At a moment when the New York Rangers sorely needed points in one of their most important games of the season, they instead allowed seven goals on home ice, falling 7-3 to the Columbus Blue Jackets at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
A slew of defensive breakdowns, combined with a lack of execution, piled up quickly on the Rangers, who melted down repeatedly and reverted to brutal defensive play, allowing seven even-strength goals in their most recent loss, keeping them from clinching the first wild card in the Eastern Conference.
“When it did break down, it was bad,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette told reporters after the game. “There were players right in front of (goalie Jonathan Quick) with no assistance or help. You go back and look at all the goals; one was off a skate, a guy falls in a corner, and a broken stick returns on a two-on-two. But everything could have been done differently and better, and it must be improved within that context.”
Despite the disappointing outcome, the Rangers showed signs of resilience. After falling behind 3-1 early in the second period, they fought back to tie the game 3-3 with two short-handed goals from Braden Schneider and Chris Kreider just 42 seconds apart. The dramatic response had the home crowd roaring, but the momentum quickly faded as Columbus scored twice late in the period, with goals from Mathieu Olivier and Dante Fabbro.
Olivier added another goal in the third, and Adam Fantilli capped off his second career hat trick to seal the Blue Jackets’ victory. Laviolette lamented missed opportunities to take control after tying the game, emphasizing that the team needed to capitalize on their momentum.
The loss was especially damaging to the Rangers’ playoff hopes, coming on the heels of a 4-3 overtime defeat to the Ottawa Senators. With just one point out of a possible four against two direct wild-card competitors, the Rangers have now lost three straight games (0-1-2), including blowing two-goal leads against Ottawa.
Looking ahead, the Rangers are focused on cleaning up their mistakes as they embark on a critical three-game road trip starting Tuesday against the league-leading Winnipeg Jets. J.T. Miller stressed the importance of quickly moving past the loss, noting the team’s busy schedule with nine games in 16 days.
K’Andre Miller echoed that sentiment, admitting the loss stings but emphasizing the need to regroup and get back on track. With their playoff chances hanging in the balance, the Rangers are determined to bounce back on the road.
The Rangers have no excuses for their Sunday night loss. After falling behind 3-1 early in the second period when Adam Fantilli scored two quick goals just 26 seconds apart, the Rangers made a dramatic comeback. They responded by netting two short-handed goals on the same penalty kill — a feat they hadn’t accomplished since March 5, 2014. Braden Schneider and Chris Kreider scored just 42 seconds apart, sending Madison Square Garden into a frenzy and putting Columbus on the back foot.
With the game tied and momentum on their side, it seemed like the Rangers were poised to take control. Instead, things went downhill as Columbus regained the lead late in the period with goals from Mathieu Olivier at 17:03 and Dante Fabbro at 18:47.
Goaltender Jonathan Quick had a tough night, allowing seven goals on 27 shots, but his teammates left him exposed on several of those plays. Olivier struck again in the third period, and Fantilli capped off the night with his third goal, securing his second career hat trick and sealing the Rangers’ defeat.
“The bang bang at the start of the second period, and then we fight back and get the two short-handed goals, now we’re in the game again,” said Laviolette. “Then, at the end of the time, bang bang again. We had opportunities to look… We did not capitalize. When we tied it 3-3, we needed to seize the momentum, score the fourth goal, and push the game in our favor. It did not happen.
Rangers look to clean up mistakes on 3-game road trip
Between this setback and Saturday’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators, the Rangers suffered significant damage to their playoff hopes. Earning one of a possible four points against the two teams directly ahead of them in the wild-card race is about as awful as it gets, but how they lost makes matters worse.
They’re only two points behind the Blue Jackets for the first wild card and one back of the Senators for the second. However, they have now lost three straight games (0-1-2), including blowing a pair of two-goal leads Saturday before the fiasco at home on Sunday.
“I don’t think the execution was good on us coming out of the zone,” Laviolette remarked. “I guess we tossed it away. That led to offensive and goals. We were not clean. We need to be cleaner than that when we leave our zone. It resulted in chances and goals against.
The focus now shifts to correcting their mistakes and accumulating the next set of available points on a three-game road trip that begins Tuesday in Winnipeg against the League’s best Jets.
“It’s a really important road trip,” J.T. Miller said. “We don’t have much time to hang around with our heads down. We need to be ready. We have nine games in 15 or 16 days, so we don’t have time to complain. You’d like to win them all, but this squad has been extremely great lately. You want to win them all, but that is not enough. “We’ll be better the next game.”
That appeared to be the overriding message in the room following the crushing defeat on home ice. Concentrate on the next two points. The Rangers play the Jets, who have been at the top of the standings all season.
“This one sucks,” said a stoic K’Andre Miller. “It’ll sting for a little while. Try to turn the page as quick as we can, we got a lot of games to finish this stretch.”