Game Preview: Olivier Returns To Lineup When Blue Jackets, Islanders Battle Sunday

After a much-needed win Monday in Los Angeles heading into the holiday break, the Columbus Blue Jackets resume play Sunday when they battle the New York Islanders in a divisional showdown.

Here are five things to know before the 5:00 p.m. puck-drop:

• The Islanders have been amongst the more impressive teams this season, with their 21-13-4 record near the top of the Metropolitan division. ... This is the second leg of a back-to-back for the Isles, who shutout the New York Rangers 2-0 Saturday. ... Goaltender David Rittich started that game and made all 27 saves, and he's penciled in as the starter for this game, as well. Rittich has been fantastic this season, with a 2.25 goals against average and .919 save percentage in 14 starts (9-3-2).
   
• Mathieu Olivier returns to the lineup after missing 14 games with an upper-body injury. While not scoring at last year's pace, when he notched a career-high 18 goals, Olivier's physical presence has been sorely missed by the Blue Jackets lineup.
   
• Zach Werenski will miss his second straight contest with a lower-body injury. He was placed on Injured Reserve on Sunday morning retroactive to December 20th. Players are only required to spend seven days on IR, meaning Werenski is eligible to come off at any time. He is still considered day-to-day by the team.
   
• The Blue Jackets power play continues to cook. After scoring three on the man-advantage Monday against the Kings, Columbus now has 10 goals on the PP in their last 11 games. They're now 12th in the NHL at 20.7%. Newcomer Mason Marchment had two of those goals Monday, and has scored in each of his first two games since coming over last week in a trade with the Seattle Kraken. If he scores Sunday, he'll become the first player in franchise history to score in each of his first three games with Columbus.
   
• Olivier is slotted in as the third-line winger, playing opposite of Boone Jenner and centered by Charlie Coyle. Kirill Marchenko is back at the top of the lineup with Marchment and Adam Fantilli, while Brendan Gaunce draws back in for Isac Lundestrom, who was injured at practice Saturday. Yegor Chinakhov is a healthy scratch. Jet Greaves will get the start. Here are the complete lineup projections: