| CBJ | NYI | |
|---|---|---|
| 17-13-4 | ROAD / HOME | 18-11-2 |
| 3.22 | GOALS FOR | 2.87 |
| 3.09 | GOALS AGAINST | 2.81 |
| 20.3% | POWER PLAY | 16.8% |
| 77.5% | PENALTY KILL | 81.1% |
| 30.0 | SHOTS FOR | 28.0 |
| 29.2 | SHOTS AGAINST | 28.2 |
| 50.7% | FACEOFF % | 52.0% |
| ISLANDERS: LAST THREE GAMES | ||
| TUE, 3/17 | @ Maple Leafs | W, 3-1 |
| THU, 3/19 | @ Senators | L, 3-2 |
| SAT, 3/21 | @ Canadiens | L, 7-3 |
| ISLANDERS: TEAM LEADERS | ||
| GOALS | Bo Horvat | 28 |
| ASSISTS | Mathew Barzal | 48 |
| POINTS | Mathew Barzal | 64 |
| ODDS & PROJECTIONS | ||
| CBJ WIN PER MONEYPUCK: | 56% | |
| CBJ ODDS PER DRAFTKINGS: | -122 | |
Sunday. Night. Showdown.
The Columbus Blue Jackets (37-21-11) begin a three-game road trip Sunday against the New York Islanders (39-26-5) in what is a huge Metro division battle.
The Blue Jackets are two points ahead — and have a game in hand — against the Isles, who, like the Jackets, will be playing night two of a back-to-back.
While the Canadiens lost their Saturday night affair, a 7-3 drubbing at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens, the Blue Jackets defeated the Seattle Kraken 5-2 to make it four straight victories and 12 straight games with a point.
Head coach Rick Bowness said the comfortable lead Saturday, which lead to a good balance of minutes for all skaters, should bode well for Sunday.
“That’s huge going into (Sunday) night. We didn’t have to shorten the bench," Bowness said. "To be able to roll six (defensemen) when you’re going into this, a tough stretch with a lot of games and travel, you need to have your four lines going and your six (defensemen).”
Here are five things to know before the 7:00 p.m. puck-drop:
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The Islanders have given the Blue Jackets a little bit of help, losing consecutive games in regulation for the second time since the Olympic break. Overall, the Isles are 7-5-0 since the break ended. ... No word on who gets the start yet. Ilya Sorokin started Saturday night in a 7-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens but was pulled with nine minutes left for David Rittich. Could that be head coach Patrick Roy trying to save Sorokin for another start?
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Jet Greaves will start, and the Blue Jackets are 11-0-2 in his last 13 decisions. Greaves, who has a .909 save percentage and 2.61 goals against average for the season, is 5-0-1 in his six starts in March.
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Zach Werenski's second consecutive three-assist night gives him 75 points through 62 games. He needs 13 points in the final 13 games to break Artemi Panarin's franchise record for most points in franchise history. Additionally, his 55 assists on the season are just four shy of tying the franchise record he set last season, which tied the 59 assists by Artemi Panarin in the 2018-19 season.
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The Blue Jackets have allowed less than 20 shots on goal in regulation four times this season, and all four have come in the last six games. According to BlueJackets.com reporter Jeff Svoboda, the 129 shots allowed over the last six games (21.5 per game) is a franchise for a six-game stretch.
- For the third straight game, don't expect anything in the way of changes to the forwards or defense. 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 |
