The Red-Hot New York Rangers Host the Columbus Blue Jackets
By Conor Power
Starting the season with a 10-2-1 record, the Rangers are looking to make their record look even better when they play against the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight. The Rangers will still be without Adam Fox, Filip Chytil, and Igor Shesterkin against their Metropolitan Division rivals. It’s another chance to extend the lead at the top of the division, with the Hurricanes and Devils sputtering recently.
In good news, the Rangers will have Jonathan Quick back between the pipes to allow them to return young netminder Dylan Garand to the Hartford Wolf Pack, where he can continue to develop. He’s shown to be a good netminder at the IIHF World Championships, so getting him ready for the NHL is paramount. Quick has been excellent for the Rangers so far, and will try to continue that tonight.
Louis Domingue is coming off his first win in the NHL regular season as a Ranger, and he will be the backup tonight with Igor still out hurt. The right-handed goalie performed admirably in the victory over the Minnesota Wild when Quick was out with soreness, but having the three-time Stanley Cup Champion start over Domingue should not be a surprise to tonight’s backup.
Columbus won the previous meeting between these two teams at Nationwide Arena in Columbus. That was the game where everyone scored for the Rangers and had it ruled out on review. New York can get revenge tonight against their ailing opponents.
Projected Lineups
New York Rangers
Chris Kreider – Mika Zibanejad – Blake Wheeler
Artemi Panarin – Vincent Trocheck – Alexis Lafreniere
Will Cuylle – Nick Bonino – Kaapo Kakko
Jimmy Vesey – Barclay Goodrow – Tyler Pitlick
K’Andre Miller –Jacob Trouba
Ryan Lindgren – Erik Gustafsson
Zac Jones – Braden Schneider
Jonathan Quick
Louis Domingue
Columbus Blue Jackets
Johnny Gaudreau – Boone Jenner – Patrik Laine
Dmitri Voronkov – Adam Fantilli – Kirill Marchenko
Jack Roslovic – Cole Sillinger – Emil Bemstrom
Alexandre Texier – Sean Kuraly – Justin Danforth
Zach Werenski – Erik Gudbranson
Ivan Provorov – Damon Severson
Adam Boqvist – Andrew Peeke
Elvis Merzlikins
Spencer Martin
Puck Drop Time
This is a 7 p.m. puck drop from Madison Square Garden. New York has won its last two games, while the Blue Jackets have lost their previous two games. These two teams are going in very different directions. New York will be expecting to sweep aside their opponent tonight and keep marching towards the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.