Better, but not good enough
Rangers’ Lundqvist fends off energetic offensive effort by Blue Jackets, who suffer fourth straight loss
The Blue Jackets didn’t look sluggish, and they didn’t suffer a string of lategame brain cramps. That could be seen as progress given their recent run of play. But the Blue Jackets weren’t quite spirited or spry enough to get past the New York Rangers last night at Nationwide Arena. The Rangers
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scored two secondperiod goals and rode goaltender Henrik Lundqvist to a 2-1 win before 16,104. It was the Jackets’ fourth straight loss.
“Lundqvist steals games, but I thought we had a chance to get a couple past him tonight,” said left wing Scott Hartnell, who scored the Blue Jackets’ goal. “Every line had chances, every line played fast. But when you fall asleep for a couple of shifts against a team that good, they make you pay.”
With a 36- 26 edge, the Blue Jackets outshot an opponent for just the second time in 15 games. They didn’t spend the game chucking and chopping the puck in their end, either, and they didn’t melt down as they did on Wednesday against Montreal under a wave of penalties in the third period.
Progress? Sure. Results? No.
With the loss, the Blue Jackets slid 15 points out of eight place in the Eastern Conference.
The Rangers scored two goals barely four minutes apart in the second. The backbreaker came at 10:10 when wing Chris Kreider caught Blue Jackets defenseman Dalton Prout napping in the neutral zone. Kreider came with speed, took a pass from Derick Stepan and was loose on a breakaway that put New York ahead 2- 0.
“When they scored the first goal, we became a little bit undisciplined,” Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards said. “They’re a rush team, and we were giving up three- ontwos.”
The Blue Jackets returned the favor — and regained momentum — early in the third. In a stunning sequence, goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky made a sprawling glove save to rob Rangers forward Rick Nash of a goal that would have made it 3- 0. Center Ryan Johansen gathered the puck off Bobrovsky’s glove, turned and spotted Hartnell gaining speed in the neutral zone.
Hartnell’s goal made it 2-1 only six seconds after Bobrovsky’s save. It also extended Johansen’s points streak to 12 games, the longest in the NHL this season. Most important, it got the Blue Jackets back in the game.
“That was a gamechanger,” Johansen said. “Bob always gives us a chance to win games. That’s a huge stop at a huge time in the game. We had a lot of momentum. Our legs were moving fast.”
Said Richards, “It’s a great save, an unbelievable save. You’re on the bench just taking a deep breath from the save — whew — and then all of a sudden you’re excited because you scored on the other end.”
The Blue Jackets outshot the Rangers 12- 2 in the third, but Lundqvist barely blinked.
“When we weren’t where we were supposed to be, our goaltender was,” New York coach Alain Vigneault said.
Richards pulled Bobrovsky with 1: 04 to play for an extra skater.