COLUMBUS — The Columbus Blue Jackets return home to Nationwide Arena on Saturday night, Oct. 17, to host the New York Rangers, with puck drop set for 7 p.m. in a Metropolitan Division matchup between a Columbus team looking to steady itself and a Rangers club sitting near the top of the division.
New York arrives at 6-3-0 with 12 points, second in the Metropolitan Division. Columbus is 2-3-0 with four points and seventh in the division, and the Blue Jackets have dropped two straight, most recently a 7-3 home loss to Florida on Oct. 13 in which the Panthers scored four straight power-play goals between the second and third periods.
Inconsistency has been the running theme of Columbus’ opening weeks. An earlier home loss to Utah featured poor transition play and a penalty kill that surrendered three of four goals, prompting head coach Rick Bowness to cancel days off in favor of practice. A shootout win over Pittsburgh was then followed by a loss in St. Louis, leaving the Blue Jackets still searching for back-to-back strong performances.
The Rangers, meanwhile, have absorbed a major loss and kept winning. Star goaltender Igor Shesterkin is out for the remainder of the season after being hurt in a 3-1 defeat to Washington, and backup Joonas Korpisalo is also sidelined for roughly four weeks. In their place, Dylan Garand has handled the crease, going 3-1-0 with a 1.15 goals-against average, a .951 save percentage and one shutout in four appearances, numbers that rank second in the league in both categories.
Columbus’ projected lineup is led by a top line of Matthew Knies, Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson, with Sean Monahan centering Valeri Nichushkin and Conor Garland on the second line. Zach Werenski anchors the defense alongside Damon Severson, who returned against Pittsburgh after offseason shoulder surgery and put up two assists in his last game, while Dante Fabbro and Ivan Provorov remain on injured reserve. Jet Greaves and Cam Talbot are the Blue Jackets’ goaltending options.
For New York, Alexis Lafreniere has been the early scoring leader, and defenseman Adam Fox continues to drive play from the blue line. The Rangers answered the Shesterkin injury with consecutive wins over Vancouver and Tampa Bay before arriving in Columbus, and Garand stopped 19 of 21 shots against the Canucks and 25 of 26 against the Lightning in those games.
The recent series between the teams has been close: Columbus has earned points in eight of the last 11 meetings with the Rangers. Saturday night’s game is also the start of a quick turnaround for the Blue Jackets, who travel to Minnesota to face the Wild on Sunday, Oct. 18, while the Rangers head home to host Anaheim on Monday. A home win over a division leader would give Columbus the steadier footing it has been chasing since opening night.