COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Without the stellar goaltending of Sergei Bobrovsky, the Columbus Blue Jackets would be in a tailspin.
While the Blue Jackets struggle offensively to find an identity and the right forward combinations, Bobrovsky is largely responsible for pulling the team out of a four-game losing streak.
The Blue Jackets (11-7-1) enter Friday night's game against the New York Rangers (9-8-2) at Nationwide Arena with a two-game win streak on the strength of Bobrovsky's play in the net.
Bobrovsky was superb in a 2-1 shootout victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday that ended the Blue Jackets' skid, and then again in a 2-1 overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.
"Your goaltender has to do it," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "I mean, a couple saves Bob made in the third period, and put that with the save he made in Detroit, it's a big reason we're getting points.
"Teams go through it, and a goaltender has to stand in there, and Bob has been terrific for us, to give us the opportunity."
That's because the Blue Jackets are struggling mightily to score goals. They have one goal in regulation in the past four games. They haven't scored on the power play in six games, going 0 of 15.
Their power play is the worst in the NHL at 9.6 percent.
"It's obvious we have a lot of guys struggling," Tortorella said.
Defenseman Zach Werenski bailed out the Blue Jackets on Tuesday night with his overtime winner. It was his fifth goal of the season.
Tortorella has tinkered with the power play to find the right combinations. At Thursday's practice, he moved Werenski from the first to the second unit.
"We're put in a position to succeed on the power play, and we haven't," Werenski said. "It's kind of surprising, but I think moving forward we're just going to stick to what we know. Simplify it, shoot pucks and I'm sure we'll find the back of the net sometimes."
The Blue Jackets are hoping that forward Jordan Schroeder, called up this week from Cleveland of the American Hockey League, can provide an infusion of energy on the third and fourth lines.
Schroeder was acquired this summer from the Minnesota Wild but suffered an upper-body injury during training camp and then was slowed by a virus while on the conditioning stint with the Monsters.
"I'm finally feeling good on the ice," said Schroeder, who has 17 career goals (six last season) and 40 points with the Wild and Vancouver Canucks.
The Rangers were on a roll before their six-game winning streak ended Wednesday night with a 6-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. In the middle of their streak was a 5-3 victory over the Blue Jackets on Nov. 6.
In the streak-busting loss at Chicago, the score was tied at 1 entering the third period before the dam broke loose and Artem Anisimov's hat trick chased Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist.
Lundqvist was disappointed with his performance, but he will be back in goal on Friday night. He has been a workhorse so far for the Rangers, starting 16 of 19 games.
"We're not in a great spot, we're not in playoff position even," Lundqvist said. "Obviously, you gain confidence from winning, no question about that. But you should have the same mindset if you're (winning) six in a row, or now 0-1."
Unlike the Blue Jackets, the Rangers haven't struggled on the offensive end or on the power play.
Rick Nash scored his fifth goal in as many games against the Blackhawks and Mika Zibanejad contributed his team-leading ninth goal in the loss.
New York's power play was an outstanding 8 of 19 during the win streak before going 0 of 3 against Chicago. Zibanejad has 10 power-play points to rank fourth in the league.
Rangers defenseman Brendan Smith is expected to play Friday night after a six-game benching. He will replace Steven Kampfer in the lineup, coach Alain Vigneault said.
Smith has no goals and just two assists in 11 games this season.
"Whenever you sit, for however long, you want to try to prove that you should be there on a day-to-day basis," Smith said. "I've been around the league long enough, I've seen it and understand it, I know when I'm playing my best, is when I'm letting the game come to me, and playing aggressive and making good reads and getting the puck out, and not try to force things."
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