Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards said this morning that his team could not afford to get into foot races with the New York Rangers, one of the league’s fastest teams.
It was fairly easy to see why, too — but for the better part of the game, the Rangers weren’t attacking as they normally do and when the Blue Jackets got a lead in the third period, the desperation didn’t really kick in until the final minutes.
Brandon Dubinsky gave the Blue Jackets a 3-2 lead with 11:46 left in regulation, cashing in a terrific pass by Nick Foligno off the rush. The Jackets were deep into the game, holding a lead and looking poised to win their 10th straight game, but Derek Stepan had something to say about it and the Rangers made two plays to steal two points.
After Sergei Bobrovsky (who was brilliant in the game) stoned Dan Girardi on the door step late in regulation with Henrik Lundqvist on the bench for an extra attacker, the Rangers got another chance. They moved the puck around quickly, and eventually, Chris Kreider found Stepan on the back post and he buried the tying goal with 27.2 seconds to go.
It was a heartbreaker for the Jackets, but they regrouped and nearly won it twice in overtime.
Jack Johnson had a chance, Artem Anisimov had a chance, but the Rangers needed one look in sudden death to put the game away.
Keith Yandle took advantage of a Blue Jackets turnover on the breakout, and he got a quick shot off that produced a rebound in front of the net. Stepan, who patiently waited and got himself into open ice, collected the rebound and beat Bobrovsky 4:10 into overtime, bringing the Blue Jackets’ winning streak to an end in a 4-3 final at Madison Square Garden.
“I thought they were faster than we were,” Johnson said. “I thought they made some better plays with the puck to start the game. We were up by a goal and had a chance to win a hockey game…that’s on us.
“We let it slip away. It’s a good team and they made a nice play at the end.”
It’s a disappointing way to end the streak, no doubt about it, but especially after how they stuck with it and battled back throughout the game.
The Rangers play a fast game, but the Jackets checked well and took care of the puck and it enabled them to spend more time in the offensive zone. Attacking zone time was hard to come by in the first period, but the visitors warmed to the task as the game progressed and they got a lot from the group tonight against the NHL’s top team.
“It’s disappointing,” Richards said. “I think everybody is (disappointed). It’s real quiet (in the dressing room), and that’s the way it should be. You can tell that these guys still mean a lot to us.
“Bob was great. Their goalie was very good, too. It was an entertaining game, the crowd was good. We’re playing against one of the best teams in the league. We had a chance to win it, so it’s disappointing.”
Click here to read more of this story.
About Marion Online Sports
