The Blue Jackets are back at it tonight at Nationwide, facing their Metro Division rival New York Rangers for the first time this season.
Both teams will enter this one on looking to build upon a two game winning streak, though each have come in very different ways.
The Jackets won 2-1 in a shootout in Seattle on Tuesday night, then followed it up with a nail biting 5-4 win over Edmonton at home on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Rangers bounced back big after a 5-0 loss at home to the New York Islanders last Saturday night. In two games since then, they've scored 13 goals - more than 25% of their total goal output this season.
As usual, this is a bit of an enigmatic Rangers team. They have plenty of talent, but seem to still be treading water while trying to figure out what kind of team they are. You never know what you're going to get from them on any given night.
The Opponent
The Rangers sit just one point ahead of the Jackets in the standings, with one additional game played. They are 9-7-2 (20 points), with a +2 goal differential overall.
Curiously, they are vastly better on the road than they are at home. Away from Madison Square Garden, they are 8-1-1. Only the LA Kings have found more points on the road so far this season (8-1-2).
The usual suspects are all still here for the Rangers, including some very familiar faces. Former Blue Jackets Artemi Panarin and Vladislav Gavrikov both play key roles for them.
Panarin leads the Rangers in scoring, with 16 points (5 goals) in 18 games - including 6 points in his last two games. The Breadman is still elite.
Gavrikov has emerged as one of the better shutdown defensemen in the NHL, earning a massive contract with the Rangers as a UFA last summer. He helps anchor their top pairing, alongside their second leading scorer Adam Fox, who has 15 points (3 goals).
Former first overall pick Alexis Lafreniere is third on the team in scoring (12 points), with Will Cuylle and Mika Zibanejad rounding out the top-5 with 10 points apiece.
Just one injury for New York: Matt Rempe is out long-term. Good news for the Jackets, who won't have to worry as much about any flying elbows with him out and Jacob Trouba now gone.
In goal, the Rangers have the luxury of one of the best in the world. Igor Shesterkin has more than done his part, with a .909% save percentage and 2.50 goals against average. But, he's just 6-6-2 in his 14 starts.
His backup is another former Blue Jacket (yes, I said it): Jonathan Quick. Quick has been outstanding for them when called upon, with a 1.26 GAA, .950% save percentage, and a 3-1-0 record. We'll update the article once their starter is announced.
The Good Guys
The Jackets come into this one feeling pretty good about themselves, with two wins in a row. Somehow, they were able to fend off the late Edmonton Oilers push on Thursday night and sneak out a 5-4 win.
The third line of Cole Sillinger, Charlie Coyle and Mathieu Olivier led the way with a combined 7 points; while the top line of Dmitri Voronkov, Adam Fantilli and Kirill Marchenko continued their strong play. I would be surprised to see any tweaking done within either of those lines ahead of tonight's game.
Where the problem arises, is with the other two lines. They continue to try to find the right combinations, though the second line did look decent with Luca del bel Belluz joining Sean Monahan and Kent Johnson on Thursday.
On defense, we have seen quite a bit of shuffling, but the same six names in the lineup over the last couple of weeks. Without the need to shutdown one ridiculously stacked line, I think we might see some more shuffling tonight against a team with a more balanced attack.
The illness that haunted the team last weekend is still floating around, so we may have to wait for full line combinations until pregame skate. They look pretty healthy so far this morning.
In goal, looks like Jet Greaves has taken over the #1 job for the time being. He's slated to make his fourth straight start.
Jet Greaves is in the home net for the #CBJ optional. Projected to make his fourth consecutive start. pic.twitter.com/Y5zyZlaPBx
— Mark Scheig (@mark_scheig) November 15, 2025
Three Keys to Success
1. Solve their goaltending. Igor Shesterkin is 7-2-0 in 9 career starts against the Jackets, with a .947% save percentage and 4 shutouts. Jonathan Quick has had less success, but has been terrific for them early this season. The Jackets have to find at least 3 or 4 goals to realistically beat this team tonight.
2. Paging Mr Johnson. Kent Johnson was a healthy scratch on Tuesday in Seattle. He didn't do much to fill me with confidence on Thursday night. They need him to drive offense from that second line. Tonight would be a great night to start.
3. Shutdown the Breadman. A lot of the offense for the Rangers flows through Artemi Panarin. He's not Connor McDavid, but he's on that very next tier. Containing him tonight is critical.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 tonight from Nationwide. The Buckeyes play around the same time, so it will be interesting to see what kind of crowd the Jackets get at home. It could very well be a near 50/50 split.
Hopefully the home team gives the 5th Line a reason to be louder than the fans wearing different jerseys.