FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29TH
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| NEW YORK RANGERS |
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TV: BALLY SPORTS OHIO RADIO: THE FAN 97.1FM |
Three road games should help give the 5th Line a little bit of insight as to where the young Columbus Blue Jackets, and the first look will come Friday night as they face the New York Rangers in the Blue Jackets' third divisional game of the season.
| RANGERS THIS SEASON |
| Record: 4-2-1 (9 points) |
| Home Record: 0-1-1 |
| 82-game pace: 105.4 points |
| LAST THREE GAMES: |
| 10/25: Loss 5-1 vs. Flames |
| 10/23: Win 3-2 @ Senators |
| 10/21: Win 3-1 @ Predators |
| TEAM LEADERS: |
| Goals: Chris Kreider (4) |
| Assists: Mika Zibanejad (5) |
| Points: Mika Zibanejad (6) |
KNOW THE FOE
The Rangers run a little top-heavy, relying on big minutes night in and night out from their top line. That line has featured Chris Kreider on the left side and Mika Zibanejad at center, with a right wing that's been divvied up between 2020's top draft pick of Alexis Lafreniere and the one that got away, former Blue Jacket Artemi Panarin. Three of those four (Lafreniere is the exception) are averaging more than 20 minutes of ice time per night thus far. For comparison, Boone Jenner is the only Blue Jacket who eclipses twenty minutes, and his first line partners of Patrik Laine and Jakub Voracek average 17:30 and 17:07, respectively.
Zibanejad and Panarin have combined for only two goals so far this season after combining for 41 goals in 98 total games last season. That’s a 66% reduction in goals per game for the duo, and worrisome if you're a Rangers fan. One would think it's only a matter of time before at least one gets going; here's to hoping that doesn't come Friday.
Defensively, the top line pairing of Ryan Lindgren and Adam Fox is a talented but young duo (sound familiar?), with both players just 23 years old. The second line tandem of Jacob Trouba and K'Andre Miller have been as impressive as their size: Miller goes 6'5" and Trouba stands in at 6'3". More than size is needed to play defense in the NHL, but damn if that reach and strength isn't a great start, and both have played well to start the year.
BETWEEN THE PIPES
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TEAM RANKINGS
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TONIGHT'S LINES*
| LW | C | RW | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | Patrik Laine | 38 | Boone Jenner | 93 | Jakub Voracek |
| 15 | Gregory Hofmann | 96 | Jack Roslovic | 28 | Oliver Bjorkstrand |
| 14 | Gustav Nyquist | 34 | Cole Sillinger | 16 | Max Domi |
| 50 | Eric Robinson | 7 | Sean Kuraly | 42 | Alexandre Texier |
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| 8 | Zach Werenski | 22 | Jake Bean | ||
| 44 | Vladislav Gavrikov | 2 | Andrew Peeke | ||
| 53 | Gabriel Carlsson | 4 | Scott Harrington | ||
*based on Friday morning skate and media availability.
STORYLINES
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AN EMOTIONAL NIGHT: Friday is Columbus' first trip to Madison Square Garden since January 19th, 2020. That was the NHL debut of Matiss Kivlinieks, and after a first period goal, the late goalie turned away every other Ranger shot en route to a 2-1 Blue Jackets win. When the Blue Jackets hit the ice Friday, you can bet that will be on the mind of everyone — most notably, perhaps, Elvis Merzlikins. Following the vile comments made by an opposing team's fan at Nationwide Arena in Monday's win over Dallas, Merzlikins shared that the comment gave him a hidden motivation to win the game for his late friend. Going back to the arena where Kivlenieks picked up his first NHL win? It's sure to be an emotional night for the Blue Jackets in the Big Apple.
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MAXIMUM MAX: Max Domi came back much earlier than expected, and Friday, here we go again: Domi is expected to be in the lineup Friday, just 13 days before he was hurt and expected to miss two to four weeks. Domi was off to an electric start in the first two games of the season, with a goal and 3 assists in his very limited action. The 2020-21 Domi was not great, but there has been exceptional play in the past. With the ribs feeling better, let's hope he picks up where he left off.
- BLACK AND BLUE LINE: Adam Boqvist missed Monday's game with some physical "issues", as head coach Brad Larsen put it. His replacement, Dean Kukan, fractured his wrist in that same game and is expected to miss the next two months. The blue line injuries have started particularly early this season for Columbus (Fwd To: Lehtonen, M.) , and Boqvist was not at Thursday's practice. With both out, the Blue Jackets third pairing is likely to be Gabriel Carlsson and Scott Harrington (gulp), while Andrew Peeke gets bumped up to join Vladislav Gavrikov on the second pairing. Big minutes from the top pairing — Zach Werenski and Jake Bean — will be needed.
