The Blue Jackets haven’t just survived but thrived since vaulting themselves into the playoff race, winning six straight games for the first time since 2020 and posting a 10-2-1 mark in the last 13 games.
But the tests are only going to get harder from here, especially as Columbus hits the road for a four-game streak away from that kicks off a span of eight of the next nine on the road.
The bad news? Columbus is 6-12-3 away from Nationwide Arena this season, one of the worst marks in the league. The good? The Blue Jackets have won two in a row on the road, with victories last Tuesday at Pittsburgh and a week ago tonight in St. Louis.
To head coach Dean Evason, the improvement has come from the team’s ability to figure out how to win games in ways other than outscoring opponents. Much of the early-season success for the Jackets came when they filled up the net at home, but of late, Columbus has tightened down the defense and allowed just six goals in the past four games.
In the head coach’s eyes, that’s the kind of game that travels well.
“You have to learn how to win and play those games that aren’t pretty,” Evason said. “They're uglier games, but they are effective games and an effective style of playing. I hope we have a memory bank of how we’ve played some of these games, and we can start in New York playing that type of a game, having that mentality. ... Our mentality has to be to keep it out of our net again when we get out there.”
The four-game, six-night venture begins tonight in Manhattan, as the Blue Jackets take on the New York Rangers before heading to take on the Islanders on Monday. From there, the wheels are up to Toronto for a Wednesday meeting before the trip ends a night later with a third division game Thursday in Carolina.
Considering the recent success, the Blue Jackets just want to keep playing the same way in the white jerseys as the blue.
“I think it’s just a similar mentality,” Kent Johnson said. “We don’t have to change too much. Our last road game we won, too, so just keep doing that. There’s nothing too crazy to change.”
Alternate captain Zach Werenski echoed that, noting the Jackets just have to keep the momentum going.
“We’ve just been having a lot of fun here,” the defenseman said. “Everyone is playing the right way, doing whatever they can in order to help us get wins. If you’re doing that and you’re winning games and having success, it’s a lot of fun coming to the rink. We’ve just been really enjoying each other, and now we’ll go on the road here.”
Know The Foe: New York Rangers
Head coach: Peter Laviolette (Second season)
Team stats: Goals per game: 2.93 (19th) | Scoring defense: 3.11 (18th) | PP: 18.8 percent (22nd) | PK: 82.7 percent (7th)
The narrative: With a star-studded roster and two appearances in the Eastern Conference Final in the last three seasons, the Rangers came into the season as a Stanley Cup contender, but this year has been a roller coaster. Convinced his roster needed some major changes, general manager Chris Drury traded captain Jacob Trouba in November amid a brutal fall stretch, but the Rangers have found their footing a bit of late. Where a once-promising season goes from here remains to be seen, but there’s been plenty of intrigue on Broadway this season.
Team leaders: The Bread Man keeps baking up points in the Big Apple, as former Blue Jackets forward Artemi Panarin is averaging over a point per game for the eighth straight season with team-best totals of 19 goals and 47 points. Defenseman Adam Fox has struggled to put the puck in the net this season (two goals) but is still facilitating the offense with a team-high 32 assists, while Vincent Trocheck (14-15-29), Mika Zibanejad (8-19-27), Alexis Lafreniere (11-14-25) and Will Cuylle (11-13-24) follow and Chris Kreider has 14 goals.
The most stable position this season has been the goaltending spot, as Igor Shesterkin has again been solid with a 14-15-2 record, 2.97 GAA and .907 save percentage in 31 starts.
What's new: Just how up and down have the Rangers been this season? New York started 12-4-1 then went 4-15-0 in its next 19 games while being outscored by 32 goals in that span. The Rangers may be turning the corner, though, as New York has points in seven of eight (5-1-2) and earned five of six points on a recent Western trip. Whether the team’s shakeup in November will be what it needed to get to the top or a harbinger of a missed postseason berth remains to be seen, and the Rangers enter four points out of the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Trending: Columbus went 2-1-1 against the Rangers a season ago, with both wins coming at home. The Blue Jackets have held their own at Madison Square Garden in recent seasons, though, posting a 7-4-1 record there in the last 12 contests.
Former CBJ: In addition to Panarin, there’s goaltender Jonathan Quick, though he never played in a game for the Blue Jackets when acquired and then traded at the deadline in 2023. At age 39, Quick is 6-5-1 this year in 15 games with a 2.98 GAA and .900 save percentage.
