Down 3-0 to the New York Rangers and struggling to find a way to get going, the Blue Jackets turned to a former Ranger and an energetic rookie to turn the game around.
It was, at times, a puck possession clinic for the Rangers, who stormed to a 2-0 first period lead and appeared to be in the driver’s seat. They were snapping the puck around, drawing penalties and throwing Columbus off-kilter with speed through the neutral zone and into the attacking end — but a second period goal from Marko Dano started a furious rally that garnered a hard-earned point in a 4-3 shootout loss at Madison Square Garden.
Kevin Hayes and Martin St. Louis scored in the first period — both capitalizing on Blue Jackets turnovers — to give the Rangers a two-goal lead. St. Louis scored his second of the night 1:24 into the second period, making it a 3-0 game before Columbus got a big answer from the Dano-Anisimov-Foligno line, a trio that drove the bus for the visitors.
Less than a minute after St. Louis scores, Nick Foligno set up Marko Dano for his second goal of the season (second against the Rangers) to get the Jackets on the board. As the second period wound down, that line went back to work in the offensive zone and Artem Anisimov’s goal, a persistent effort in front of the Rangers net, made it a 3-2 game and put the game well within reach for the Jackets, who were suddenly playing with boatloads of energy.
That line was also responsible for the game-tying goal with 4:19 to play, and it was Foligno making a play out of the corner to Anisimov, who found David Savard at the center point. Savard’s one-timer hit something on the way in before deflecting off Cam Talbot, and all of a sudden, it was a 3-3 game.
“It started on that shift,” center Mark Letestu said. “They got in there with the forecheck, won some battles, made a play and executed. You could see our play pick up from there. That line brought it for us tonight. Once the second period started, that line had a different mindset and they got us back in the hockey game.
“We’ve played desperate hockey and we know we have to go on a run here. Getting five points on this trip is good – we wanted better – but we’ll take it.”
They certainly had their chances at a second point, too; the Blue Jackets dug deep to kill off a Rangers power play early in overtime, and Anisimov nearly ended it on a wonderful individual effort but Talbot saved the day for New York.
Rick Nash scored the deciding goal in the shootout, sending the Jackets back to Columbus with a 2-1-1 record on their four-game jaunt that began Tuesday in Philadelphia.
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