PREVIEW: Blue Jackets get right back at it against Islanders

Very few people will enjoy the extra hour of sleep as the clocks fall back than the Blue Jackets.

After last night’s 3-2 victory – the Jackets’ fourth win in a row and sixth in seven games – Columbus flew to Long Island for tonight’s 5 p.m. start against the Islanders.

It’s the Blue Jackets’ third set of back-to-back games over a 10-day span, and normally a 5 p.m. game would mean 22 hours between puck drops. So while an extra hour might not seem like much, it will come in handy as Columbus looks to improve to a perfect 3-0 in the second half of games on consecutive days.

The circumstances are a bit tough, but as head coach Dean Evason often says, it’s just hockey. And it’s another chance to add a win to the ledger, as Columbus has moved up the Metropolitan Division by taking those 12 of 14 possible points in the last seven contests.

“We got the first half done here at home, and now our focus shifts to Long Island,” defenseman Zach Werenski said. “Obviously it’s a quick turnaround, and they’re rested, but every team goes through that within a season. It’s just another challenge for our group, and we’re going to face it head on and see what happens.”

Responding to challenges has been a strong point for the Blue Jackets so far this season, as they’ve found a number of ways to win games on the campaign. Saturday’s recipe included coming back from an early deficit, winning the special teams battle and then fending off a St. Louis onslaught in the last 10 minutes.

There are improvements to be made – giving up 18 shots on goal in the final period while protecting a lead isn’t the formula the team is looking for – but by and large, the Blue Jackets keep stacking together solid outings and handling in-game adversity as it comes.

“We’ve been in some tight games, but yeah, we do like the fact that we’re hanging around, hanging around,” Evason said. “We had the lead – well, we didn’t at the start, but for most of the night tonight. We were able to weather some storms, and the maturity level of the team is real good.”

Scratches: Yegor Chinakhov, Erik Gudbranson (upper body injury), Dysin Mayo

Injured reserve/Non-Roster: None

Roster Report: Merzlikins will get the start in net on the second half of the back-to-back, while Aston-Reese returns to the lineup in place of Chinakhov. The Blue Jackets also switched up a couple of lines for the contest.

This Day in CBJ History

Nov. 2, 2010: Mathieu Garon makes 29 saves – his first of three shutouts in the month of November – as the Blue Jackets earn a 3-0 victory vs. Montreal in Nationwide Arena.

The Numbers Game

Zach Werenski has scored a goal in three straight games for the second time in his career and has three consecutive multipoint games (3-3-6). ... He’s now tied for first in the NHL among defensemen in goals (four), tied for fifth in points (10) and tied for fourth in plus/minus (plus-9). ... Kirill Marchenko has points in nine of 11 games this year and a 5-6-11 line, plus a career-best streak of four straight games with an assist. ... Charlie Coyle has five points in the last two games (1-4-5). ... The Blue Jackets have outscored opponents 28-19 at 5-on-5 thus far, the best ratio in the NHL. ... Sean Monahan notched his 600th career point Saturday, becoming the third player from his 2013 draft class to reach the mark following Nathan MacKinnon, Aleksander Barkov and Elias Lindholm. ... Elvis Merzlikins is set to play in his 250th career NHL game and is two wins from 100 in his career. ... Columbus is 2-for-6 on the power play the last three games and killed all six power plays against.

Know The Foe: New York Islanders

Head coach: Patrick Roy (Third season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 3.36 (T-12th) | Scoring defense: 3.55 (27th) | PP: 14.6 percent (27th) | PK: 75.0 percent (T-21st)

The narrative: The Islanders built an identity as perhaps being the hardest team to play against in the NHL and made the playoffs five of six years from 2019-24 before placing sixth in the Metropolitan Division a season ago. There were big changes in the front office as former Blue Jacket Mathieu Darche replaced Lou Lamoriello as general manager, and the Islanders started to build for the future by making three first-round draft picks including No. 1 overall choice Matthew Schaefer after winning the draft lottery.

Scoring leaders: Center Bo Horvat is off to a great start, leading the team with 12 points on seven goals and five assists while winning 58.1 percent of his faceoffs. Now in his 10th season with the Isles, Mat Barzal has come back from an injury-plagued to post a 3-6-9 line, while Schaefer was named the NHL’s rookie of the month thanks to three goals and five assists and is tied for second among all rookie scorers. Kyle Palmieri (4-4-8) and Anders Lee (2-6-8) each add eight points while Emil Heineman has five goals.

In net: Coming off four consecutive top-10 finishes in the Vezina voting, Ilya Sorokin is off to an uneven start with a 3-4-1 record, 3.40 GAA and .877 SV%, while David Rittich has arrived on Long Island as the backup.

What's new: The addition of Schaefer – as well as fellow first-rounders Victor Eklund and Kashawn Aitcheson at Nos. 16 and 17 overall, respectively – is a boon to the Islanders future, especially considering New York has one of the older rosters in the league. The offseason trade of defenseman Noah Dobson was one of the bigger moves in the NHL this summer, and Heineman has been a solid addition thus far. The Isles have been streaky so far, losing their first three, winning four in a row and then losing three straight before Friday’s win at Washington.

Trending: The Blue Jackets won three of the four contests a year ago, including a 4-3 shootout win March 24 on Long Island that was the Jackets’ first-ever win in seven tries at UBS Arena.

Former CBJ: Forward Anthony Duclair has played in every game, posting two goals and an assist, while defenseman Adam Boqvist has played in four contests without a point.