pavel buchnevich chris kreider

Photo Credit: Jim McIsaac/AP

The Rangers are going to live and die by the comeback this year. The Blueshirts were down 2-0 early after the Blue Jackets dominated them in the second, but kept clawing away before exploding in the third period. The powerplay was the story of this game, scoring three times in the third period for yet another come from behind win.

With the win, the Rangers showed that they can still beat good teams, and that their three game winning streak prior against bad teams was, at least for now, no aberration (Update: Forgot about Tampa. They are actually quite good). It may not have been the prettiest of wins, but it was still a win against a very good team. That’s a confidence builder for a team that can still be fragile at times.

On to the goals:

Jackets 1, Rangers 0

David Desharnais tipped the initial shot by Artemi Panarin to the corner, a play which caused Panarin to fall. Desharnais then puck watched and drifted too far low, which Panarin stayed up high to receive the pass in the slot for the goal.

Jackets 2, Rangers 0

Columbus forced a turnover at the blue line high risk area, which helped them turn it into a 3 on 2 the other way. Josh Anderson saw Hank moving and shot it the other way, and he hit the only area of the net open to him. It was a very well placed shot, but one you ideally hope Hank stops.

Jackets 2, Rangers 1

JT Miller took the pass from Nick Holden down the wing with speed, then blew a tire stopping. He one-handed the puck to the slot while down, where Michael Grabner stopped it with his skate and tucked it under Bob. Wow.

Rangers 2, Jackets 2

Another powerplay goal, again from Kevin Shattenkirk. Chris Kreider provided the screen. A little puck luck and a little Shatty is all you need. This looks like it hit off someone too.

Jackets 3, Rangers 2

Boone Jenner lowered his shoulder and just drove through Shattenkirk on the way to the net. There was a small bump with Hank, where he lost his stick and Brandon Dubinsky picked up the puck. Dubi was able to get the puck to Oliver Bjorkstrand in front to take the lead. Kreider was guilty of following the puck and not sticking Bjorkstand in front. That’s why he was so open.

Rangers 3, Jackets 3

Right off the faceoff on the powerplay, Pavel Buchnevich rips it from the point on net. It got blocked, and the puck wound up on Kreider’s stick with the empty net.

Rangers 4, Jackets 3

Another powerplay goal. This was just a beautiful pass by Mika Zibanejad to Buch for the lead.

Rangers 5, Jackets 3

Grabner empty netter.

Score Adjusted Corsi

The Rangers actually had a good amount of shots early on, which is good to see. I’m so used to poor starts that I completely forgot the first two goals against were in the second period, not the first. But CBJ did dominate that period. It’s worth noting that the Rangers did all their damage on the powerplay, which is why the third period looks so slanted for the Jackets.

Scoring Chances (not score adjusted)

The Rangers seemed to loosen up in the second after going down two, which makes sense as they were trying to play catch up. The first period was a defensive clinic though.

Shift Chart

Here’s the shift chart. David Desharnais and Paul Carey were basically benched in the third period. Carey is only playing because Boo Nieves is out. Really highlights the need for another center when two of them are benched for a full period.

The Rangers are now winners of four in a row. Considering the October they had, this is a very nice balancing act. It was a matter of time before their SH% started correcting itself. It was also a matter of time until Hank started being Hank. Let’s hope this continues.

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