PREVIEW: Blue Jackets, Rangers meet for CBJ 25th Anniversary Game

For the Blue Jackets, the schedule shows no sign of slowing down.

Friday’s short practice could have been a day off for a team that feels like it’s been around the world in eight days. Columbus completed its recent road swing out West with three games in the last four days, then flew home Wednesday before Thursday’s win against Edmonton.

The Blue Jackets get right back at it tonight against the New York Rangers, then play again Monday at home before flying another 1,000-mile-plus trip to face Winnipeg on Tuesday. That kicks off another extended road swing, a four-game trip that will cover seven days.

Add it all up and tonight will be the team’s fourth game in six days and fifth game in eight. By the time they return home from Washington next Monday, the Blue Jackets will have played 10 games in 17 days, with seven of them on the road in two different countries, stretching from the Pacific time zone to the Eastern Seaboard.

And then there’s the fact the while Blue Jackets have won two in a row and have points in three straight, they are a banged-up bunch, nursing some nagging injuries and trying to shake the impact of a virus that has left some players unable to suit up on certain nights.

Dean Evason knows the schedule makers aren’t going to move any of those contests, though, so the Blue Jackets have to keep on playing.

“I think every year, it’s the same thing, right?” Evason said. “You get different situations with illnesses or banged up, and that’s the adversity that you have go through a little bit and grind through and then hopefully learn from it, that if you get put in that spot again, you know how to handle it and deal with it.”

If there’s any saving grace, it’s that the Blue Jackets are hardly alone. With the NHL taking more than two weeks off for the Winter Olympics in February, every team faces a difficult, condensed schedule full of back-to-backs and quick turnarounds.

It’s what you make of it, and some members of the team even said Thursday wasn’t so bad, all things considered.

“Personally, that’s the best I’ve felt leg-wise in a while, for whatever that’s worth,” Charlie Coyle said after a three-point performance. “It has been a lot, but you just have to do the right things as best you can to get ready for whatever the day calls for, whether it’s a practice and you want to get better or if it’s a game. I think a lot of guys looked and felt good today. No matter if you woke up this morning and didn’t feel that way or what, come game time, you’re not thinking about anything else other than doing the job and doing it well.”

Tonight will be the Blue Jackets' second 25th Anniversary Game of the season, with alumni Matt Calvert, Marc Denis, Brandon Dubinsky, Aaron Johnson and David Vyborny in attendance. The quintet will sign autographs on the Nationwide Arena concourse terrace at 6 p.m. and be recognized in a pregame ceremony.

Scratches: F Zach Aston-Reese, F Boone Jenner (upper body injury), D Dysin Mayo

Injured reserve/Non-Roster: Erik Gudbranson (upper body injury)

Roster Report: Wood, Fabbro and Voronkov returned to morning skate after missing all or part of Friday's practice, but Evason said there is still some uncertainty with the lineup as illness and bumps and bruises pile up. One thing that is known, though, is Greaves will make a fourth straight start in net.

This Day in CBJ History

Nov. 15, 2005: In one of the biggest trades in franchise history, the Blue Jackets acquire six-time All-Star Sergei Fedorov and a fifth-round pick in the 2006 NHL Draft from Anaheim in exchange for Tyler Wright and Francois Beauchemin.

Nov. 15, 2016: Cam Atkinson gives the Blue Jackets an overtime win vs. Washington in Nationwide Arena, scoring 37 seconds into the extra frame in a 2-1 victory.

Nov. 15, 2019: The Blue Jackets also win in overtime on this date, as Zach Werenski’s power-play tally was the difference in a 3-2 victory over St. Louis at Nationwide.

Nov. 15, 2021: Rookie forward Yegor Chinakhov notches his first career goal and adds an assist in a 5-3 win over Detroit at Nationwide Arena. At age 28, forward Justin Danforth also makes his NHL debut in the game.

