New York Rangers vs Columbus Blue Jackets Picks and Predictions for Saturday, October 17th 2026

On Saturday, the New York Rangers pay a visit to the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The game starts at 7:00 pm ET. New York has an overall record of 6-3-0, which is 2nd in the Metropolitan Division, while Columbus is 2-3-0 and sits 7th in the division. The Rangers have won three of the last five games but last time out lost 7-1 to New Jersey. Columbus has lost two straight, including a loss of 7-3 to Florida. Check out our free NHL picks.

New York Rangers Have Been Strong Defensively

New York lost 7-1 to New Jersey on Thursday, following wins against Tampa Bay and Vancouver. The Rangers are averaging 3.11 goals per game while taking an average of 22.8 shots. New York allows 2.33 goals per game on 24.8 shots. New York has four goals or more in three of the last five games. The Rangers' power play is successful 22.2% of the time, and the penalty kill has held opponents scoreless 92.9% of the time.

Alexis Lafreniere has 7 goals and 11 points to lead New York in both, while Adam Fox has a team-best nine assists but has not scored a goal. Mika Zibanejad is at eight points, including six assists. Goalie Dylan Garand is 3-2-0 with a .915 save percentage and 2.05 goals-against average. Igor Shesterkin is 3-1-0 with a .927 SV% and 1.79 GAA.

Injuries: Igor Shesterkin, Joe Veleno, Joonas Korpisalo, Aidan Thompson and Adam Sykora are out.

Columbus Blue Jackets Continue to Struggle Defensively

Columbus lost to Florida 7-3 last time out, following a 5-3 loss to St. Louis. The Blue Jackets have been victorious in just two of their first five games. Columbus scores an average of 3.00 goals per game on 27.8 shots, while allowing 4.20 goals per game on 26.8 shots. The Blue Jackets' power play scores 16.7% of the time, while the penalty kill has been successful just 61.1% of the time.

Cole Sillinger and Charlie Coyle lead Columbus in points with five each. Sillinger has scored a team-best three goals, while Coyle has a team-best five assists. Kent Johnson has four points, including three goals. Goalie Jet Greaves is 1-2-0 with a .874 save percentage and 3.42 goals-against average. Cam Talbot is 1-1-0 with a .822 SV% and 4.43 GAA.

Injuries: No players are listed on the Columbus injury report at the time of this writing.

Key To The Game

New York allows 1.87 fewer goals per game than Columbus, while the Blue Jackets take five more shots per game. The Rangers have the stronger penalty kill, and Columbus has struggled defensively. New York must bounce back from allowing seven goals against New Jersey.

New York Rangers vs Columbus Blue Jackets Pick

• New York Rangers

New York has been victorious in six of nine games, while Columbus has lost three of its last four. The Rangers allow only 2.33 goals per game, compared to 4.20 for the Blue Jackets. Lafreniere has scored seven goals, and Fox has nine assists. Although Shesterkin is out, Garand has three wins and a .915 save percentage. New York has the defensive numbers and stronger recent results entering Saturday's game.

New York Rangers vs Columbus Blue Jackets Over/Under Pick

• Over

Columbus allows an average of 4.20 goals per game and has given up 12 goals in its past two outings. New York scored 10 goals in its two games before losing 7-1 to New Jersey on Thursday. The Rangers have scored four or more goals in two of their past three games. Columbus has also scored three goals in three straight outings, giving both teams opportunities to contribute on Saturday.