After a disappointing week – you can read about last night’s OT loss to Buffalo here and Monday’s OT loss to Tampa Bay here – the Jackets were looking to regain momentum against the Rangers tonight.
At the risk of beating a dead horse, I believe it’s still relevant to mention that tensions were especially high tonight because of Artemi Panarin’s return to the arena. The Jackets handily beat the Rangers 2-1 in New York on January 19, which is also notable because it was Matiss Kivlenieks first NHL win. How many backup-to-the-backup goalies can say they earned their first NHL win in Madison Square Garden? (No, seriously, if you know – please share).
Unfortunately, the same fate was not in the cards for the Jackets tonight – they fell to the Rangers 3-1. To be fair, it was 1-1 until the last three or so minutes, when the Jackets allowed two goals in. One was an empty-netter, but still.
The Rangers sure picked an interesting timeline throughout the game to score their goals – Jacob Trouba nailed a shot and Pavel Buchnevich finished on the rebound 22 seconds into the game. They then waited another 56 minutes to score their winning goals – Chris Kreider on the second one and Ryan Strome on the empty-netter.
Positives of the game:
- Panarin didn’t score.
- Kind of this? Now we just need to score:/
The Blue Jackets 22 shots in the second period set a new single-period high this season. The previous high was 21 shots in the second period vs. Detroit on Feb. 7. #CBJ
— CBJ Public Relations (@BlueJacketsPR) February 15, 2020
- Oliver Bjorkstrand played great, and rightfully earned the one goal on the board for the Jackets tonight: /
Oliver Bjorkstrand this year vs. the Rangers:
Game 1 — 10 shots on goal
Game 2 — Two goals, winner in the last 30 seconds
Game 3 — Goal. #CBJ— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) February 15, 2020
The Jackets played their best of the night in the second period, but they left that energy in the locker room before they began to play in the third. A sloppy penalty for too many men on the ice at 5:11 left in the third sealed the deal and cost them the game when Kreider scored right as the penalty expired.
Final: Rangers take a 3-1 win over the Blue Jackets.
The good news: #CBJ still have points in 26 of 30 games.
The bad news: Jackets have now lost four in a row for the first time since early December.
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) February 15, 2020
The Jackets are in a slump right now, for sure. These last couple games have been undoubtedly rough. Hopefully they’ll get their heads on straight and notch a W against a sluggish New Jersey Devils this weekend, and will be ready to go in a double header against Philly next week.