“I thought we played a complete game all night long,” Sullivan said. “We forced them to have to play 200 feet. We know that team can score, so making sure that we check as hard as we did was gonna be an important element of the game — and I thought the guys bought into it.”

The win in Tampa was a goal-filled night that saw the Rangers send Vezina Trophy-winning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy to the bench after 40 minutes. The Blueshirts scored seven goals on 21 shots, a 33.3 shooting percentage that matched a season best.

But it was far from a perfect effort in the eyes of Sullivan, who noted after the game that, “I don’t think we were at our best.”

In comparison, a total of two goals were scored in 65 minutes in Columbus. New York’s Mika Zibanejad and Dmitri Voronkov of the Blue Jackets traded power-play goals, in the second period. Scoring chances were few and far between.

“Everybody played just a solid road game today,” noted captain J.T. Miller, who scored the shootout winner with a lightning-quick shot that beat Columbus goalie Jet Greaves up top. “We took care of the puck. It was kind of a greasy game. It wasn’t really super exciting, I don’t think.”

JT Miller wins it in the shootout and the Rangers stay hot on the road 🔥 pic.twitter.com/5k4Po1ZTsd

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 16, 2025

Columbus entered play with 41 goals at 5-on-5, tied for fifth in the League. But New York held the Blue Jackets scoreless at even strength and surrendered just 25 shots through three periods plus overtime, keeping things manageable for Igor Shesterkin.

“That’s a good team we played against,” Sullivan noted. “They’ve got a lot of young talent, they’re fast, they’ve got a real good transition game, they’re one of the best teams in the League off the rush. We knew that was gonna be an important aspect of the game, and I thought for the most part we played on top of them most of the night.”

“It seems like when we do give something up, it’s for the most part not the big ones,” Miller added. “We’ve done a good job of having a lot of layers and sticks in the middle of the rink.”

MSG analyst Steve Valiquette agreed.

“I think the outcome of the game, it all hinged on how the Rangers protected the inner slot against a very good 5-on-5 team from Columbus,” Valiquette said during the network’s postgame show. “They just didn’t let them get active in there.”

Headed by Kirill Marchenko and Norris Trophy-finalist Zach Werenski, the Blue Jackets rank fourth in expected-goals-for percentage at 5-on-5.

“They’re hard to play against at 5-on-5 because they’re so creative offensively,” Valiquette said. “But if you don’t let them in, you win the hockey game that way. And I thought that’s where the Rangers really won the game — it wasn’t offensively, obviously. It was how stout they were at protecting the house.”

“And I don’t think we compromised offense to do it,” Sullivan added. “We didn’t score a ton of goals tonight, but we generated offense. That’s what we’re looking for. I know the guys will score if they’re generating offense like they are.”

Rangers proving they ‘can win different ways’

In a two-game span, the Rangers have won despite putting two very different products on the ice.

“I just think it’s evidence that we can win different ways,” Sullivan said.

New York’s offensive resurgence, sparked by Vincent Trocheck’s return and Artemi Panarin’s inspired play of late, should help them keep pace in a high-scoring affair. But they’re still more than capable of playing shutdown defense and grinding out narrow victories — as they showed Saturday.

“A sign of a good team is when they have a comfort level playing in a one-goal game, in a low-scoring game,” explained Sullivan. “And I believe that we’re developing that comfort level — when you can play in your endzone and defend and you don’t have to hit the panic button, and you just have a certain level of confidence that everybody’s gonna do their job.”

New York has certainly developed a proficiency for eking out these types of wins on the road. The Rangers continue to boast the NHL’s best record away from home; they are 9-1-1 after their sixth consecutive road victory.

And even the flawed efforts, such as the win against the Lightning, seem easier to stomach when the final score ends in their favor.

“We were playing against Nikita Kucherov and [Brayden Point], they’re gonna get their looks. I don’t wanna overthink it too much,” Miller said. “Finding a way to win on the road against teams in your conference is huge. We’re happy to keep going.”

UPDATE: Borgen took part in the morning skate Saturday and Sullivan hopes he’ll be able to play against the Blue Jackets

It’s unclear when or how Borgen was injured — he played the entirety of Wednesday’s 7-3 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning. With Borgen not on the ice Friday, Carson Soucy, his regular partner, was paired with Braden Schneider while Matthew Robertson played alongside Urho Vaakanainen.

Borgen is one of those players who is easy to overlook despite averaging a career-high 18:43 of ice time. His goal in the win at Tampa Bay was his first of the season and his third point. He hadn’t hit the score sheet since assisting on the Rangers’ only goal in a 3-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Oct. 20.

