Rangers at Blue Jackets
The New York Rangers look to bounce back from a disappointing overtime loss and extend their point streak to six games when they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday. New York was set to post its fifth straight victory on Friday but let a two-goal lead in Detroit slip away in the third period before ultimately falling in the extra session.
Defensemen Neal Pionk and Kevin Shattenkirk provided the offense for the Rangers, with the former extending his goal-scoring streak to three games and the latter netting his first tally of the season. Columbus is coming off a 2-1 road victory over reigning Stanley Cup champion Washington on Friday. Anthony Duclair snapped a 1-1 tie during a power play 5:09 into the third period, pulling even with Josh Anderson for the team lead with his seventh goal of the campaign. Oliver Bjorkstrand also tallied in the victory for the Blue Jackets, who are 5-2-1 on the road but just 4-4-0 at Nationwide Arena.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), FS Ohio (Columbus)
ABOUT THE RANGERS (7-7-2): New York has been producing quickly of late, as it has scored twice in a span of less than a minute in each of its last three contests. Pionk and Shattenkirk tallied 40 seconds apart on the same four-minute power play Friday, marking the first time two Rangers defensemen accomplished the feat since Alexander Karpovtsev and Brian Leetch cashed in against Philadelphia on April 7, 1997. Mika Zibanejad leads the team with 14 points - four of which have been registered during his three-game streak.
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (9-6-1): Bjorkstrand was slated to be a healthy scratch for a second straight game on Friday but was pressed into the lineup due to an illness that sidelined Cam Atkinson. The 23-year-old Dane, who set career highs in tallies (11), assists (29) and points last season, apparently felt the heat as he snapped his nine-game goal-scoring drought with his second of the campaign. Artemi Panarin leads the team with 17 points and has notched an assist in back-to-back contests after being kept off the scoresheet in each of his previous four games.
OVERTIME
1. The Blue Jackets are 3-for-6 on the power play in their last two games after going 0-for-20 over their previous five contests.
2. New York C Kevin Hayes has recorded four assists in his last two contests and six points over his past five games.
3. Columbus has allowed one goal in each of its last two games and three of its past five.