PREVIEW: Blue Jackets try to get back in win column vs. Rangers

For the Blue Jackets, it’s not yet time to panic. 

Yes, the opening two contests since the Olympic break – a 4-2 loss at Boston on Thursday and a 4-3 overtime setback Saturday at home vs. the Islanders – didn't go the Blue Jackets’ way, a particularly frustrating reality considering the team is chasing both in the standings. 

It’s left Columbus five points back of a playoff spot with 24 games to go, and represented a missed opportunity to build momentum and gain ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race.  

But true worry would seep in if the Blue Jackets laid an egg or two coming out of the break. Instead, head coach Rick Bowness has generally liked his team’s effort and style of play in the last two, even if the results weren’t there going into tonight’s division showdown against the Rangers. 

“They know we’re playing good hockey,” Bowness said. “You just have to fight through it. We can’t change anything. ... We're playing well enough to win games. We are. If we weren’t, then that’s a whole other discussion. Right now, I know there’s two games, we’ve played well enough to win in both, and we didn’t. We got a point. Get ready for the Rangers.” 

There have been some things that haven’t gone the Jackets’ way, including a couple bad bounces, as both Boston and New York scored goals that went directly into the net off of CBJ players. There’s some frustration that despite topping 30 shots in each game and having plenty of offensive zone possession, the Blue Jackets have been given just one power-play opportunity.  

And there have been opportunities the team hasn’t cashed in on, such as Saturday when the Jackets were up 2-0 and pushing hard for a third goal, only to see the Islanders come back and score three times in a six-minute span to take the lead. 

Add it all up and while the opportunities have been there to get wins, the Blue Jackets have fallen short in the last two contests. 

"You look at the last two games, Boston’s first goal goes in off of us, their third goal tonight, so you're in these tight-checking, one-goal games and they're going in off of us,” Bowness said after the Islanders game. “That being said, we had them down 2-0, we had so many chances to make it 3-0. (Goalie Ilya) Sorokin just came up big, which was the same thing as in Boston, right?

"You just gotta fight through these things. It’s disappointing, but when you get a chance, make that 3-0, and we had enough chances to do that. That eventually will bite you." 

There’s little time to look back with regret, though, as the schedule doesn’t get any easier. The Blue Jackets have 17 games in the remaining 30 days of March, starting tonight in New York City, and Columbus still has plenty of chances to add points to the bank. 

"I think both games, we probably deserved four points and we came away with one against two teams we're chasing,” Zach Werenski said. “We only have 24 games left now. Extremely disappointing, but in saying that, we have a lot of hockey left and we're still in it. We’ll move on to the Rangers now."

Scratches: Kent Johnson, Jake Christiansen, Egor Zamula   

Injured Reserve: D Brendan Smith (knee surgery, out three to four months as of Jan. 8)     

Roster Report: The Blue Jackets used the same lines at the team’s Sunday practice as in Saturday’s game, with the team likely to start both goalies over the back-to-back today and tomorrow. 

This Day in CBJ History   

March 2, 2002: Ron Tugnutt pitches a 30-save shutout and the Blue Jackets get goals from Mike Sillinger and Grant Marshall in a 2-0 victory at Los Angeles. It’s the sixth and final shutout in CBJ colors for Tugnutt,

March 2, 2004: Marc Denis makes 25 saves in a 3-0 shutout win at Carolina, with Rick Nash, Trevor Letowski and Manny Malhotra scoring the goals.  

March 2, 2007: Jason Chimera scores the only goal of the shootout as the Blue Jackets claim a 3-2 victory at Dallas. Malhotra and Sergei Fedorov score in regular for Columbus.  

March 2, 2015: The Blue Jackets acquire forwards William Karlsson and Rene Bourque and a 2015 second-round pick from Anaheim in exchange for defenseman James Wisniewski and a 2015 third-round pick.  

March 2, 2017: Brandon Saad scores the only goal early in the third period and Sergei Bobrovsky makes 38 saves in a 1-0 victory over Minnesota at Nationwide Arena. It is the first of three shutouts for Bobrovsky in a six-day span.  

March 2, 2021: After working on protocols regarding the COVID-19 pandemic with the Ohio Department of Health and Columbus Public Health, the Blue Jackets welcome back fans to Nationwide Arena as 1,953 fans, or 10 percent of capacity, are on hand to watch the club defeat the Detroit Red Wings 4-1.  

