Thanks to two second-period goals from Artemi Panarin and Adam Fox, the New York Rangers beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUE JACKETS | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| NY RANGERS | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
1st Period
Sean Kuraly had a great chance to open the scoring with a breakaway at 6:05, but Igor Shesterkin denied him with a save.
The Rangers answered with a great chance of their own at 9:48 when Elvis Merzlikins robbed Panarin from the doorstep going left to right.
Jonny Brodzinski had another great chance for the Rangers on a two-on-one at 14:59 but his right-circle shot was gloved by Merzlikins.
The teams were tied at zero after 20 minutes with the Rangers taking a 17-9 advantage in shots on goal into the intermission.
2nd Period
Panarin scored against the Blue Jackets for the second straight game at 7:17 off a left-circle face-off after the puck deflected off the referee's skates off the draw.
Breadman scored straight outta the oven pic.twitter.com/eyY4McVkkM
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) February 29, 2024
After Erik Gudbranson fanned on a clearing attempt, Chris Kreider picked up the puck in the left-wing corner and found Fox, who fired a top-shelf wrist shot from the slot on the power play at 14:19.
It's a power-play goal! pic.twitter.com/TV7xAA1aXt
— NHL (@NHL) February 29, 2024
The Rangers led 2-0 after 40 minutes and took a 26-19 advantage in shots on goal into the third period.
3rd Period
After Shesterkin's clearing attempt up the right-wing wall was intercepted by Damon Severson and thrown on the net, Cole Sillinger took the rebound and scored his ninth goal of the season at 3:24.
Right place, right time.
— Bally Sports Columbus (@BallySportsCBUS) February 29, 2024
Cole Sillinger collects a loose puck and buries a goal into a wide-open net to cut the Rangers' lead to 2-1 early in the third period.#CBJ | @BlueJacketsNHL pic.twitter.com/r8dThAFSG3
Adam Boqvist had a golden chance to tie the game at 18:45 from the doorstep but his backhand attempt missed the net.
Kreider and Panarin iced the game with empty-net goals at 19:07 and 19:48.
With the 4-1 loss, the Jackets fall to 19-29-10.
Stats
- Shots on Goal: CBJ 31-30 NYR
- Face-off %: CBJ 45.5-54.5 NYR
- Power play: CBJ 0/2-1/3 NYR
- Giveaways: CBJ 5-8 NYR
- Takeaways: CBJ 3-13 NYR
- Blocked shots: CBJ 19-22 NYR
- Hits: CBJ 13-24 NYR
-
5-on-5 stats (via naturalstattrick.com):
- Expected Goals (xG): CBJ 2.78-1.85 NYR
- Shot Attempts (CF): CBJ 61-55 NYR
- Shots on Goal (SF): CBJ 26-26 NYR
- Scoring Chances (SCF): CBJ 30-24 NYR
- High-Danger Chances (HDCF): CBJ 10-7 NYR
Injury Update
- Patrik Laine entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program on Jan. 28 and will be away from the team indefinitely.
- Adam Fantilli suffered a calf laceration on Jan. 28 and is expected to miss eight weeks.
Next Up
The Jackets return home on Thursday to face the Hurricanes at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+ and Hulu.
The club will head to Chicago to take on Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.
