Rangers at Blue Jackets preview

RANGERS (9-8-2) at BLUE JACKETS (11-7-1)
7 p.m. ET; NHLN, TVA Sports, FS-O, MSG+, NHL.TV

The Blue Jackets' previous two victories came after regulation: 2-1 in a shootout at the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, and 2-1 in overtime at the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.
Defenseman Brendan Smith will be in the lineup for the Rangers after being scratched the past six games. He replaces Steven Kampfer as the Rangers shuffle their lineup after a 6-3 loss against the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday ended their six-game winning streak.

Players to watch

Rangers forward Michael Grabner has eight points (seven goals, one assist) in his past seven games against the Blue Jackets, and 14 points (nine goals, five assists) in 16 career games against them.
Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky is 2-0-0 with a 0.95 goals-against average and .968 save percentage in his past two games.

They said it

"You can see things from a different angle and a different light. Some people start to pout, I just tried to find things to help my game progress." -- Rangers defenseman Brendan Smith, on being scratched
"He's the backbone of our team. It's always nice to see him like this. I'm not really surprised to see what he can do. He's done it in the past. He keeps making big saves. That's why he's won two Vezinas." -- Blue Jackets defenseman David Savard, on goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky

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 -- Brendan Smith
Henrik Lundqvist
Ondrej Pavelec
Scratched:Paul Carey, Steven Kampfer
Injured: None

Blue Jackets projected lineup

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

Status report

Neither team held a formal morning skate. The only players on the ice were the expected scratches for each team. … Wennberg did not practice Thursday and is expected to miss his second straight game.

Stat pack

Vesey will play his 100th NHL game. Buchnevich has six points (three goals, three assists) during a four-game point streak. Nash has five points (four goals, one assist) during a three-game point streak. … The Blue Jackets have scored within the first 5:35 of the first period in three straight games.