Nov. 15, 2022: Columbus has a history of OT winners on this date, clearly, as Vladislav Gavrikov’s tally gives the Blue Jackets a 5-4 home victory over Philadelphia.

Nov. 15, 2024: The Blue Jackets earn their biggest win against Pittsburgh since 2016, posting a 6-2 victory over the Penguins at Nationwide Arena. Six different Blue Jackets score and 14 have points as Columbus snaps a six-game losing skid.

The Numbers Game

With an assist vs. Edmonton, Kirill Marchenko extended his career-best point streak to 10 games (3-9-12) and has six points in the last four games. The point streak is tied for the fourth longest in franchise history and is three shy of tying the CBJ record set by Ryan Johansen in 2014-15. ... Adam Fantilli has scored in three straight games for the second time in his career and has a four-game point streak (3-3-6). … Charlie Coyle has eight points in the last three home games (2-6-8) while Mathieu Olivier has seven (3-4-7) and linemate Cole Sillinger has five (2-3-5). ... Blue Jackets defensemen have scored in 11 of 17 games so far this year, and the team’s 13 tallies from blueliners lead the NHL. … Zach Werenski is tied for third in the NHL among defensemen in goals (four), is first in shots on goal (61) and places second in average time on ice (26:36). … Denton Mateychuk also has four goals on the year to tie Werenski and six others for third among NHL defensemen. ... Elvis Merzlikins has 98 career victories, two shy of 100, heading into the game.

Know The Foe: New York Rangers

Head coach: Mike Sullivan (First season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 2.67 (27th) | Scoring defense: 2.56 (2nd) | PP: 15.2 percent (28th) | PK: 81.6 percent (10th)

The narrative: The Rangers went to the Eastern Conference final in both 2022 and ‘24 but failed to make the playoffs last year during a season of upheaval. Captain Jacob Trouba was traded early in the campaign, and another blockbuster deal returned J.T. Miller to the fold, but the Rangers could never find consistency and went 8-10-3 down the stretch to fall six points short of a postseason berth. More change came this offseason, highlighted by the hiring of Sullivan to take over after a 10-year run in Pittsburgh that included a pair of Stanley Cups.

Scoring leaders: Artemi Panarin is in his usual spot atop the Rangers scoring chart, posting 16 points thus far including five goals and 11 assists. Adam Fox is tied for fourth among all NHL blueliners with 15 points thanks to three tallies and 12 helpers, while Alexis Lafreniére follows with a 4-8-12 line. Mika Zibanejad (5-5-10) and Will Cuylle (6-4-10) are the other Rangers to reach 10 points on the season.

In net: Igor Shesterkin is again turning in a solid season, as the 2022 Vezina winner has started 14 of 18 games and is 6-6-2 with a 2.50 GAA and .909 save percentage. Former CBJ goalie – in name only – Jonathan Quick is the backup at age 39 and has a 1.26 GAA in four appearances.

What's new: The major changes in the summer didn’t stop with the hiring of Sullivan. The Rangers pulled off another notable trade, sending longtime CBJ killer Chris Kreider to Anaheim, and landed a big fish on the free agent market in defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov. They also signed veteran forwards Conor Sheary and Taylor Raddysh and are giving some time to young forwards Noah Laba and first-round pick Gabe Perreault, and the Rangers come to Columbus having won six of their last eight. The offense has been rather feast or famine, though, as the Rangers have 13 tallies in their last two games but have been shut out five times.

Trending: Columbus went 1-2-1 in the season series a year ago, dropping both games in Nationwide Arena. It’s been tough sledding over the past six seasons, with Columbus holding a 6-10-2 mark overall against the Rangers since 2019-20.

Former CBJ: It feels hard to believe, but the 34-year-old Panarin is in the final season of the seven-year deal he signed with New York after the 2019 season. His fellow countryman Gavrikov is in the first year of a long-term deal he inked with the Rangers this offseason and has a 2-4-6 line and plus-6 rating thus far.