Last season, Rick Nash was the center of attention in his first game back at Columbus after being traded to the New York Rangers -- he got a tribute video and standing ovation before those cheers turned to jeers following his two-handed shove of Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and fight with Matt Calvert.
For his second trip back Saturday, he'd simply be content with another victory.
After New York's 3-1 win March 21, Nash estimated the Columbus' crowd reaction was "90 percent boos." Ahead of this game, Nash told the team's official Twitter account Friday that, "For me it's exciting, it's like coming home, but it's another game & we want to win it."
The Rangers (1-0-0) posted a season-opening 3-2 victory against St. Louis on Thursday in which Nash scored two goals, including the game-winner with 1:50 remaining in the third period.
They hope it's a sign of good things to come for Nash, whose 39 points last season matched his 2002-03 rookie total as the fewest of his career. Nash has yet to register a 50-point season for the Rangers after doing so in eight previous ones with the Blue Jackets.
Following up his early success could prove difficult against Bobrovsky, whose .926 save percentage over the past two seasons ranks second in the NHL. The 2013 Vezina Trophy winner, however, is 2-5-1 with a 2.78 goals-against average against the Rangers in his career.
Of bigger concern for New York, though, is its defensive unit after losing Dan Boyle to a broken hand Thursday. Boyle, who the Rangers signed to a two-year, $9 million contract this offseason, is expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks.
The void left by Boyle's absence does no favors for Cam Talbot, who will make his season debut after Henrik Lundqvist made 23 saves in Thursday's win. Talbot, who went 12-6-1 with a 1.64 GAA as a rookie in 2013-14, stopped 32 shots in a 4-2 win at Columbus on Nov. 7 in his only start versus the Blue Jackets.
He faces a Columbus team eager to build on its 3-1 win over Buffalo on Thursday in which it registered at least 12 shots in every period and outshot the Sabres 40-22 for the game.
"Everyone's been talking about us getting off to slow starts," said coach Todd Richards, whose team has started 2-5-0 and 2-5-1 in the last two seasons. "That's one thing we're trying to guard against. We want to get off on the right foot here."
That attempt will be aided by Ryan Johansen, who ended his contentious holdout earlier this week by signing a three-year, $12 million extension.
Johansen led Columbus (1-0-0) last year with 33 goals, spearheading the Blue Jackets to a franchise-record 93 points. They also recorded their first postseason victories before being eliminated by Pittsburgh in six games in the first round.
Nash also contributed to that success indirectly since the Blue Jackets acquired Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov -- who combined for 38 goals and 89 points last season -- in exchange for the star forward.
Dubinsky, though, will miss the next six weeks after undergoing abdominal surgery earlier this week. Anisimov scored in Columbus' season-opening win.
The Blue Jackets lead the all-time series 8-6-1 with one tie, but the Rangers have won three of their last four in Columbus.
