A strong third period wasn't enough.
Goals from Mika Zibanejad, Barclay Goodrow, and Vitali Kravtsov helped the Rangers dominate the first two periods of the game, leading to a 3-1 win over the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena Monday.
1st Period
The Blue Jackets had the game's first big scoring chance when Kirill Marchenko found Johnny Gaudreau in front of the net on the power play at 5:24 but Gaudreau's tip missed the net.
At 6:52, just before the expiration of the power play, Jonny Brodzinski had a breakaway down the left-wing side but his backhand attempt was denied by Elvis Merzlikins.
Zibanejad opened the scoring at 12:39 on a wicked wrist shot from the left circle that went off the post after receiving a saucer pass from Kaapo Kakko.
#CBJ Zibanejad goal pic.twitter.com/z2rHAFvp8N
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) January 17, 2023
Patrik Laine had a chance to tie the game with a backhand shot from the doorstep at 12:52 but he was denied by Jaroslav Halak.
The Rangers doubled their lead at 19:02 on the power play when Barclay Goodrow, standing in front of the crease, deflected K'Andre Miller's shot from the point past Merzlikins.
#NYR Goodrow goal pic.twitter.com/pLauBkiy81
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) January 17, 2023
New York took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission along with a 13-4 edge in shots on goal.
2nd Period
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUE JACKETS | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| NY RANGERS | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
Ryan Lindgren had a good chance to make it a 3-0 game at 5:17 when he deflected a feed from the slot but Merzlikins made the save.
Merzlikins came up big again at 7:38 with the Rangers on the power play when he gloved an Alexis Lafreniere backhand shot from the right doorstep when Lafrienere was all alone.
The Rangers eventually took a 3-0 lead at 11:47 when Vitali Kravtsov finished a nice feed from Filip Chytil from the doorstep.
#NYR Kravtsov goal pic.twitter.com/Cxu4JHvRIe
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) January 17, 2023
New York took a 3-0 lead into the final period of regulation along with a 26-12 advantage in shots on goal.
3rd Period
Andrew Peeke got the Blue Jackets on the board with a wrist shot from the edge of the right circle past the high-blocker side of Halak at 1:21.
#CBJ Peeke (4) goal pic.twitter.com/G7uAdn5n77
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) January 17, 2023
The Blue Jackets nearly cut their deficit in half at 5:28 when Gustav Nyquist hit the inside of the post from the bottom of the right circle.
Columbus pulled Merzlikins in favor of an extra skater with 3:00 left in regulation but couldn't score, losing 3-1 and falling to 13-28-2.
Stats
- Shots on Goal: NYR 33-23 CBJ
- Faceoff %: NYR 49.1-50.9 CBJ
- Power play: NYR 1/5-0/4 CBJ
- Takeaways: NYR 6-7 CBJ
- Giveaways: NYR 3-5 CBJ
- Blocked shots: NYR 13-21 CBJ
- Hits: NYR 13-21 CBJ
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5-on-5 stats (via naturalstattrick.com):
- Expected Goals (xG): NYR 1.71-0.59 CBJ
- Chances (CF): NYR 50-26 CBJ
- Shots (SF): NYR 25-13 CBJ
- Scoring Chances (SCF): NYR 21-7 CBJ
- High-Danger Chances (HDCF): NYR 10-3 CBJ
Injury Update
No players left tonight's game with injuries.
Next Up
The Blue Jackets are back at it Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET in Nashville to take on the Predators on Bally Sports Ohio.
The club returns home to face the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.
