Columbus Blue Jackets shut down, shut out by New York Rangers

It was another tough one for the Blue Jackets and their fans on Saturday night at Nationwide Arena. 

A sellout crowd of 18,824 on "Fan Appreciation Night" — boosted in part by a sizable contingent of New York Rangers fans ― saw the Blue Jackets lose 4-0 and be shut out for the eighth time this season. 

Jimmy Vesey and Chris Kreider gave the Rangers (47-21-12) a 2-0 lead in the first period and those were the only goals needed thanks to a stifling display of puck possession and defense in front of goalie Igor Sherterkin (20 saves).

“They hold onto the puck,” Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen said. “They make you defend. It’s hard to create when they’re holding onto it and they won’t give it back to you. On three of their four goals, we turned the puck over and you can’t do that against that group. They’re very dangerous.”

Niko Mikkola and Vincent Trocheck added goals in the third to secure the win over the injury-depleted Blue Jackets — who’ve dropped their past three games by a 16-3 margin and have three games left to close out a frustrating season. 

Michael Hutchinson started in net for Columbus and took the loss while making 24 saves. 

The lone good news for the Blue Jackets was what happened in Tempe, Arizona on Saturday. The Anaheim Ducks gained a point during an overtime loss to the Arizona Coyotes, giving Columbus sole possession of 32 place in the league standings. 

Finishing there, in last, would give Columbus the best odds (25.5%) to win the May 8 NHL draft lottery for the right to select center Connor Bedard, a “generational talent” for the junior level Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League.

The Blue Jackets finished their game tied at 56 points with the Chicago Blackhawks, whose game in Seattle started near the same time the final horn sounded at Nationwide Arena. Columbus holds the tiebreaker over Chicago with fewer regulation wins (15-17), so the Jackets will hold onto the 32nd spot regardless of the outcome between the Blackhawks and Seattle Kraken.

Anaheim, Chicago and Columbus all have three games remaining.

None of that is consolation to Blue Jackets players or the coaching staff, who are trying to finish the season strong on the ice despite numerous injuries to lineup regulars. The situation is so dire that four players were recalled from the Cleveland Monsters on Saturday just to fill out a full lineup, including rookie defenseman David Jiricek. 

“Tough loss today,” Jiricek said. “It’s a lot of new faces here. There’s no chemistry and we need some practices to get that.” 

Jiricek, Trey Fix-Wolansky, Marcus Bjork and Joona Luoto were all reassigned to Cleveland following the game.