And then there were three left.
Jimmy Vesey, Chris Kreider, Niko Mikkola, and Vincent Trocheck scored to lift the New York Rangers over the Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-0, on Saturday night at Nationwide Arena.
Mika Zibanejad had two assists and Tyler Motte, Barclay Goodrow, K'Andre Miller, Patrik Kane, and Vladimir Tarasenko also had points. Zibanejad is on a four-game point streak (one goal, six assists). Tarasenko is on a four-game point streak (two goals, three assists). Kane has 78 points (25 goals, 53 assists) in his career against the Blue Jackets, the most against any team. Vesey picked up his 160th career point. Zibanejad now has 89 points, which ties Artemi Panarin for the Rangers team lead.
Igor Shesterkin picked up his third shutout of the season, making 20 saves. It's his 11th career shutout and the second against Columbus. His 37th win of the season sets a career-high.
Mitchael Hutchinson appeared in his 150th career game and made 24 saves.
The Rangers take the season series from Columbus, 3-1.
18,824 in Nationwide Arena tonight, another sellout for the #CBJ. 11th of the season, if I did the counting right.
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) April 9, 2023
Back To The Show
After a flurry of roster moves on Friday, in which the Blue Jackets sent Marcus Bjork, Josh Dunne, Joona Luoto, and Billy Sweezey to Cleveland, the Blue Jackets added Bjork, Luoto, Trey Fix-Wolansky, and David Jiricek on emergency recall on Saturday.
Tonight will be the third NHL game for defenseman David Jiricek, whom the #CBJ took sixth overall in the 2022 draft. Jiricek has a 6-32-38 line in 51 games with Cleveland.
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) April 8, 2023
So far, he's just one of five players from the 2022 draft to play in the NHL.
Tonight was the third game in three nights for Bjork and Luoto. All four players played in Friday's game for the Monsters, who beat the Laval Rocket, 5-4. Fix-Wolansky had two goals and Jiricek had two assists in that game.
Those players helped Cleveland to a huge win at Laval last night, which jumped the Monsters into a playoff spot with five games to go.
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) April 8, 2023
Cleveland has another huge game at Belleville tonight, but the #CBJ needs players
Between trying to fill out a roster, reward opportunities, and help the Monsters make a final push for the playoffs, there's a lot to juggle. The Monsters lost to the Belleville Senators, 3-1, tonight and are now one point out of a playoff spot.
For Saturday's game against the Rangers, Bjork was -1 with one shot in 17:07. Fix-Wolansky was -2 with three shots in 16:12. Jiricek was -1 with one blocked shot and three hits in 21:02. Luoto was -1 with two shots, four hits, and two takeaways in 10:58.
Robinson Injured
Eric Robinson left the game in the second period after a collision with Mikkola at 18:37. Robinson essentially ran right into Mikkola at center ice and took the full brunt of it, staying down for a few minutes before popping back up and heading to the dressing room.
The penalty to Mikkola has been taken off the board after review. Mikkola was reaching for a puck and Robinson's head went into his shoulder. Was more of a collision than a hit. You just hope Eric is OK. #CBJ
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) April 9, 2023
Originally called a five-minute major, the play was reviewed and it was deemed to be no penalty on the play. Mikkola scored in the third period at 5:00 for his first goal of the season.
Robinson finished the night with two blocked shots and three hits in 10:56.
32nd... For now
With the Blue Jackets' loss, and because the Anaheim Ducks picked up a point during their 5-4 overtime loss to the Arizona Coyotes, the Blue Jackets fall back to 32nd in the league standings and are tied with the Chicago Blackhawks with 56 points. The Blackhawks are at the Seattle Kraken later tonight. The San Jose Sharks lost to the Edmonton Oilers, 6-1, and are 29th with 60 points.
Anaheim and Arizona are headed to overtime, so #FlyTogether are out of last place in the #NHL standings. #CBJ slide back down to No. 32 ... for now.
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) April 9, 2023
Last Road Game
The Blue Jackets are in Philadelphia to face the Flyers in the final road game of the season on Tuesday, April 10 at 7:00 pm ET at Wells Fargo Center. The Blue Jackets are 2-1-0 against the Flyers this season.
