NY Rangers (28-32-8) vs Columbus BJs (35-21-11)
• 19 March 2026 19:00 EDT
• Nationwide Is On Your Side Arena
• TV: MSG, FDSNOH •
The Rangers are right back at it for a Thursday pub night tilt with the Blue Jackets in Columbus, Ohio. CBJ are 12th in the league by P%, the NYR 29th. Though not always shown by P%, CBJ are also the #1 wild card in the Eastern conference and only two points with game in hand behind the Icelanders for 3rd in the Metro division. The operating assumption will be that Columbus will play hard and not want to mess around with a bottom dweller. Will the Rangers try to counter?
Shesterkin (22-13-6, 2.50 GAA, 0.913 SV%) will be in goal tonight for the Rangers against Greaves (22-12-8, 2.60 GAA, 0.909 SV%) – looks like Elvis may have left the house. Beyond that, a few line up changes for the Rangers because of injury – Laba (LBI) and Vaakanainen (UBI) are out. Laba could be a groin issue, haven’t heard anything on Vaakanainen. Expectations then are Brodzinski gets let out of chateau bow-wow to center the third line. Mackey was recalled from Hartford overnight and looks to get the start over Iorio on the third pair.
The refs today are Francois St. Laurent (1136 GP), back to back! and Carter Sandlak (240 GP).
On this date in history: In 1978, Phil Esposito, a man whose chin could compete* with Adam Fox’s, recorded his 1,400th point, at that time the second in NHL history to do so.
Speculative NYR lineup:
Forwards
1st line ⊳ Perreault ⋄ Zibanejad ⋄ Lafreniere
2nd line ⊳ Cuylle ⋄ Trocheck ⋄ Miller
3rd line ⊳ Kartye ⋄ Brodzinski ⋄ Sheary
4th line ⊳ Raddysh ⋄ Edstrom ⋄ Chmelar
Defensemen
1st pair ⊳ Gavrikov ⋄ Fox
2nd pair ⊳ Robertson ⋄ Schneider
3rd pair ⊳ Mackey ⋄ Borgen
Goalies
Starter ⊳ Shesterkin
Backup ⊳ Quick
Healthy scratch: D Iorio F Pärssinen
Injured: F Laba D Vaakanainen
In the Cooler: none
Long-term IR: F Rempe (thumb)
* When asked to compare the chins of Fox and Esposito and determine a winner, an online AI said this:
The Verdict
Winner: Phil Esposito Margin: 4.5 Goals (A blowout)
In a vacuum of pure “chin-ness,” Esposito takes the Cup. While Fox has the edge in elegance and modern grooming, Esposito’s chin has more raw mass. It’s a foundational element of his entire head. If you dropped a puck on Esposito’s chin, it would probably stay there; if you dropped it on Fox’s, it would deflect perfectly into the corner for a transition play.
Fox wins the Norris Trophy, but Espo wins the “Heaviest Jaw in the Garden” award.
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