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BLUE JACKETS (22-17-7) at ISLANDERS (18-20-7), 7:30 PM, UBS ARENA

COLUMBUS, 4th in Metropolitan
NEW YORK, 8th in Metropolitan

All things considered, the Blue Jackets certainly would have preferred to get two points rather than just one in Saturday’s 1-0 shootout loss vs. the Rangers, but you couldn’t find too many disappointed faces in the locker room after the game.

Yes, it was unfortunate to see the team’s six-game winning streak come to an end in just the 15th game in team history to end regulation without a goal, but the Blue Jackets were encouraged by the way they played throughout the 65 minutes in Madison Square Garden.

The Blue Jackets could have lost concentration and opened things up to try to push for a goal, but instead they stuck with their game for the most part. When they did make a mistake, goaltender Daniil Tarasov was there in earning his first career shutout.

“It was a great hockey game,” head coach Dean Evason said. “Both teams played hard. It might not have been exciting as far as scoring goals, but the effort was there by both teams. The desperation was there by both teams. The patience, I really, really liked how our hockey club stayed within ourselves. We didn’t panic, didn’t open it up. We gave up some stuff, but we got some stuff as well.”

Of late, Evason has preached defensive effort and tightening things up in that realm, as goals are going to be harder and harder to come by as teams tighten up amid the playoff race. That’s especially true on the road, where the Blue Jackets struggled early in the season but have now earned five points out of six in the last three contests away from home.

Over the last five games, Columbus has given up just six goals, their best defensive stretch since January 2020.

“I think it’s a combination of being sharp defensively, but also making sure we’re being smart when we have the puck to not give up any of those exposed situations,” James van Riemsdyk said. “I think we’ve been doing a great job with that.”

The game against the Rangers kicked off a stretch of eight games out of nine away from home, which continues tonight just a little to the east as the Blue Jackets take on the Islanders. Defenseman Damon Severson said the team wants to keep playing that tighter style on the road as the Jackets try to rack up points.

“Obviously we’ve been good at home, and we’re trying to get our road record where we want it to be to help us be successful down the line,” Severson said. “We’ll take the overtime point for sure, but it’s a step in the right direction for where we need our road game to go if we’re going to be successful.”

Know The Foe: New York Islanders

Head coach: Patrick Roy (Second season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 2.64 (27th) | Scoring defense: 3.02 (17th) | PP: 11.8 percent (32nd) | PK: 67.4 percent (32nd)

The narrative: Lou Lamoriello has built a team that has made the Stanley Cup Playoffs five of the last six seasons, but after back-to-back runs to the NHL’s final four in 2020 and ‘21, the Isles have lost in the first round each of the past two seasons. Getting over the hump has proven difficult, as the Islanders just haven’t had the firepower to match up with some of the top teams in the league. This season, special teams have killed the Islanders, who are actually outscoring teams at 5-on-5 but are in last place in the Metropolitan because of the power play and penalty kill.

Team leaders: Anders Lee leads the charge, as the 34-year-old team captain tops the charts for the Islanders in both goals (20) and points (36). Bo Horvat follows with a 14-19-33 line, while Kyle Palmieri has 12 goals among his 29 points. Brock Nelson has 13 goals and 28 points, while Noah Dobson has followed a 70-point season on the blue line with a 6-17-23 line.

With longtime CBJ killer Semyon Varlamov on injured reserve, Ilya Sorokin is expected to get the start and is 13-14-4 in 31 games with a 2.87 GAA and .900 save percentage.

What's new: It’s the Islanders, so as usual, not much. They’ve built a core that has been together for a while, but the special teams struggles have reached almost epic proportions. The penalty kill percentage is the worst in NHL history, while the power play isn’t much better, ranking 14th-worst in NHL annals. The PK has improved some of late – the Islanders haven’t allowed a power-play goal in the last six games – while the power play scored twice Thursday vs. Philadelphia to end a 14-game scoreless streak.

Trending: The Islanders swept the three-game season series a year ago had won 14 of 18 coming into the season, but the Blue Jackets took a 2-0 win Oct. 30 in Nationwide Arena behind goals from Damon Severson and Justin Danforth.

Former CBJ: Forward Anthony Duclair missed a large chunk of the season with a lower body injury and has3-4-7 in 17 games, while Liam Foudy played two games with the team earlier this year before being returned to the AHL.

Projected CBJ Lineup (Subject to change)

LW 10 Dmitri Voronkov
C 19 Adam Fantilli
RW 86 Kirill Marchenko
LW 21 James van Riemsdyk
C 4 Cole Sillinger
RW 91 Kent Johnson
LW 27 Zach Aston-Reese
C 65 Luca Del Bel Belluz
RW 24 Mathieu Olivier
LW 82 Mikael Pyyhtia
C 7 Sean Kuraly
RW 17 Justin Danforth
LD 8 Zach Werenski
RD 15 Dante Fabbro
G 90 Elvis Merzlikins (starter)
LD 5 Denton Mateychuk
RD 9 Ivan Provorov
G 40 Daniil Tarasov
LD 2 Jake Christiansen
RD 78 Damon Severson

Scratches: Kevin Labanc, Jordan Harris, Jack Johnson

Injured reserve, Injured/Non-Roster list: Sean Monahan (upper body), Yegor Chinakhov (upper body), Erik Gudbranson (upper body), Boone Jenner (upper body)

Roster Report: Danforth was activated off injured reserve today and will return to the lineup for the first time since Dec. 10, going in for Labanc, while Merzlikins gets the start against the Islanders.

The Numbers Game

CBJ netminders Jet Greaves, Elvis Merzlikins and Daniil Tarasov have combined for a .955 save percentage over the last five games. ... With 51 points, Zach Werenski has the second-most ever for a CBJ player through the team’s first 46 games of a season, while Kirill Marchenko (49) is third. Artemi Panarin holds the franchise record with 52 in 2018-19. … Werenski has a 12-29-41 line in the last 31 games to place fifth in the NHL in scoring in that span and has 19 points (4-15-19) in the past 12 games. His average ice time of 26:44 leads all NHL players, and he’s tied for first among league defensemen in goals (15) and second in points on the season. ... Marchenko has an 8-14-22 line in the last 17 games and 33 points in the last 27 (12-21-33). ... Dmitri Voronkov has 18 points (10-8-18) in the last 16 games and is tied for second in the NHL with nine goals since Dec. 19. ... Adam Fantilli and James van Riemsdyk have matching 4-4-8 lines in the last eight games. ... Columbus is tied for first in the NHL with 107 goals at 5-on-5, and their 3.30 goals per game are tied for sixth in the league. In addition, Columbus has scored at least six goals 10 times in just 46 games this season, one shy of a franchise record (2018-19). ... Columbus has scored on 16 of 50 power plays (32.0 percent) in the last 20 games and is now 12th in the NHL for the season in power-play percentage at 23.1. ... Blue Jackets defensemen have 30 goals this season, most in the NHL. ... Cole Sillinger is three points from 100 in his NHL career.

This Day in CBJ History

Jan. 20, 2006: Rick Nash notches the first shootout winner of his career, scoring the only goal of the skills competition in a 4-3 victory at St. Louis. Nikolai Zherdev, David Vyborny and Jan Hrdina score in regulation while Marc Denis makes 41 saves.

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