The Blue Jackets will look for points in their 11th straight game tonight, as they take on the New York Rangers at Nationwide Arena. This is the third and final match between these two Metropolitan Division foes this season.
The Jackets have been red hot for more than two months since hiring Rick Bowness as their head coach. They are 16-2-4, earning 36 points in 22 games since making the coaching change back on January 12th.
Meanwhile, the Rangers have gone rapidly in the other direction. They came into the season as a Stanley Cup hopeful, but instead find themselves at the very bottom of the Eastern Conference.
The Opponent
Everything was supposed to be very different for the Rangers this season. They hired a new coach of their own, hopeful that Mike Sullivan would be the guy who could guide them through the Eastern Conference gauntlet and into a Stanley Cup win.
That has not been the outcome. In fact, the Rangers have fallen way off. They have really on a downward slope since winning the President's Trophy as the best regular season team in the NHL, back in 2023-24.
Last year, they finished with 85 points, 4 behind the Blue Jackets in the standings. This year, they are a measly 28-32-8, good for 64 points in 68 games. That has resulted in them cleaning house a little bit, shipping off superstar winger Artemi Panarin for well below market value at the trade deadline.
Oddly enough, that might have helped them. Since coming back from the Olympics, the Rangers are 6-3-2, earning 14 of a possible 22 points in the standings. Still, they are way out of the playoff race, and at this point are only hurting themselves by not falling into a higher draft slot.
Mika Zibanejad leads the team in scoring, with 28 goals and 64 points in 67 games. After him, it's a pretty steep drop-off to second place Vincent Trocheck, who has 14 goals and 47 points on the year. But, all of that aside, Adam Fox is easily their best player, and he only has 41 games played (35 points).
As bad as the Rangers can be, they still have an elite goaltender that can beat you on any given night. Igor Shesterkin is 22-13-6, with a .913% save percentage, 2.50 goals against average, and 1 shutout on the season.
With Jonathan Quick getting the start last night, expect to see Igor in the crease at Nationwide tonight. He's 8-2-1 for his career against the Blue Jackets, with a .937% save percentage, 1.73 goals against average, and 4 shutouts.
All of this to say: you can't overlook them because of their record. There is still a lot of elite talent on this team, and they have turned it on of late. Even though the Rangers played last night, the Jackets need to be on their "A" game again tonight.
The Good Guys
The Blue Jackets got some help in the standings last night, with Carolina downing the Pittsburgh Penguins in overtime; and the Ottawa Senators losing in regulation. Anything helps at the moment.
Tonight, they could vault themselves into a playoff spot with a win and a little more help elsewhere. If the Jackets win and one of Boston, Detroit, or the New York Islanders lose in regulation; they will be in a playoff spot before they go to bed.
Their math is starting to look pretty good, but they have to keep winning. The good news is, if they play like they did the other night against Carolina, it's going to be really tough for this team to lose. Even against a team with an elite goaltender like Shesterkin.
Three Keys to Success
1. Solve the goaltending riddle. Pretty straight forward here: if you can solve Igor, you can beat this team. In the first matchup of the season, he made 26 saves on 27 shots and was the game's first star in a 2-1 win at Nationwide. In the second game, he gave up 5 goals in a Blue Jackets OT win at Madison Square Garden. They have got to find ways to get pucks past him.
2. Forecheck them into oblivion. The reason the Blue Jackets are having success is because they have gotten their forecheck going lately. When they are on top of pucks, they smother teams and don't allow them to get anything going. Do that tonight.
3. Just win. I don't care if it's a combined 15 goals, or a combined 3 goals. This is a team they should beat. Whether you solve Igor a half dozen times or not, just find a way to take home two points tonight, and keep this wagon rolling.
Puck drop for this one is scheduled for just after 7:00 Eastern time. The game will be broadcast via a variety of local television options, if you live in the Columbus market. Let's go Jackets!