PUT IN THE WORK + PUT IT AWAY. pic.twitter.com/K8N1Jtdehe

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) November 13, 2025

“We’re not asking him to score a lot of goals,” Sullivan said earlier this week.

But not having Borgen on the blue line against a Columbus team that is 9-7-1 after a 5-4 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday would be a sizeable loss.

The Rangers have had a major turnaround defensively, and Borgen is a big reason why. They were 28th in the NHL last season in 5-on-5 expected goals against per 60 minutes, according to Natural Stat Trick. Entering the game in Columbus, they are second (2.13).

Will Borgen has been key to solidifying Rangers’ defense

New York acquired Borgen from the Seattle Kraken last December in the trade that sent forward Kaapo Kakko, the No. 2 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, to the League’s newest franchise. Less than two months later, general manager Chris Drury made a major commitment to his new defenseman, signing him to a five-year extension with an average annual value of $4.1 million.

Drury didn’t do it because of Borgen’s ability to score – the 28-year-old’s five goals last season was a career high – but rather because of his ability to help Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick keep the puck out of the Rangers’ net. He’s blocked 24 shots, fourth on the team, and he and Soucy have been on the ice for five 5-on-5 goals for and only two against during the 14 games and 138:02 they’ve played together.

“What we’re asking of Will is to be hard to play against and defend hard, help us on the penalty kill, defend the rushes aggressively, kill plays in the D-zone, be hard at the net front,” Sullivan said. “That’s the game that we think he excels at. That’s what he’s brought to us.”

Sullivan, who coached the Pittsburgh Penguins for 10 seasons before parting ways with them and signing with the Rangers in May, didn’t know much about Borgen before coming to Broadway. But in watching him on film during the offseason, the coach said he liked Borgen’s willingness to defend and how he uses his size (6-foot-3, 200 pounds) to his advantage.

“Number one, he’s competitive, and he has a level of abrasiveness to his game that I think makes us a whole lot more difficult to play against,” Sullivan said.

Borgen looks like a legit shutdown defenseman who can handle top-four minutes and kill penalties, especially under Sullivan’s zone approach to defending. One thing that’s helped him, even with a coaching change, is that he’s more familiar with his new team as he nears the one-year mark since coming to New York. Borgen said this week that he’s feeling “more comfortable everywhere on and off the ice.”

Sullivan, who helped a number of defensemen, including Kris Letang, raise their game in Pittsburgh, has liked what he’s seen so far and hopes Borgen won’t have to miss time – especially with the Rangers playing the second half of a back-to-back when the Detroit Red Wings come to town on Sunday, followed by a three-game trip to Vegas, Colorado and Utah.

“He’s a reliable, trustworthy defenseman, and he’s predictable for his partner,” Sullivan said. “I think those are great attributes to have for a defenseman.”

The Rangers (33-28-6) flew home for a Sunday night date with the Edmonton Oilers after perhaps their most complete performance of the season, highlighted by Igor Shesterkin’s fifth shutout of the season and the eighth by the Rangers – tying them for the League lead.

The win moved New York past the Blue Jackets and into the second wild-card position in the Eastern Conference. The Blueshirts are one point ahead of the surging Montreal Canadiens (32-27-7), who have a game in hand, and two in front of the Blue Jackets (31-27-8), who’ve been shut out in back-to-back home games by the Vegas Golden Knights and the Rangers.

But coach Peter Laviolette knows that nothing is guaranteed when there’s still a month to go in the season.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” he said. “There’s still teams that are right there. This thing juggles, other teams got a game in hand on us, and so none of that matters. We talked about it. We’re in charge of what we do. We’re in complete charge of winning hockey games and don’t have to look anywhere else. It’s great if other teams don’t win on any given night, but we’ve just got to be responsible for ourselves right now.

“There’s still a ton of work, though, and so that’s the focus that we try to talk about.”

The game against the Oilers is the first of a four-game homestand, all against Canadian teams — including the playoff-bound Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs. Then it’s off to California next week for three games. The Rangers also have two games left against the Tampa Bay Lightning and one each against the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes – all three are locks to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

So while it’s nice to be holding a playoff spot as the season enters its final month, this is no time for the Rangers to take their foot off the gas.

Related: Rangers move into second wild card in East by shutting down Blue Jackets in 4-0 victory

Three takeaways from Rangers 4-0 victory against Blue Jackets

Here are three takeaways from the Rangers’ 4-0 road victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.

