PREVIEW: Columbus welcomes back Rick Nash vs. Rangers

RANGERS (18-19-7) at BLUE JACKETS (26-15-3)Sunday, 6 p.m., Nationwide Arena (FOX Sports Ohio, CBJ app, FOX Sports app, 97.1 The Fan)
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The Columbus Blue Jackets have a chance to put a bow on what was billed as one of the team's most difficult weeks of the season Sunday when the New York Rangers come to town Sunday.
From Tuesday through Saturday, the Blue Jackets played three teams in first place in the NHL - Atlantic Division leader Tampa Bay, Central Division topper Nashville and the team the CBJ is chasing in the Metropolitan Division in Washington.
With four points in those three games, Columbus put a dent in the narrative the team can't beat the big boys in the NHL.

The Rangers aren't a big boy this year, but the game is a chance to extend what has become a pretty good hot streak. Over the past month of play, the Blue Jackets are 10-3-1.
"We want to keep going," captain Nick Foligno said after the win at Washington. "We have a tough test tomorrow at home. It's nice to get back home in front of our fans again and continue that mentality and have that focus we have at home. We're looking forward to the opportunity."
Looking back, the week turned into one of the most eventful just about anyone can remember around the Blue Jackets. Foligno returned from missing more than week to be with his daughter as she battled health issues, head coach John Tortorella won his 600th game, and the team dealt with the distraction of playing a game without goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.
And in each of the last two games, Columbus dealt with having blown late leads. Nashville scored twice in less than a minute to overturn a 3-1 Blue Jackets lead on Thursday, while Washington tallied with 1:06 left Saturday to tie the game at 1.
Yet in each case, Columbus was the better team after seeing its lead evaporate, and in each case, Artemi Panarin scored the winning goal on a power play in overtime.
"It's huge," said goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, whose impressive play in each game has helped push Columbus to victory. "It looks like we have really good confidence. We know we can turn these games for us. They scored a big goal to tie it up and I had full confidence we would score the next one."
The concept of milepost games or measuring sticks is something the Blue Jackets have tried to avoid, but the way the team played in the wins vs. the Predators and Capitals -- and even at times in the loss at Tampa Bay -- at the very least provides some confidence.
In addition, the way the
Blue Jackets beat Washington
-- with contributions from up and down the lineup, from top-line goal scorers Panarin and Cam Atkinson to new call-up Kevin Stenlund and deputized defenseman Dean Kukan -- spoke to the kind of 18-man hockey the team wants to play.
"Everybody showed up," Foligno said. "You could see it. Everybody played the right way tonight, and you have to. Especially down the stretch here with going into break, you need to find a way to get those points - put them in the bank as he always says. Guys are really staying true to that and understanding how crucial that is for our club. We found a way to get two big ones and are now looking for another big one tomorrow."
Atkinson agreed.
"We're playing some of the best teams in the league," he said. "We want to play the right way and we did and found a way to get two big points, and now we have another big game tomorrow."
Welcome Back, Rick
Sunday will be a special game in Nationwide Arena, in part because it's Blueshirts vs. Blue Jackets.
Rick Nash wore both shades of blue in his professional career, spending nine seasons with the Jackets and six more with New York. So it was only fitting that, after Nash announced his retirement because of concussion symptoms on Friday, the two teams he's most identifiable with were playing just two days later.
The Blue Jackets
will honor Nash
by having the former star forward drop the puck before the game.
For Tortorella, who coached Nash in New York, there's little doubt he deserves the honor.
"I loved coaching him," Tortorella said. "There was no maintenance to him. Very quiet guy. I love the way he played. That's a hard one for me because I still think he has some hockey left in him, but I'm excited to see him tomorrow. I don't have a bad word to say about him. He was a good pro. People mistake him for - sometimes I think they think it's a lack of intensity because he's just a quiet guy, but he's a hard player. I loved being around him and I loved coaching him."
Nash remains the all-time leader for the Blue Jackets in games played, goals, assists and points and served as team captain up until his trade to New York.
Sherwood Recalled
Someone who grew up watching Nash as a kid in central Ohio could create another indelible moment in Columbus hockey history Sunday night.
New Albany native Kole Sherwood was
called up from AHL Cleveland
on Sunday and would become the first Columbus-area native who grew up in the CBJ era to suit up for the Blue Jackets if he makes his NHL debut against the Rangers.
The Blue Jackets now have 13 forwards on the roster and it won't be known until pregame whether Sherwood will slot into the lineup.
Know the Foe
New York enters sixth in the Metropolitan Division with 43 points, with the team struggling to put things together since the start of December. A youth movement was one of the keys to a decent start, but the Rangers were 4-3-5 in December and have fallen flat in January with a five-game losing streak to start the month that the team snapped Saturday vs. the Islanders.
Mika Zibanejad (12 goals, 24 assists) leads the team with 36 points with and Kevin Hayes (10-23-33) next, while Chris Kreider leads in goals with 20 among his 32 points. All-Star bound Henrik Lundqvist has taken the lion's share of the starting assignments, going 12-12-7 in 32 starts with a 3.08 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage. He's had a rough January with a .786 save percentage and 15 goals allowed int three games. Alexandar Georgiev is at 6-7-0, 3.15, .901.
So far this year, both games between the division rivals have gone to overtime, with the Rangers winning in a shootout Nov. 10 and Columbus taking an overtime win Dec. 27.
This will be the team's fifth game in eight days.
Miscellany
Zach Werenski is expected to play in his 200th game ... Columbus is 7-3-1 in the last 11 meetings between the teams. ... Twelve of the last 13 meetings have been decided by two goals or fewer, including five one-goal contests.
Blue Jackets projected lineup
Artemi Panarin - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Cam Atkinson
Nick Foligno - Boone Jenner - Josh Anderson
Anthony Duclair - Alex Wennberg - Kevin Stenlund
Oliver Bjorkstrand - Lukas Sedlak - Riley Nash
Seth Jones - Markus Nutivaara
Zach Werenski - David Savard
Scott Harrington - Dean Kukan
Sergei Bobrovsky
Joonas Korpisalo
Scratched: Ryan Murray (ill), Gabriel Carlsson, Kole Sherwood
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- John Tortorella postgame - Nick Foligno postgame