1 from 2016-17 through 2018-19.
Former CBJ:Panarin remains one of the game's top offensive players since leaving Columbus after the 2018-19 season, posting 296 points in 230 games on Broadway.

3 Keys to the Game

Play in fives: Columbus did this against the Red Wings, as everyone seemed to be on the same page and was connected up and down the ice.
Get to hard areas: Despite the firepower up front, the Rangers have been one of the best defensive teams in hockey, so if the Blue Jackets are to score, they'll have to get some greasy ones.
Big guns: Seeing the top line get on the board three times was a welcome sight, as the Jackets have to be led by their top players.

3 Stats to Know

• Laine's hat trick was the 10th of his career, making him just the 17th player in league history to reach double digits in three-goal games before age 25. Only four other players have as many hat tricks since his debut season in 2016-17: Alex Ovechkin (15), David Pastrnak (13) and Connor McDavid (12).
• With nine goals, Kirill Marchenko has the most goals ever by a CBJ player in the first 19 games of his career. His 2.31 goals per 60 minutes in all situations is third in the NHL behind Boston's David Pastrnak (2.37) and Buffalo's Tage Thompson (2.36) among the 642 skaters with at least 200 minutes of action per MoneyPuck.com.
• Milestone watch: Laine is one point from 100 for his CBJ career (48-51-99, 128 GP). … With two assists Saturday, Jack Roslovic passed 100 points in his CBJ career (37-64-101, 167 GP). … Joonas Korpisalo played in his 200th NHL game Thursday (81-75-22).

Who's Hot

Johnny Gaudreau ranks tied for seventh in the NHL in assists since Nov. 10 with 7-25-32 in 30 contests. … Marchenko has seven tallies in the last 11 games, while his nine goals are tied for fourth among NHL rookies. … Kent Johnson's 8-11-19 line puts him sixth in the NHL among rookies in both goals and points. … CBJ rookies lead all NHL teams in goals and rank third in points with 23-24-47 in 42 games.

This Day in CBJ History

Jan. 16, 2002: Marc Denis notches his first shutout in CBJ colors, making 31 saves in a 2-0 victory against the Rangers in Nationwide Arena. It was the sixth blanking in team history but the first for a goalie other than Ron Tugnutt.
Jan. 16, 2007: Jason Chimera tallies in overtime past Nikolai Khabibulin and the Blue Jackets post a 5-4 victory over Chicago in the Windy City.
Jan. 16, 2010: Rick Nash scores his 20th goal of the season and later adds his 21st, but Chicago rallies for a 6-5 win in Nationwide Arena. Jonathan Toews scored twice for Chicago in the third period, including the game-winning goal for the eventual Stanley Cup champs.

Roster Report

Projected Lineup (subject to change)
Johnny Gaudreau - Jack Roslovic - Patrik Laine
Eric Robinson - Boone Jenner - Gus Nyquist
Liam Foudy - Sean Kuraly - Mathieu Olivier
Kirill Marchenko - Kent Johnson - Emil Bemstrom
Vladislav Gavrikov - Adam Boqvist
Tim Berni - Erik Gudbranson
Nick Blankenburg - Andrew Peeke
Elvis Merzlikins
Daniil Tarasov
Scratches: Cole Sillinger, Gavin Bayreuther, Joonas Korpisalo (personal)
Injured reserve:Yegor Chinakhov (high ankle sprain, out six weeks as of Dec. 21); Carson Meyer (oblique, out six to weight weeks as of Jan. 11); Jake Bean (shoulder, out four to six months after surgery in November); Jakub Voracek (upper body, out indefinitely); Zach Werenski (shoulder surgery, out for season); Justin Danforth (shoulder surgery, out for season)
Roster Report: Columbus will keep the same lineup as Saturday night's win at Detroit.