Rangers Start Fast, Then Come Unglued And Fall In Columbus

COLUMBUS, Ohio (CBSNewYork/AP) — Boone Jenner and Sean Kuraly each had two goals and the Columbus Blue Jackets scored four straight to rally from an early deficit and beat the New York Rangers 5-3 on Thursday night, breaking a three-game losing streak.

Gus Nyquist also scored, Zach Werenski had three assists and Patrik Laine contributed two for the Blue Jackets, who trailed 2-0 less than five minutes into the game. Jenner also added an assist.

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A night after Columbus gave up a record 62 shots to Calgary in a 6-0 loss, Joonas Korpisalo stopped 33 for his fifth win.

“This was an important bounce-back game for us,” Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen said. “This was a tough game. That team was rested. They were waiting for us. (Our team) handled this really well. They paid attention to what we were trying to talk about and get better at. They were so much more focused and ready to be a competitive team tonight.”

Mika from the sweet spot. ???? pic.twitter.com/yGqoSpxbrJ

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 28, 2022

Artemi Panarin had a goal and two assists for the Rangers against his former team. Barclay Goodrow and Mika Zibanejad also scored, and rookie defenseman Braden Schneider added two assists. Alexandar Georgiev made 14 saves in his third loss in five games.

New York dropped into a first-place tie in the Metropolitan Division with Carolina and Pittsburgh at 60 points apiece, though the Hurricanes have several games in hand on both rivals.

Panarin put the Rangers on the board at 1:29 of the first period with a shot from the slot, extending his point streak to six games.

Goodrow made it 2-0 at 4:44 with his second goal in two games when Schneider’s pass deflected in off his skate.

But the Blue Jackets responded. Nyquist cut the lead in half at 5:49, converting Laine’s feed off the rush. Jenner tied it 2-all, deflecting Werenski’s shot from the blue line at 7:28 for his team-leading sixth power-play goal.

“We’ve been struggling to score goals lately,” Laine said. “Getting two right away after they scored twice was pretty good for us. Every line had a chance to contribute.”

Kuraly put Columbus ahead at 6:18 of the second off a perfect pass by Max Domi along the boards before Jenner made it 4-2 from a tricky angle to Georgiev’s left.

Jenner leads the Blue Jackets with 18 goals and 29 points.

Zibanejad pulled the Rangers within one with a power-play goal at 7:12 of the third period on a one-timer off a feed from Panarin.

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“We didn’t play the way we should have played for 60 minutes, and that cost us two points tonight,” New York coach Gerard Gallant said.

Kuraly scored an empty-netter from long range at 17:46.

SLY FOX

With his assist on Panarin’s goal, Rangers star Adam Fox has the second-most in the NHL with 40 and leads all defensemen. His 47 points are also the most among NHL defensemen. He has points in seven straight games.

INJURY UPDATES

Fox left in the third period with an upper-body injury after a check by Vladislav Gavrikov and did not return. … Filip Chytil, out with a lower-body injury, did not make the trip with the Rangers but is a possibility to play Friday against Minnesota. … Columbus forward Alexandre Texier broke his finger Wednesday against Calgary and is expected to miss four weeks.

ROAD WARRIORS

It was New York’s 27th road game of the season, most in the NHL, and last until Feb. 20 at Ottawa.

UP NEXT

Rangers: Host the Minnesota Wild on Friday night. The team will retire former goalie Henrik Lundqvist’s jersey in a pregame ceremony at Madison Square Garden.

Blue Jackets: Visit the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday.

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(© Copyright 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)