The Columbus Blue Jackets (23-42-7) are on the road to take on the New York Rangers (43-20-10) at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. Columbus is coming off a high-scoring 8-2 loss against the Canadiens on Saturday.
The Blue Jackets conceded a power play goal while failing to take advantage of their own power play opportunities. Lane Pederson and Kirill Marchenko each scored once for the Blue Jackets.
Elvis Merzlikins only had 18 saves on 24 shots against (.750%) after starting in the loss. New York beat the Panthers 4-3 on Saturday. Four players found the net for the Rangers. Jaroslav Halak saved 31 of 34 shots.
HEAD TO HEAD
The teams have split their two meetings this season, the most recent of which was a 3-1 victory for the Rangers in January. Barclay Goodrow (1G 1A) and Kaapo Kakko (0G 2A) each had two points to lead New York. Andrew Peeke scored Columbus’ only goal. Halak got the win, saving 24 of 25 shots (.960%).
FACING OFF
Columbus is averaging just 2.71 goals per game for the season, 29th in the NHL. The visitors will face a difficult test against a Rangers team that is allowing only 2.68 goals a game (4th).
Meanwhile, New York has found the net 3.33 times a game on average, 12th in the league, and the Blue Jackets are allowing opponents to score 3.94 goals per game (31st).
The Rangers’ 21.97% power play percentage ranks 11th in the league, while the Blue Jackets are 25th with a conversion rate of 18.95%. When it comes to defending power plays, New York has the league’s 13th-ranked PK% at 80.39%, while Columbus is 24th at 75.83%.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 67 points this season, Johnny Gaudreau is the top skater for the Blue Jackets. He has 18 goals and 49 assists in 70 games. In the net, Joonas Korpisalo (15-11-4) is Columbus’ top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 2.94 GAA and a .914% save percentage.
Merzlikins (7-18-2) leads the Blue Jackets in games played in goal. He has a GAA of 4.23 and a save percentage of .876%. Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad lead the Rangers in scoring with 82 and 79 points, respectively.
Panarin has 24 goals and 58 assists (9th) in 73 games, while Zibanejad has 37 goals and 42 assists. Igor Shesterkin (33-12-7) is the top goalie for New York with a goals against average of 2.55. He has a save percentage of .914%.
HOME AND AWAY
Columbus is 9-22-5 away from home this season. New York is 21-12-4 at Madison Square Garden this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
Over 6.5 (-120)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
