| NYR | CBJ | |
|---|---|---|
| 19-15-2 | ROAD / HOME | 18-8-7 |
| 2.79 | GOALS FOR | 3.15 |
| 3.16 | GOALS AGAINST | 3.10 |
| 24.3% | POWER PLAY | 20.7% |
| 77.6% | PENALTY KILL | 77.7% |
| 25.1 | SHOTS FOR | 29.9 |
| 29.3 | SHOTS AGAINST | 29.5 |
| 54.2% | FACEOFF % | 50.7% |
| RANGERS: LAST THREE GAMES | ||
| SAT, 3/14 | @ Wild | W, 4-2 |
| MON, 3/16 | vs. Kings | L, 4-1 |
| WED, 3/18 | vs. Devils | L, 6-3 |
| RANGERS: TEAM LEADERS | ||
| GOALS | Mika Zibanejad | 28 |
| ASSISTS | Mika Zibanejad | 36 |
| POINTS | Mika Zibanejad | 64 |
| ODDS & PROJECTIONS | ||
| CBJ WIN PER MONEYPUCK: | 68% | |
| CBJ ODDS PER DRAFTKINGS: | -218 | |
It’s the second game of a three-game home stand Thursday night when the Columbus Blue Jackets (35-21-11) try to make it 11 games in a row with a point as the face the New York Rangers (28-32-8).
The Blue Jackets are 6-0-4 in their last ten games and are just a point back of both wild card spots, two points back of the New York Islanders for third place in the Metro division, and just three points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for second place in the Metro.
For the Blue Jackets, it’s important to just keep winning games.
Here are five things to know before the 7:00 p.m. puck-drop:
- The Rangers sit dead last in the Eastern Conference, but they're above .500 on the road (19-15-2). New York has 10 more road wins than home wins and, fun fact: that margin is not only the biggest discrepancy for road wins compared to home wins, but it's the second biggest discrepancy on the flip side of that, too: the Boston Bruins have 13 more home wins than road wins, the only other team with a double-digit difference in home against road. … Igor Shesterkin gets the start for the Rangers. He’s 22-13-6 as a starter and has a .913 save percentage to go with his 2.50 goals against average.
- For Columbus, Jet Greaves starts for the third straight game. He’s on a 12-game point streak as a starter, going 10-0-2 in 13 total appearances with a 2.29 goals against average.
-
If he stays healthy, Zach Werenski has a real chance to break Artemi Panarin's franchise record for most points in a season (87). Werenski stands at 69 points (20 goals and 49 assists) in in 60 games played. Should he play in the last 15 games, that pace would project him to add 17 points to his current total — which would put him at 86, one point shy of the record. Werenski had one point (an assist) Tuesday night, ending a brief, two-game streak without a point.
-
Charlie Coyle: good at hockey. He had his third four-point game of the season in Tuesday’s win and has 25 points in his last 18 games. That ranks 5th in the NHL during that span. What a get the Selke contender has been for Columbus.
- No changes to the lineup are expected, considering how the team played Tuesday. Here are the complete projections:
| LW | C | RW | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | Mason Marchment | 19 | Adam Fantilli | 86 | Kirill Marchenko |
| 91 | Kent Johnson | 23 | Sean Monahan | 83 | Conor Garland |
| 4 | Cole Sillinger | 3 | Charlie Coyle | 24 | Mathieu Olivier |
| 21 | Isac Lundeström | 38 | Boone Jenner | 43 | Danton Heinen |
| LD | RD | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Zach Werenski | 78 | Damon Severson |
| 9 | Ivan Provorov | 5 | Denton Mateychuk |
| 15 | Dante Fabbro | 44 | Erik Gudbranson |
| Starting Goalie | Back-Up | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 73 | Jet Greaves | 90 | Elvis Merzlikins |
