Saturday, October 14, 2023 – 7:00 P.M. EST
Nationwide Arena – Columbus, Ohio
TV: Bally Sports Ohio; Radio: 97.1 FM
Opponent’s Blog: Blueshirt Banter
New York Rangers (1-0-0)
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Columbus Blue Jackets (0-1-0)
The Blue Jackets take the ice tonight in search of their first win of the season. After losing to Philadelphia, the one team that is most often projected to finish beneath the Jackets in the standings, it won’t get any easier against the Rangers.
Player to Watch
Kent Johnson
Johnson enters the lineup tonight after sitting out his second straight home opener. A lackluster preseason in which he didn’t play up to the “pace” that new head coach Pascal Vincent was looking for. It undoubtedly left a sour taste in his mouth, and it hopefully lit a fire under him. After a sloppy performance on Thursday, an injection of skill could be just what the offense needs.
Jackets Note
Columbus will need their star players to play like stars. It is that simple. New York has a lot of star power in their lineup and can quickly run up the score if they aren’t at their best. It would appear the lines have already gone into the blender after the choppy performance on Thursday. Adam Fantilli has been promoted to top line duties, albeit not at center. David Jiricek most likely will enter the lineup in place of the injured Zach Werenski. Based on yesterday’s line rushes, Liam Foudy and Mathieu Olivier also appear to be making their debuts while Emil Bemstrom and Eric Robinson take a seat in the press box.
Is this the lineup that plays with the pace that Pascal Vincent is looking for?
The Other Bench
New York is pretty much a lock for the post season, and these 82 games are simply a formality. They have easily one of the most talented and experienced lineups in the league. The bar to measure success for them is whether or not they are playing for the Stanley Cup in June.
They are coming off a thumping of the Buffalo Sabres, ruining their home opener in which they celebrated the life of longtime play by play announcer Rick Jeanneret. They dominated in pretty much every aspect of the game and could make it a very long night for the Blue Jackets if they aren’t up to the task. Just check out this stat card of the performance:
2022-23 Stats
| New York | Columbus | |
| 3.33 (12) | GPG | 2.60 (30) |
| 2.63 (4) | GAPG | 4.01 (31) |
| 24.1 (7) | PP% | 18.3 (26) |
| 81.2 (13) | PK% | 75.1 (25) |
| 49.8 (17) | 5v5 Shot Attempt % | 44.9 (30) |
| 50.2 (17) | 5v5 Unblocked Shot Attempt % | 44.5 (30) |
| 9.15 (6) | 5v5 Shooting % | 7.7 (29) |
| 92.1 (10) | 5v5 Save % | 90.1 (30) |
| Mika Zibanejad, 39 | G Leader | Boone Jenner, 26 |
| Artemi Panarin, 63 | A Leader | Johnny Gaudreau, 53 |
| Artemi Panarin, 92 | P Leader | Johnny Gaudreau, 74 |
| Jacob Trouba, 63 | PIM Leader | Mathieu Olivier, 81 |
| 24-9-8 | Home/Road | 16-23-2 |
Projected Lines
Columbus Blue Jackets
| Adam Fantilli | Patrick Laine | Alexandre Texier |
| Kirill Marchenko | Boone Jenner | Johnny Gaudreau |
| Justin Danforth | Cole Sillinger | Kent Johnson |
| Liam Foudy | Sean Kuraly | Roslovic/Bemstrom/Robinson |
| Ivan Provorov | Damon Severson |
| David Jiricek/Adam Boqvist | Andrew Peeke |
| Jake Bean | Erik Gudbranson |
| Elvis Merzlikins |
| Spencer Martin |
New York Rangers
| Chris Kreider | MIka Zibanejad | Kaapo Kakko |
| Artemi Panarin | Filip Chytil | Alexis Lafreniere |
| Will Cuylle | Vincent Trochek | Blake Wheeler |
| Barclay Goodrow | Nick Bonino | Tyler Pitlick |
| Ryan Lindgren | Adam Fox |
| K’Andre Miller | Jacob Trouba |
| Erik Gustafsson | Braden Schneider |
| Igor Shesterkin |
| Jonathan Quick |