Blue Jackets to host Panarin and the Rangers
New York Rangers (13-10-3, sixth in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (11-11-4, seventh in the Metropolitan Division)
Columbus, Ohio; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Artemi Panarin leads New York into a matchup against Columbus. He's ninth in the league with 33 points, scoring 12 goals and recording 21 assists.
The Blue Jackets are 8-5-2 in Eastern Conference games. Columbus has given up 14 power-play goals, killing 81.3% of opponent chances.
The Rangers are 5-2-0 against the rest of their division. New York is fifth in the NHL shooting 11.1% and averaging 3.2 goals on 29.2 shots per game.
The matchup Thursday is the first meeting this season between the two teams.
TOP PERFORMERS: Pierre-Luc Dubois leads the Blue Jackets with 10 goals, adding eight assists and totaling 18 points. Gustav Nyquist has four goals and four assists over the last 10 games for Columbus.
Panarin leads the Rangers with 12 goals and has recorded 33 points. Filip Chytil has four goals and one assist over the last 10 games for New York.
LAST 10 GAMES: Rangers: 5-4-1, averaging three goals, 5.4 assists, 5.2 penalties and 15.5 penalty minutes while allowing 3.4 goals per game with a .903 save percentage.
Blue Jackets: 5-4-1, averaging 2.8 goals, five assists, 2.8 penalties and 7.5 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game with a .913 save percentage.
Blue Jackets Injuries: Zachary Werenski: out (upper-body).
Rangers Injuries: Marc Staal: out (ankle).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.