The Columbus Blue Jackets, coming off a loss to the Washington Capitals in a thrilling matchup on Friday night, returned for a Saturday evening showdown with their second Metro Division matchup in two nights as they faced off with the New York Rangers.
The Rangers, third in the division at faceoff and ahead of the Blue Jackets by three points (with two more games played), came in with just one win in their last four games, a victory over the Panthers stopping a three game skid in Western Canada.
With the exception of goaltender, where Elvis Merzlikins got the start in net for Joonas Korpisalo, head coach Brad Larsen elected to make no other changes to the lineup.