Gameday Preview: Blue Jackets at Rangers

The Details

BLUE JACKETS at RANGERS
GAME INFO
COLUMBUS: 2-4-0, T-7th in Metropolitan
NEW YORK: 3-1-1, T-3rd in Metropolitan
MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, 5 p.m. ET
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BROADCAST INFO
TV:
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AUDIO:
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Johnny Columbus

What They're Saying

Six games into a 2022-23 season that has featured two wins and four losses for the Blue Jackets, you could make an argument the biggest thing eluding Columbus to this point is consistency.
The Blue Jackets have played some really good hockey -- including in last night's loss to the Penguins in which the team's first period might have been its best 20 minutes of hockey all season -- but it is yet to come in 60-minute intervals.
There are always going to be ups and downs during games, but the swings to this point have largely been dramatic for Columbus. The Blue Jackets fell into early two-goal deficits Tuesday and Thursday before falling to beat Vancouver and Nashville, respectively, before the opposite script played out against the Penguins.
"Our plan was to get a good start," Jack Roslovic said of last night's game. "Now we have to take the good start and put it with the good finish."
Tonight's game against New York offers that opportunity, and with it comes a chance to wash away the frustration of falling to the rival Penguins.
"There were some positives within there," Larsen said of the Pittsburgh contest. "But it's a sour taste right now because of some things."

Gameday Update

Liam Foudy will go in this evening for his first game of the year and first NHL game since Jan. 15 of last year, after which he returned to AHL Cleveland and eventually needed season-ending shoulder surgery.
Foudy will take the place of Justin Danforth, who suffered an upper-body injury last night.
"It's gotta be based around speed," Larsen said of Foudy's game. "He should have great energy every shift. Obviously it's his first regular-season game here in a while, so keep it simple, just chip in behind D, use your legs, use your energy and be infectious that way."

Know The Foe: New York Rangers

Head coach:Gerard Gallant (Second season)
Season Stats:Goals per game: 3.80 (6th) | Scoring defense: 3.00 (12th) | PP: 25.0 percent (11th) | PK: 76.5 percent (18th)
The narrative:Gallant had an excellent debut season, as the Rangers' quick rebuild has yielded the fruit for the team to go all the way to the Eastern Conference Final a year ago. Led by stars Artemi Panarin, Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin as well as impressive veterans Mike Zibanejad and Chris Kreider, New York will try to go even further this season.
2021-22 leaders:Panarin was Panarin, as the former Blue Jackets star placed fourth in the NHL with 74 assists on the way to a team-leading mark of 96 points. Zibanejad added a 29-52-81 line, while Kreider's 52 goals were good for third in the NHL while his 26 power-play markers led the league. Fox didn't repeat as Norris Trophy winner but did have 11 goals and 63 assists for 74 points.
Shesterkin, meanwhile, won the Vezina Trophy with a 36-13-4 record, 2.07 GAA and .935 save percentage while leading the league in goals saved above expected per 60 per MoneyPuck.com.
What's new: The Rangers made one big move, letting center Andrew Copp go and replacing him with former Carolina standout Vincent Trocheck in the free agent market. Young Russian wing Vitali Kravtsov, a 2018 first-round pick, returned from his native country, while Alexandar Georgiev was replaced as the backup goalie by Jaroslav Halak.
So far, New York's solid start includes wins over playoff teams Tampa Bay and Minnesota as well as Anaheim. Panarin's 3-8-11 start puts him tied atop the NHL in both assists in points, while Zibanejad has a 4-4-8 line in five games and Trocheck has six points to get off to a solid start on Broadway. Shesterkin, meanwhile, is 3-0-1, though his save percentage is at .901 through four games.
Trending:The Rangers won two of the three meetings a season ago, but the Blue Jackets did win the last one, a Jan. 27 contest in Madison Square Garden. Columbus has won six of eight road games in the series.

3 Keys to the Game

All the small things: In hockey, the little things can become big things, and many of the mistakes Columbus made against Pittsburgh were small ones that allowed the Penguins to take advantage. It's stuff that can be cleaned up for this one.
Get a power-play goal: Columbus remains the lone team in the league without a man-advantage tally. There's only been 14 chances in six games, but getting on the board would be a boost.
Handle the stars: New York City is where the stars come to shine, and the Rangers have many of them that we listed above. But hey, if the Jackets can make it here, they can make it anywhere.

3 Stats to Know

• Johnny Gaudreau has the third longest active consecutive games played streak, which hit 300 in a row last night against the Penguins. He also has a five-game point streak (4-3-7).
• Coming off a game in which the Blue Jackets had a 31-12 edge in hits, the team is eighth in the NHL with 98 hits on the season.
• Milestone watch: Jakub Voracek is one point from 200 for his CBJ career (45-154-199), while Nyquist is two away from 100 (35-63-98). Meanwhile, Sean Kuraly is one point from 100 in his NHL career (39-60-99).

Who's Hot

With his first goal of the season as well as an assist against the Pens, Jack Roslovic is coming off the 19th multipoint game of his CBJ career. … Yegor Chinakhov has four assists in the last three games, while Voracek has three helpers in that span. … Johnson has points in two straight (1-1-2) and became the 215th CBJ player to score a goal in franchise history last night.

This Day in CBJ History

Oct. 23, 2007: A 7-4 win at Chicago featured two goals from Rick Nash and Jiri Novotny. The victory moved Columbus to 4-3-1 to start the year and kicked off what would become a four-game winning streak.

Roster Report

Projected Lineup (subject to change)
Gustav Nyquist - Boone Jenner - Johnny Gaudreau
Kent Johnson - Jack Roslovic - Jakub Voracek
Liam Foudy - Cole Sillinger - Yegor Chinakhov
Eric Robinson - Sean Kuraly - Mathieu Olivier
Zach Werenski - Nick Blankenburg
Vladislav Gavrikov - Andrew Peeke
Jake Bean - Erik Gudbranson
Daniil Tarasov
Elvis Merzlikins
Scratches:Justin Danforth (upper body), Adam Boqvist
Injured reserve/Injured non-roster:Patrik Laine (sprained elbow; three to four weeks as of Oct. 13); Joonas Korpisalo (hip, day to day); Joona Luoto (lower body, day to day)
Roster Report:Danforth left the Jackets' game Saturday night against the Penguins and will not play, so Foudy goes in for his season debut. Merzlikins has started four games in the last eight days, so Tarasov gets the nod in net.