Blue Jackets at Rangers preview

BLUE JACKETS (9-4-1) at RANGERS (6-7-2)
7 p.m. ET; MSG, FS-O, NHL.TV

The Blue Jackets, who are off to the best start in their history with 19 points in their first 14 games, conclude a three-game road trip. They lost 5-4 in a shootout at the Lightning on Saturday, their first loss beyond regulation in five games this season.

Players to watch

Blue Jackets left wing Artemi Panarin, who was acquired in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on June 23, has gone 10 straight games without a goal. He has 11 points (goal, 10 assists) and 44 shots on goal in 14 games.
Right wing J.T. Miller has six points (goal, five assists) in his past four games and 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in his past 10. He's tied with center Mika Zibanejad for the Rangers lead in points (14).

They said it

"Sure, [Panarin] is frustrated. He's a goal scorer. He knows he needs to be a goal scorer for us. It's not for the lack of opportunities. He's a good pro. He's new with the team. He knows what he means to the team here. He wants to try to help us, and sure he was frustrated." -- Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella
"Step by step, we're getting there. Every year, it's a process to get everybody on the same page to do what we need to do as a group and personally. You need a lot from everyone all over the ice." -- Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist

Blue Jackets projected lineup

Artemi Panarin -- Nick Foligno -- Josh Anderson
Boone Jenner -- Brandon Dubinsky -- Oliver Bjorkstrand
Tyler Motte -- Alexander Wennberg -- Markus Hannikainen
Sonny Milano -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Zac Dalpe
Zach Werenski -- Seth Jones
Jack Johnson -- David Savard
Ryan Murray -- Markus Nutivaara
Sergei Bobrovsky
Joonas Korpisalo
Scratched:Scott Harrington, Gabriel Carlsson
Injured: Cam Atkinson (hip), Lukas Sedlak (ankle), Matt Calvert (upper body)

Rangers projected lineup

Chris Kreider -- Mika Zibanejad -- Pavel Buchnevich
Rick Nash -- Kevin Hayes -- Mats Zuccarello
Jimmy Vesey -- David Desharnais -- J.T. Miller
Michael Grabner -- Boo Nieves -- Jesper Fast
Ryan McDonagh -- Nick Holden
Brady Skjei -- Kevin Shattenkirk
Marc Staal -- Steven Kampfer
Henrik Lundqvist
Ondrej Pavelec
Scratched: Brendan Smith, Paul Carey
Injured:None

Status report

Neither team skated Monday. ... Calvert was placed on injured reserve and is expected to miss 3-4 weeks. ... The Blue Jackets activated Carlsson off injured reserve and placed Atkinson on IR, retroactive to Oct. 28. ... Nieves, who missed the game Saturday with the flu, practiced Sunday and will return to the lineup, according to coach Alain Vigneault. ... Smith will be a healthy scratch for the fifth time this season. ... Lundqvist will make his fourth straight start.

Stat pack

Jones has four points (goal, three assists) and a plus-6 rating in his past five games. ... Shattenkirk, who has a four-game point streak (two goals, four assists), is the first Rangers defenseman to score at least four goals and 13 points in the first 15 games of a season since Brian Leetch in 2000-01.