Peepin' Foes: Columbus Blue Jackets

The Blueshirts are back in action Monday night at the Garden, facing off against the Columbus Blue Jackets at 7 - thankfully on MSG and not Versus.

Where We Are: Do I really have to remind you?

Where They Are: Sitting on the Girlie Bench (great sign lady). Columbus is a point ahead of Detroit in the Central, and is trailing the division-leading Hawks by three. They haven't lost in regulation over their last four games - three wins and a shootout loss to Nashville. They are playing the second game of a five-games-in-eight-days road trip; they head to Montreal to play on Tuesday.

Who To Watch For: Rick Nash is a hockey god. Kristian Huselius is streaky but extremely skilled. Youngster Jake Voracek won't win the Calder but is putting together a solid season. Raffi Torres has just one assist but nine goals - five on the power play. And the Columbus defense has been contributing a lot lately too, with Anton Stralman and former Ranger Fedor Tyutin leading the way. Yeah, Toots has six assists in his last three games. Oh yeah, where is Zherdev now? What is the state of our defense now? Thanks Glen.

What To Watch For: What kind of jump the Rangers get, and if it is a good one, can they can keep it up through the second period? See who Torts has decided to pair with Prospal and Gabby. While you watch him juggle lines, see if he is still bullishly clinging to the struggling defensive pairings.

What We'll (Hopefully) See: Someone not wearing 10 or 20 score a goal. Marc Staal to shut down Nash. Aaron Voros to beat up Jared Boll. Steve Mason to play like the sieve he was in Detroit (eight goals allowed on 27 shots) and not the savior he was in Nashville (45 saves in the loss). A real sell-out crowd, not the made up lie that the Garden has been perpetuating.

Also Check Out: I don't know of many outside of SBN's The Cannon and Bethany's Hockey Rants over at Kukla.