Rangers Fall Apart Late in the Second against Blue Jackets

The New York Rangers returned from the Capital of Canada as they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets at Madison Square Garden. The last time they faced the Blue Jackets at home. It was a scoreless game from regulation into overtime. A 1-0 shootout win by Vincent Trocheck and a shutout for Igor Shesterkin. In this game, Jonathan Quick will be in goal for the Rangers.

In the first period, The Blue Jackets scored first. After Will Cuylle’s pass was intercepted, then the Blue Jackets rushed up the ice. Justin Danforth passed the puck to Zach Werenski at the far side. Danforth skates toward the net, Gets toward the near post, and taps it in at 5:56.

The Rangers tied the game late after an icing call. They won the faceoff at the far side by Vincent Trocheck and got the puck to Alexis Lafreniere. His shot got deflected in off of Artemi Panarin’s stick at 19:31.

In the second period, it would be the wildest second period of the season. The Blue Jackets would take the two goal lead, but the Rangers were able to tie the game up by getting two of their own going short-handed.

The Blue Jackets scored two goals in twenty six seconds both by Adam Fantilli, when he was led with a pass at the far side by Dmitri Voronkov. Skated toward the far side faceoff circle and scored at 3:07.

The second goal for Fantilli was a battle at the backboards. Voronkov was able to dig it out, made a back pass to Fantilli in the slot, and scored at 3:33. The Blue Jackets would get their first power play of the game, and the Rangers took advantage.

The Blue Jackets lost the puck in their zone after the Rangers cleared it out. Mika Zibanejad at the far point puts it down low to Vincent Trocheck, he made a hard pass to the near faceoff circle to Braden Schneider and he scored on the wrist shot at 6:54.

After that the Rangers attacked the Blue Jackets net again. Both Zibanejad and Chris Kreider blocked a pass at their blue line and skated down the ice as the defender fell. Both passed the puck to each other yet it was Kreider who scored to tie the game at 7:36. Two Short Handed goals inside the same power play.

The Blue Jackets did retake the lead as the puck was in the near corner, as Zach Werenski passed the puck to the slot, and standing there was Mathieu Olivier with a deflection in front at 17:03. Then Dante Fabbro got the two goal lead back at the far post at 18:47.

In the third period, the Blue Jackets scored on a fluky deflection. The puck was taken deep in the Rangers zone as the puck hit Zac Jones and was in the air. Kent Johnson found a way to get his stick on the puck, and it looped over Quick and landed inside the net at 10:17.

Adam Fantilli would score his third of the game and his second career hat trick as he was all alone in front. Not a single Ranger was in front of him, and he beat Quick at 11:51. The Rangers dropped three of four points in these back-to-back games and dropped four points out of six in these last three games as they fell to the Blue Jackets seven to three.

The Rangers continued not to defend the slot and the middle of the ice as they allowed the Blue Jackets to take advantage of their chances with shots and deflections that easily beat Jonathan Quick. Danill Tarasov gets the win, making thirty one saves out of thirty four shots on goal. Now, a quick three game road trip before returning to the Garden for another home stand.

DOUBLE DIPPING: The Rangers scored two shorthanded goals while killing the same penalty for the first time since March 5, 2014 (vs. TOR). It marked the first time the team has scored multiple shorthanded goals in a game since Nov. 30, 2019 against New Jersey. The Rangers scored twice in 40 seconds on the penalty kill, marking the fourth-fastest pair of shorthanded goals in franchise history (since special teams were tracked in 1933-34), following March 14, 1935 (0:21), Feb. 12, 1935 (0:32) and Feb. 21, 1981 (0:34). New York’s 13 shorthanded goals lead the NHL.

MIKA ZIBANEJAD: Notched two assists, giving him points in eight of his last 10 games (4G- 8A) and 18 points in his last 14 games (5G-13A).

ARTEMI PANARIN: Extended his goal streak to five games, tying a career high (5 GP in 2019- 20 & 2016-17). It is the longest goal streak by a Ranger since Zibanejad’s six game streak from Feb. 6-17, 2023.

CHRIS KREIDER: Scored his 18th goal of the season, the second most on New York. He recorded his 13th career shorthanded goal, passing Bill Fairbairn (12) for the fourth most in franchise history.

VINCENT TROCHECK: Notched multiple assists, giving him 10 points in his last 12 games (2G- 8A) and 12 points in his last 16 games (3G-9A).