March 2, 2023: Jonathan Quick’s short tenure as a Blue Jacket comes to an end as Columbus trades him to Vegas for goaltender Michael Hutchinson. Quick had been acquired one day previously in a deal that sent defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and goalie Joonas Korpisalo to Los Angeles.  

The Numbers Game  

Zach Werenski is the only NHL defenseman with at least 20 goals (20) and 60 points (65) on the season, placing second among league blueliners in both categories. Werenski has a career-best nine-game point streak (2-11-13), and points in 22 of the last 24 games (11-24-35) as well as 33 of the last 38 (16-38-54). He leads NHL defensemen in multipoint games (21, ninth in NHL) and is one of fourNHL defenseman with three-plus 20-goal seasons. His current point streak is a record for a CBJ defenseman. … Kirill Marchenko notched his 20th goal of the season Thursday, making him the first player to begin his NHL career with four straight 20-goal seasons with the Blue Jackets. He’s also just one of four Blue Jackets in team history (Rick Nash, 8; Cam Atkinson, 6; R.J. Umberger, 4) with four 20-goal seasons. ... Charlie Coyle has nine goals and 18 points in the past 14 games, placing him tied for seventh in the NHL in tallies in that span. He has a 5-8-13 line in the last eight contests and six games with at least three points this season. ... With 10 goals since joining the team, Mason Marchment has set a new franchise record for a player in his first 16 games with the Blue Jackets, as well as a 1-3-4 line in the last three games. ... Adam Fantilli has a 3-6-9 line in the last eight games while Marchment has five goals in that span. ... Goaltender Elvis Merzlikins has a .916 save percentage in his last seven games, while Jet Greaves is at .913 in his last eight. ... Blue Jackets defensemen have scored 44 goals this season, the most in the NHL. … Columbus has scored the first goal in 21 of the last 27 contests and 36 of 58 games overall. ... The Blue Jackets are 5-1 in shootouts this year. ... Miles Wood and Danton Heinen are each one goal away from 100 in their NHL careers. ... Boone Jenner has 203 career assists, one behind David Vyborny for third most in team history. 

Know The Foe: New York Rangers 

Head coach: Mike Sullivan (First season)     

Team stats: Goals per game: 2.59 (27th) | Scoring defense: 3.14 (20th) | PP: 22.6 percent (10th) | PK: 79.7 percent (15th)      

The narrative: The Rangers have been maddeningly inconsistent the past few seasons, as New York is on the way to missing the playoffs for the fifth time in the past nine seasons despite also having a pair of conference finals appearances in that span as well. After a hot start last year, New York has traded such mainstays as captain Jacob Trouba, longtime forward Chris Kreider and Artemi Panarin over the past two seasons and is looking at an offseason rebuild or retool.  

Scoring leaders: In the final season of the seven-year deal signed with the Rangers after his Columbus tenure, Panarin was dealt to Los Angeles shortly before the Olympic break but still has a team-best 57 points. Mika Zibanejad is next with a team-high 24 goals among 53 points, while U.S. Olympian Vincent Trocheck follows with a 12-26-38 line. Fellow gold medalist and Ohio native J.T. Miller has 14 goals among 37 points, while Adam Fox leads defenders with a 4-24-28 line in 32 games while battling injuries. 

In net: Igor Shesterkin has again played to the form that’s made him a top-10 Vezina choice in three of the last four seasons, going 18-12-5 with a 2.45 GAA and .913 save percentage, but he’s missed time with injury. Jonathan Quick has played 20 games, going 4-14-2 with a 3.10 GAA and .890 save percentage. 

What's new: In one of the more stunning stats on the year, the Rangers have just two regulation wins in Madison Square Garden this year and are 7-15-5 overall at home. New York is 4-13-3 since the Christmas break, though the Rangers did get a shootout win Saturday vs. Pittsburgh in MSG. Because of injuries and trades, 34 different players have suited up this season. 

Trending: This is the only trip of the season to Madison Square Garden for the Blue Jackets, who dropped a 2-1 shootout final at home Nov. 15 to the Rangers in the first matchup of the season. Columbus is 1-4-1 in the last six meetings overall.  

Former CBJ: Vladislav Gavrikov signed a seven-year contract this offseason and has a 9-13-22 line in 59 games, while goalie Spencer Martin appeared in six contests while Quick was injured.