Scouting Report: New York Rangers Make Their Second Trip of the Season To Nationwide Arena

Columbus Blue Jackets (11-7-1) vs New York Rangers (9-8-2)

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2017, 7 p.m. (NATIONWIDE ARENA)

Last night, the Jackets locked up Cam Atkinson to one of the biggest contracts in franchise history. Tonight, they welcome back the player who signed the largest.

Rick Nash celebrated his 1,000th NHL game last week at Madison Square Garden, and the team that drafted and developed him was there to watch the ceremony. Unfortunately, the Jackets absolutely blew it in the third period after having control of the game in the second period. After a slow start, the Rangers turned it on with a win on Halloween, starting a six-game win streak that was snapped two nights ago in Chicago.

We'll see if the Midwest can spell trouble for these city slickers, as the Jackets look to send them back to New York with a second straight loss.

You Oughta Know: Mika Zibanejad

Around this time last year, Zibanejad crashed into the boards in overtime against the Florida Panthers and suffered a gruesome leg injury. He's certainly healthy now and it shows, as he leads the Rangers in points and is one of their top offensive weapons. The big Swede is somehow still just 24 – he debuted back in the 2011-12 season! – and showing that he can play.

That talent should already make him familiar to you, but there are two more reasons that you may recognize that name. First, he was (maybe?) nearly a Blue Jacket once upon a time. It was reported that Ottawa had offered a package headlined by Zibanejad (also including Nick Foligno) to the Jackets in exchange for Rick Nash back in the 2012 offseason. Funny enough, Nash and Zibanejad are now teammates, Foligno is in Columbus, and Zibanejad is in New York after being traded for former Blue Jackets center Derick Brassard.

The Rangers, Senators and Jackets make up hockey's weirdest love triangle, apparently. 

Fast Facts

• Zibanejad has broken out and sits at a cool point per game (9-10–19 in 19 games) but is -7 so far – noteworthy if you're the kind of person who puts stock into that particular stat. 
• The Rangers signed former Blues and Capitals defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk this offseason to quarterback their power play – and he's delivered, with nine power play points so far. 
• Henrik Lundqvist hasn't been himself this year, with an ugly 3.04 goals against average and a pedestrian .904 save percentage. 

Previous Matchups

THIS YEAR: Columbus won the first matchup – thanks to Artemi Panarin's first goal with the club – but dropped the second one 5-3 at Madison Square Garden. Still, let's take a look at the win, because it's more fun. 

Keys to the Game

ONE: Score more than one regulation goal, please. Seriously. The Jackets haven't done that since their last matchup with the Rangers nearly two weeks ago. Lundqvist and backup Ondrej Pavelec have struggled this year, and the Rangers defense hasn't been steady. 

TWO: Own the neutral zone. This one works both ways – the Rangers have some serious speed with guys like Mikhail Grabner, so shutting them down in the transition game will be important. More importantly, there's an opportunity for the Jackets to turn that around against a relatively weak Rangers blue line. 

THREE: Clean special teams. The Jackets were done in by their penalty kill at Madison Square Garden, and without Lukas Sedlak or Matt Calvert, they're still missing two major pieces for that unit. The Jackets 5-on-5 play should carry them, but getting a special teams lift could make this one a lot less stressful.

Team Projected Lineup

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