Rangers rally, halt Jackets streak and inch closer to President’s Trophy (NYR 4 v CBJ 3 OT)

Derek Stepan wins it in OT  (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Let’s just be honest for a moment here, many people who watched that game thought the Rangers would lose. Come on, the Jackets had a 3-2 lead very late and it looked like the Rangers were out of gas.

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That wasn’t the case however as the Blueshirts who had been riding on the back of Henrik Lundqvist all game hopped on Derek Stepan‘s.

RANGERS 4 v. BLUE JACKETS 3 (OT)

[su_quote cite=”AP” url=”https://espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=400564413″]”I think in order to have success in the playoffs, you have to be able to handle ebbs and flows,” said Stepan, who has 16 goals on the season. “We’ve been able to find ways to win hockey games.”[/su_quote]

 

NYR 4 v CBJ 3 (NHL)

That’s what the Rangers keep doing and in style. Against another hot team in Columbus who had won 9 straight entering the night, Stepan scored on a gorgeous cross-mouth feed from Chris Kreider with just 28 ticks on the clock.

Then in the final minute of OT, Keith Yandle got a shot through from the point. Chris Kreider tied up his man in front allowing Stepan to grab the puck. The center then wheeled and dealt one past Sergei Bobrovsky for the win.

[su_quote cite=”Blueshirts United” url=”https://www.blueshirtsunited.com/article/rangers-rally-4-3-overtime-win-over-columbus”]”It’s a huge accomplishment, but it’s obviously not done yet,” team captain Ryan McDonagh said of the possibility of winning the Presidents Trophy. “We just stick with our process and stick with our structure. Obviously we never give up. Tonight (we) take it into overtime and let Step do the rest.”[/su_quote]

The Rangers also got goals from Martin St. Louis and Dan Girardi to round out the scoring summary. At this point all the Blueshirts are contributing and a win against NJ tonight will seal the deal for the President’s Trophy. If they lose in OT or a shootout they will clinch the East’s top spot.

Finally, two more victories would surpass the franchise record for wins (52) and 4 points would set a new mark for points (112). Those wins and points records were established in 1994 when the Rangers won it all.

NOTES

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Anthony Scultore has been covering the New York Rangers and the NHL since 2014. His work also appears at... More about Anthony Scultore

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