1. Coming up big is great — now do it again

One week after one of their most discouraging defeats this season — a 4-3 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators that saw them blow a two-goal lead in the final 10 minutes of regulation, the Rangers came up big in their biggest game so far this season.

The offense generated three goals (plus an empty-netter). The defense was stifling. Shesterkin was up to every test. The penalty-killers were 3-for-3 and scored an empty-netter for their League-leading 14th shorthanded goal.

The Rangers grabbed a 1-0 lead 1:43 into the game when Alexis Lafreniere scored for the first time in 15 games and never looked back.

Mika with the steal + Laf puts it away. pic.twitter.com/uvsaDnzNWz

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) March 15, 2025

“I thought we got better, honestly, almost every minute of the game,” Laviolette said. “Started a little bit jumpy but by the end of the first I thought we were playing pretty well, and then the second and third, I thought outstanding.

“So that’s three periods, three games in a row where I thought we defended well, defended hard, gives us a chance to be successful.”

2. Back-to-back for Igor?

Shesterkin’s 20th NHL shutout was one of his easiest. He faced 21 shots, just one more than his teammates blocked. The Rangers allowed Columbus few Grade A chances, and he was up to the task when the Jackets managed to mount some pressure.

Now for the big question: After a comparably light night, will Shesterkin play both ends of the weekend back-to-back when the Oilers come to Madison Square Garden on Sunday night?

No. 31 has played both ends of a back-to-back four times in his NHL career – once each in his first four NHL seasons, and not at all since Feb. 25-26, 2023. He was pulled in a 6-3 road loss to the Washington Capitals on the 25th, but made 26 saves the next night in a 5-2 victory against the Los Angeles Kings at the Garden.

In all, Shesterkin is 7-1-0 in his four back-to-backs, including 4-0-0 in the second games.

So does Laviolette go back to his starter against the high-flying Oilers – or give backup Jonathan Quick a game? He wasn’t divulging anything after the win in Columbus.

“We haven’t talked about anything for tomorrow yet,” was all he would say.

3. Welcome back, Adam Fox

Nearly lost in the excitement of climbing back into a playoff position was the return of Fox, the Rangers’ best defenseman.

The Rangers went 3-3-2 during the eight games Fox missed with an upper-body injury sustained against the New York Islanders on Feb. 25. He played efficiently though not spectacularly, earning an assist, blocking two shots and finishing plus-2 in 20:36 of ice time.

“He had a fine start and got better and better,” Laviolette said.

Fox was happy with his performance in his return, saying that he felt more comfortable as the game progressed.

“When you miss a couple games with an injury and come back, you try not to be a little tentative,” he said. “You want to get that awareness out there. I play kind of an instinctive game, so you’re trying to get that a little bit back. I thought as the game went on, (I) felt a little better. Just tried to keep it as simple as possible.”

Igor Shesterkin got plenty of help from his teammates and had to make just 21 saves, few of them difficult, in his fifth shutout of the season. The Rangers got two third-period goals by Vincent Trocheck, while Alexis Lafreniere and Artemi Panarin each had a goal and an assist.

New York (33-28-6) leap-frogged the Jackets for the second wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference — the Montreal Canadiens also moved ahead of Columbus with a 3-1 home win against the Florida Panthers and are within one point of the Rangers with a game in hand. The Blueshirts also assured themselves of winning the season series against Columbus by beating the Blue Jackets for the third time in four games — and avenging the one loss, a 7-3 drubbing at Madison Square Garden last Sunday.

Coach Peter Laviolette isn’t ready to print playoff tickets yet.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” he said. “There are still teams that are right there. This thing juggles. Other teams got a game in hand on us. None of that matters. We talked about it, we’re in charge of what we do. We’re in complete charge of winning hockey games and don’t have to look anywhere else.

“We’ve just got to be responsible for ourselves right now.”

The Blue Jackets were shut out for the second straight game, both at home. Columbus lost 4-0 to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.

The Rangers got a boost from the return of their best defenseman, Adam Fox, who missed the previous eight games with an upper-body injury sustained against the New York Islanders on Feb. 25. Fox had one assist and finished plus-2.

It was a low-event game for both sides, but Columbus paid dearly for an early misplay by backup goaltender Daniil Tarasov that led to Lafreniere’s goal 1:43 into the game. Tarasov played because starter Elvis Merzlikins was with his wife, who was set to give birth.

Lafreniere’s goal forced Columbus to chase the game for the final 58-plus minutes, and the Blue Jackets rarely were able to mount sustained pressure. Columbus had 57 shot attempts – but 20 were blocked and 16 missed the net.

