The Blue Jackets jumped up by three goals, which was too much for the struggling Sharks. The Jackets would put away San Jose 4-1.

A strong first two periods helped the Blue Jackets survive a third-period push from the Sharks before van Riemsdyk found the empty net.

Columbus Blue Jackets left wing James van Riemsdyk (21 ... first two periods and controlled play at both ends of the ice. Zach Werenski’s assist on Fantilli’s goal extended his home point ...

Tyler Toffoli scored and Alexandar Georgiev stopped 30 shots, but their San Jose Sharks fell 4-1 to the Columbus Blue Jackets in Ohio on Thursday night.

COLUMBUS -- James van Riemsdyk scored twice, and Zach Werenski extended his home point streak to 18 games for the Columbus Blue Jackets, who won their sixth straight game with a 4-1 victory against the San Jose Sharks at Nationwide Arena on Thursday.

Columbus is 8-14-3 on the road and 25-21-8 in 54 all-time games against the Islanders. The Blue Jackets beat the Isles in their only meeting this season. Elvis Merzļikins had a shutout. Anders Lee leads the Isles with 20 goals and 36 points. Elvis Merzlikins is 2-3 with a .922 SV% against the Islanders.

The game against the Rangers kicked off a stretch of eight games out of nine away from home, which continues tonight just a little to the east as the Blue Jackets take on the Islanders. Defenseman Damon Severson said the team wants to keep playing that tighter style on the road as the Jackets try to rack up points.

THROUGH GAMES OF SUNDAY, JAN. 19, 2025

Van Riemsdyk scored two goals in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Sharks. The 35-year-old winger delivered his second multi-goal performance in January, tipping home a Damon Severson shot early in the second period before icing the game with an empty-netter late in the third.

The New York Rangers are 5-1-2 to start 2025. They'll be looking to build on that as they host the Columbus Blue Jackets

New York's struggles have been well-documented over the last couple of months. They currently sit 6th in the Metro with 45 points, five back of Columbus for the first wild card. They've gone 5-3-2 in their last 10, but have won 3 of the last 4, with wins over Vegas and New Jersey among those.