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The four-game, six-night venture begins tonight in Manhattan, as the Blue Jackets take on the New York Rangers before heading to take on the Islanders on Monday. From there, the wheels are up to Toronto for a Wednesday meeting before the trip ends a night later with a third division game Thursday in Carolina.

Waddell continues to work on the Blue Jackets' mountain of pending free agents, re-signing Jake Christiansen with two-year extension.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have shot into the stratosphere from being projected as one of the worst teams in the league to a legitimate playoff threat. Columbus rides a five-game win streak heading into Thursday's puck drop against the San Jose Sharks.

James van Riemsdyk scored twice and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the San Jose Sharks 4-1 on Thursday night to extend their win streak to six games — their longest since January 2020. Kent Johnson had a goal and an assist and Adam Fantilli scored a goal to stretch his point streak to eight games.

TV streaming: You can also stream if you have subscriptions to Spectrum, Optimum, Verizon Fios, DirecTV Stream or fuboTV. Nationally televised games may be available on ESPN+ (if broadcast on ABC, ESPN or carried by ESPN+), Hulu (ESPN+ broadcasts) or MAX (TNT/TBS/TruTV broadcasts).

Then there's the cannon. The Blue Jackets are famous for firing a cannon inside their arena after goals. While they've incorporated a cannon into a previous third jersey crest, the team has never had the cannon as its primary logo -- until the Stadium Series.

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Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak will miss Saturday's game against the Detroit Red Wings due to an undisclosed injury. He left Thursday's matchup against Anaheim after just 34 seconds of ice time after sustaining the injury.

The New York Rangers are all set for their matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight at 7 PM EST. Here’s everything you need to know from a Rangers perspective. Projected Lineup:Forwards:Artemi Panarin-Vincent Trocheck-Alexis LafrenièreWill Cuylle-Mika Zibanejad-Reilly Smith Chris Kreider-Filip Chytil-Arthur KayliyevAdam Edström-Sam Carrick-Matt RempeDefensemen:Ryan Lindgren-Adam FoxWill Borgen-K’Andre MillerUrho Vaakanainen-Braden Schneider Goaltenders:Igor ShesterkinJonathan Quick Notable Storylines:The Rangers are coming off of a 5-3 victory over the Utah Hockey Club.

It's still too soon to be certain, but the Maple Leafs may be headed for a playoff showdown against either the Ottawa Senators or the Montreal Canadiens.