marc staal nick holden henrik lundqvist

Photo: Jim McIsaac/Newsday

Perhaps it was fatigue. Perhaps not, since Columbus was also on the second of a back to back. But the Rangers were no match for the Columbus Blue Jackets last night at MSG. The Blue Jackets shelled the Rangers offensively and physically often. They then took advantage of defensive breakdowns and penalties to build a solid lead. The Rangers kept it close early, but the Blue Jackets were able to break it open with three straight.

Sergei Bobrovsky wasn’t tested much this game, giving up one goal to Rick Nash on a good passing play. Aside from that, most of the shots were in clear sight. Henrik Lundqvist didn’t really stand a chance on four of the goals against, but an argument can be made about one of them (Wennberg’s second), where Hank came out of the crease to try to prevent a breakaway.

On to the goals:

Blue Jackets 1, Rangers 0

Alex Wennberg was left all alone in front to deflect David Savard’s shot from the point through Henrik Lundqvist. Mika Zibanejad was soft on the coverage, opting to get out of the way so Hank could see the shot. Both Marc Staal and Nick Holden were nowhere to be found, closer to the boards/corner than to the front of the net.

Rangers 1, Blue Jackets 1

The Rangers got a rush to enter the zone, with Jimmy Vesey trailing as the fourth man. Derek Stepan made a nice drop pass to Vesey to open options as Rick Nash continued wide to put himself in a shooting position. Vesey made a great pass over to Nash, who buried it.

Blue Jackets 2, Rangers 1

Kevin Hayes and Jesper Fast wound up out of position on this play because they both went for the shorthanded chance. With them out of position, Cam Atkinson had a long time to tee up his shot from the high slot. Marc Staal went to block, but wound up taking himself out of position since Atkinson was patient. Was a great shot. This is one of those goals you’re generally ok with because the team was trying to turn a loose puck into a shorthanded chance.

Blue Jackets 3, Rangers 1

Hank slid out to stop a breakaway here, and then Holden was forced to make a sliding stop with the empty net. The Rangers never recovered after that, running around in their own zone. Wennberg was able to bang home a rebound in the commotion.

Blue Jackets 4, Rangers 1

Marc Staal lost control of the puck in the offensive zone, but was able to chip it to Nick Holden. Brandon Dubinksy pressured Holden into a turnover at the red line, and began a 2-on-1 with Cam Atkinson against Oscar Lindberg. Dubi got the puck across to Atkinson, who was able to shield the puck from the back checker and put it over Hank.

Blue Jackets 5, Rangers 1

This was a terrible play. Dan Girardi and Brady Skjei were behind the net, something that should never happen. Chris Kreider watched Josh Anderson coast to the slot. Hank didn’t stand a chance.

Blue Jackets 5, Rangers 2

Jesper Fast made a good play here, chipping the puck deep and then following the play to the front of the net. He was able to chip in the rebound. Puck crossed the line with 0.3 seconds left in the game.

Even Strength Corsi (Score Adjusted)

The Blue Jackets had a small advantage in raw shot attempts early, but as they started building a lead, they started sitting back and protecting the lead. By the time the built a three goal lead in the third, they were basically in full passive mode. Not the best game to rely on a shot chart like this, since score effects run wild.

Last night was a game that showed us that the Rangers are going to have trouble competing –as is– against the cream of the Metro Division. The defense was exploited throughout the game, as the Blue Jackets forwards knew to pressure the Rangers blue liners, especially those that struggle with the puck. However all is not lost, as this was a game where you may not be overly upset that the Rangers lost. After all, the top wild card team goes to the Atlantic for the playoffs.

That said, this was not a good process game by the Rangers. They took some bad penalties. They had some bad breakdowns. They struggled to consistently generate good scoring chances. Now we sit and wait until Tuesday. Perhaps we’ve seen the last of this blue line as currently constructed. Perhaps not.

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