Columbus Blue Jackets (51 pts) vs. New York Islanders (43 pts) Game Preview

The Blue Jackets continue a four-game road trip as they visit Long Island tonight to play the last-place Islanders.

The Blue Jackets did something against the Rangers that they've only done one other time this entire season - Failed to score a goal. They did however get an all-important point against the Blue Shirts. Columbus will be looking to score five tonight, there's no doubt about that.

The Isles come into this game 5-5 in their last 10 games and have won 3 of the last 5. Those three games include wins over Vegas, Utah, and San Jose. The two losses were against Ottawa and Philadelphia, so it's a mixed bag when it comes to New York.

Some of the numbers for NYI are downright bad. They're currently 32nd on both the power play and the penalty kill. They're 15th in goals against and can't seem to score goals at all, sitting 28th in the league. They do give up the fewest amount of PIMs in the league, however, so there's that.

The Blue Jackets are on game two of a wicked four-game roadie that includes two more stops after tonight. Those stops are Toronto and Carolina, so they must get two points at UBS.

Series History vs. The Islanders

• Columbus is 8-14-3 on the road and 25-21-8 in 54 all-time games against the Islanders.

• The Blue Jackets beat the Isles in their only meeting this season. Elvis Merzļikins had a shutout.

Who To Watch For The Islanders

• Anders Lee leads the Isles with 20 goals and 36 points.

• Bo Horvat leads NYI with 19 assists.

• Ilya Sorokin is 13-14 with a .900 SV%. He will start

CBJ Player Notes vs. The Islanders

• Elvis Merzlikins is 2-3 with a .922 SV% against the Islanders.

• James van Riemsdyk has 40 points in 55 games.

• Zach Werenski has 13 points in 21 games vs. New York.

Injuries

• Boone Jenner (shoulder) is on Injured Reserve on Oct. 7; (46 Games)

• Erik Gudbranson (upper body) is on Injured Reserve on Oct. 16; (43 Games)

• Yegor Chinakhov (upper body) is on Injured Reserve (25 Games)

• Justin Danforth (lower body) is on Injured Reserve on Dec.10; (18 Games)

• Sean Monahan (upper body); is on Injured Reserve retroactive to Dec. 7 (5 Games)

TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 188

How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be on FanDuel Sports Network. Steve Mears will be on the play-by-play. The radio broadcast will be on 97.1 The Fan with Bob McElligott behind the mic doing the play-by-play.

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