Game Day #63: Blue Jackets, Rangers Face Off In Huge Metro Division Showdown

All games from here out are big.

But some are huge.

Sunday is a huge game. 

The Columbus Blue Jackets continue their four-game road trip with a pivotal game against the New York Rangers on Sunday with a 6 p.m. puck-drop. 

The two teams are tied in the Metro division standings and for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, though that can — and has been — changing on a near daily basis. With one fewer game played, it's the Blue Jackets with the slight advantage entering the game.

The two teams have met twice so far this season, with the Rangers winning both. New York had a 1-0 shootout victory at home in January, then won 4-3 at Nationwide Arena in February with the game-winning goal coming in the final two minutes of regulation.

The Rangers are playing the second game of a back-to-back, but that hasn't hurt them so far this season: they're 6-3-1 this season there. The Blue Jackets, meanwhile, are 7-2-1 with two days off between games. 

Here's what else to know as Columbus looks for critical points in a divisional showdown:

• RE: BLUESHIRTS
  With Igor Shesterkin in net Saturday for the Rangers, look for Jonathan Quick to get the start Sunday against the Blue Jackets. The 39-year-old had a 34-save shutout last Sunday against the Nashville Predators in his last start. ... The Rangers power play has struggled in recent games, going 1-for-17 over the last five contests. ... The penalty kill, on the other hand, has not. New York ranks third in the league on the PK, and their 11 shorthanded goals are second in the NHL. They went 5-for-5 on the penalty kill in Saturday's overtime loss to the Senators.
   
• ANY POINT FOR Z BREAKS A RECORD
  Zach Werenski's 20 goals have tied a franchise record (his own) for goals by a defenseman in a season. His 258 career assists is tied with Rick Nash for the most in Blue Jackets' history. Whatever Z's next point is, he'll set a record.
   
• SPECIAL TEAM STRUGGLES
  Over the last five games, Columbus has converted just once on the power play in 11 attempts. On the penalty kill, they've allowed five goals on 16 attempts in that same five-game span.
   
• LINEUPS CHANGES & PROJECTIONS
  These lines are based off Saturday's practice, which the team was in Columbus for with the two-day layoff. “We’ve kept our lines pretty much the same, but it’s definitely a situation and an opportunity for us to experiment a little bit,” said head coach Dean Evason. “We’ll play around a little bit, but hopefully we don’t have to do a lot of it and we can get some chemistry in that area.”
  
  For Sunday's game, that bit of "playing around" includes moving Mathieu Olivier up to the second line to play with Kent Johnson and Boone Jenner, inserting new Blue Jacket Luke Kunin on the third line with Justin Danforth and Yegor Chinakhov, and flanking fourth-line center Sean Kuraly with James van Riemsdyk and Zach Aston-Reese. Christian Fischer is not expected to make his debut Sunday.
  
  Here are the complete lineup projections: