Blue Jackets at Rangers
The Columbus Blue Jackets authored the most spellbinding stretch of the first half of the season with a franchise-best 16-game winning streak, but they come out of the All-Star break trailing first-place Washington by four points in the Metropolitan Division. Columbus gets a chance to avenge a stunning loss when it visits the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.
Coach John Tortorella will be back behind the bench against the team he used to coach after skipping the All-Star Game and last Thursday's loss at Nashville while one of the family's dogs was ailing. "This was not a life or death matter with family members," Tortorella told the Columbus Dispatch. "I just wish we could have stayed under the radar. I just wanted to go about some family business on my own." New York, which is nine points out of first in the Metropolitan, shocked the Blue Jackets with four unanswered goals in a 5-4, come-from-behind victory at Columbus on Jan. 7. The Rangers are a league-best 17-7-0 on the road but only 14-10-1 at Madison Square Garden.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Columbus), MSG2 (New York)
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (32-12-4): Columbus has won only five of 12 games since the 16-game run ended but, more alarmingly, it has surrendered at least four goals seven times during that span. All-Star netminder Sergei Bobrovsky was not in net for the last meeting with New York, but is 4-8-2 with a 2.93 goals-against average against the Rangers and permitted four goals in each of his last two starts entering the break. Defenseman David Savard will not play Tuesday due to back spasms.
ABOUT THE RANGERS (31-17-1): Two key players are expected to be back in the lineup Tuesday night for New York, with defenseman Marc Staal set to return after being sidelined for nine games and forward Jesper Fast ready to play again after sitting out the past four contests. "I would say if everything goes to plan, both of those guys will be available for us tomorrow," coach Alain Vigneault said following Monday's practice. Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist has permitted six goals during a 3-1-0 stretch.
OVERTIME
1. Blue Jackets F Cam Atkinson, who had a team-high 24 goals, has scored six times in 14 games versus New York.
2. Rangers F Michael Grabner scored twice in the last meeting and has six goals and 11 points in 11 games versus the Blue Jackets.
3. Columbus recalled D Dean Kukan from Cleveland of the American Hockey League.