Gameday MATINEE: Columbus Blue Jackets at New York Islanders

After that hard-fought, record-breaking win over the Florida Panthers on Thursday in Nationwide Arena, the Columbus Blue Jackets hit the road for a pair of early afternoon games in the greater New York area. First up is a battle with the New York Islanders.

The Jackets beat the Islanders by scores of 6-2 and 7-0 in the friendly confines of Nationwide. In the first meeting at the Barclay’s Center, however, the Islanders won 4-2 in one of many ugly January efforts from the Jackets.

Under new coach Doug Weight, the Islanders have battled back into playoff contention. They are one point behind Toronto for the final wild card spot. Since that 7-0 loss in Columbus, however, they are just 4-4-1. They are running out of chances to collect points.

They have been helped by a new addition in the form of rookie forwardd Joshua Ho-Sang. He has scored 3 goals and 3 assists in his first 9 NHL games. He has drawn a minor controversy in his selection of the number 66. Apparently people are pissed off because that’s Mario Lemieux’s number, but my position that it’s fair game unless the league chooses to retire it. Obviously he wouldn’t wear that number in Pittsburgh but is it worth getting upset about an Islander wearing it? Nah.

Don’t expect any changes to the Columbus lineup from the group that played Thursday. The fourth line is healthy and are starting to snap out of their slump. Josh Anderson had a goal and assist in just 9 minutes.

Here’s what you need to know

Saturday, March 17, 2017 – 1:00 EST
Barclay’s Center, Brooklyn, New York
TV: Fox Sports Ohio; Radio: 97.1 WBNS FM
Opponent’s Blog: Lighthouse Hockey

Columbus Blue Jackets, 45-18-6, 96 points, 3rd Metro, 3rd East

at

New York Islanders, 33-26-11, 77 points, 5th Metro, 9th East

Season Series

12/10/16 NYI 2 @ CBJ 6
01/24/17 CBJ 2 @ NYI 4
02/25/17 NYI 0 @ CBJ 7
03/18/17 CBJ @ NYI

Stats

Projected Lineups