After the New York Rangers (3-1-1) lost on Oct. 20 to the San Jose Sharks in overtime, they will seek their fourth win of the year against one of their Metropolitan Division foes, the Columbus Blue Jackets. They did not play well for a full 60 minutes during their last contest which contributed to why they allowed the opposition to gain its first win of the season. The Rangers are still seeking to replicate their play from their Oct. 11 opening night victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Vitali Kravtsov is anticipated to be in the lineup for the upcoming game and his presence presents another opportunity for Filip Chytil to play alongside another fellow young forward with Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko being placed on other lines.
The Columbus Blue Jackets (2-4-0) will be playing in back-to-back games after losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 6-3, at Nationwide Arena on Oct. 22. They jumped out to a 2-0 lead entering the second period but were unable to withstand the offense led by Sidney Crosby. Jack Roslovic led the way on offense during the contest with a short-handed goal (SHG) and an assist on Kent Johnson’s first goal of the year. Here’s our gameday preview.
New York Rangers Projected Lineup
Forwards
Chris Kreider – Mika Zibanejad – Kakko
Artemi Panarin – Vincent Trocheck – Lafreniere
Barclay Goodrow/Jimmy Vesey – Chytil – Kravtsov
Sammy Blais – Ryan Carpenter – Ryan Reaves
Defense
Ryan Lindgren – Adam Fox
K’Andre Miller – Jacob Trouba
Zac Jones – Braden Schneider
Goaltenders
Igor Shesterkin – Jaroslav Halak
Trouba & Gallant Critical Of Defense, Hunt Claimed By Avalanche
After the Rangers’ latest loss, Trouba, the team captain, was critical of their defensive play as it has not been as good in comparison with their win versus the Lightning, “You look at successful teams they’re good defensively and when the offense comes it comes. That defensive piece needs to get dialed in. We’re trying to create too much with defense jumping in when we don’t need to. It’s not an offensive free-for-all, it’s a hockey game. We’ve got to play defense too.”
Trouba and Gerard Gallant both commented on how the Sharks outplayed the club during the third period and overtime. The head coach said, “I was pretty happy with the first two periods. We didn’t execute as we usually do on the power play and got frustrated a little bit, but we still pretty well dominated the play. So we were in good shape, we played well, but that third period, I have no idea where that came from. I have no idea what went wrong. It was just a total collapse. It was embarrassing, actually.” During the third period and overtime, they were outshot 18-2 and it is not surprising they lost in the extra frame.
Dryden Hunt was put on waivers by the Rangers on Oct. 19 and did not clear as the Colorado Avalanche claimed him on Oct. 20. There was not an opening spot for him with the Rangers with Blais and Kravtsov each healthy, in addition to the signing of Vesey. Due to Gabriel Landeskog being sidelined following knee surgery for up to 12 weeks, there was an open roster spot for the forward in Colorado.
Columbus Blue Jackets Projected Lineup
Forwards
Johnny Gaudreau – Boone Jenner – Gustav Nyquist
Johnson – Roslovic – Jakub Voracek
Yegor Chinakhov – Cole Sillinger – Justin Danforth/Liam Foudy
Eric Robinson – Sean Kuraly – Mathieu Olivier
Defense
Zach Werenski – Nick Blakenburg
Vladislav Gavrikov – Andrew Peeke
Jake Bean – Erik Gudbranson
Goaltenders
Elvis Merzlikins – Daniil Tarasov
Roslovic’s Hot Streak, Danforth Injured
Blue Jackets head coach Brad Larsen commented on the good play of Roslovic recently for the Blue Jackets, “These last two games, he’s found his legs, his pace, and I thought (Jakub Voracek) was better too. There were some positives within there. It’s just a sour taste right now because of some things” (from ‘Blue Jackets vs Penguins: Five takeaways from latest rendition of broken record,’ The Columbus Dispatch, 10/23/22).
Related: Blue Jackets’ Kirill Marchenko Deserves NHL Opportunity
Danforth sustained an upper-body injury and left during the Penguins game. He may not be available for the contest versus the Rangers and Foudy is an option to replace him. Another solution is for the organization to recall a forward from the Cleveland Monsters, their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate. Brian Hedger, who covers the franchise for The Columbus Dispatch, suggests Kirill Marchenko, Emil Bemstrom, and Brendan Gaunce among the players to be called up if the injured forward misses any games.
Players To Watch
New York Rangers – Alexis Lafreniere
The former number-one overall selection in the 2020 NHL Draft has points in every other game early on this season. Based on the trend, he is on track to tally at least one point during the contest against the Blue Jackets. He is on a line with two good, experienced playmakers in Panarin and Trocheck, which may help elevate his game throughout the season.
Columbus Blue Jackets – Johnny Gaudreau
The top free agent available last summer has been worth every penny of the seven-year, $68.25 million contract he signed during the offseason as he leads his new club in goals and points early in 2022-23. Gaudreau set career highs with 40 goals and 75 assists last year, which is a tall order for him to match in consecutive seasons but he will remain among the league’s elite players this season. In three of the previous four years, he played in every regular season game for the Calgary Flames so his durability is a valuable trait that will benefit the organization as the year progresses.
Today’s game has a 5:00 pm ET start time at Madison Square Garden and will be broadcast on MSG.
*Rangers lines from @vzmercogliano on Twitter. Blue Jackets lines from @mark_scheig on Twitter.