“It was a great team effort,” Fox said.

Related: Why Rangers could have interest in NCAA free agent defensemen to bolster prospect pool

New York Rangers 4 – Columbus Blue Jackets 0

The Blue Jackets dominated the first half of the first period, but Tarasov’s gaffe helped the Rangers take an early lead.

Mika Zibanejad pressured Jackets defenseman Damon Severson as the puck went behind his own net. For some reason, Tarasov decided to go out and try to play the puck, leaving the net wide open. Zibanejad got there first and sent a pass to the front of the net, where Lafreniere had a backhand tap-in for a 1-0 lead. It was Lafreniere’s first goal in 15 games.

“That’s the start that you want,” Zibanejad told MSG Networks between periods.

The Jackets got the game’s first power play when J.T. Miller was sent off for slashing at 4:55 but did nothing with it. Shesterkin made his first big save just before the eight-minute mark when he robbed defenseman Zach Werenski from close in. He was sharp the rest of the way in the opening 20 minutes, stopping all nine Columbus shots. The Rangers managed just three shots against Tarasov in the remainder of the period after Lafreniere’s goal.

Will Cuylle had an excellent chance 33 seconds into the second period, but Tarasov denied him from the left circle. The Rangers held Columbus without a shot until 6:47, when Shesterkin stopped Luke Kunin’s deflection.

Dmitri Voronkov had the best chance to tie the game shortly after when he was left alone in the slot and picked up a deflected puck, only to deke his way past Shesterkin but hit the left post.

The Rangers killed another penalty after Zac Jones was called for holding at 9:12, holding Columbus without a shot on goal, before Panarin doubled the lead at 11:36. The Rangers’ leading scorer walked out of the left corner into the circle, then whipped a shot through a screen and past Tarasov.

RIGHT ON TARGET. 🎯 pic.twitter.com/MX13d7N7Nj

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) March 16, 2025

The goal extended Panarin’s point streak to eight games and gave him a team-high 70 points, the fifth time he’s reached that level since joining the Rangers in 2019 – the only time he missed was the Covid-shortened 2020-21 season.

New York finally got a power play when Kirill Marchenko was sent off for tripping at 17:01. Tarasov kept it a two-goal game with a brilliant save on Zibanejad and an even bigger stop on Chris Kreider’s rebound try. The Rangers went off at intermission with a 2-0 lead, with each team managing just 15 shots on goal through 40 minutes.

Columbus pressed the action during the early stages of the third period, but the Rangers’ defense kept the Jackets to the outside and limited them to one shot through the first nine minutes – more than compensating for the fact that the Rangers themselves had none.

Bread with the feed + Troch buries it. pic.twitter.com/pGGUeejBex

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) March 16, 2025

Trocheck put the game away with 5:22 remaining when he finished off a 2-on-1 by beating Tarasov from the right circle after a superb pass from Panarin. Cuylle started the play by intercepting a pass in the neutral zone and springing Panarin.

Trocheck hit the empty net with 3:19 left after Columbus pulled Tarasov when Braden Schneider was called for tripping at 16:01. It was the Rangers’ NHL-leading 14th shorthanded goal.

The Rangers won’t have much time to enjoy the win. They hopped on a plane and returned to New York for a Sunday night showdown with the Edmonton Oilers at Madison Square Garden.

Arguably, the final head-to-head meeting between these Metropolitan Division rivals is slightly more important to the Rangers, since they’ve already played one more game than the Blue Jackets. That game in hand would look pretty huge for Columbus if it found a way to win in regulation on Saturday.

The Rangers (32-28-6) have won two of three against the Blue Jackets (31-26-8) this season. They won a pair of thrillers — a 1-0 shootout victory at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 18 and a 4-3 comeback win in Columbus on Feb. 8.

However, the latest meeting is the one that might add a bit more fuel to the Rangers fire Saturday. Just six days ago, the Blue Jackets steamrolled the Rangers 7-3 at MSG. New York scored twice short-handed on the same penalty kill but was out-scored 7-1 at even strength, with Adam Fantilli recording a hat trick for Columbus.

Since then the Rangers split a pair of road games, playing much better in each. They lost 2-1 to the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday before an uplifting 3-2 overtime victory over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.

The Blue Jackets lost each of their two games since Sunday and and have dropped four of their past five games. They were shut out at home 4-0 by the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.

Related: Rangers frustrated with calls against Matt Rempe: ‘He’s really not doing anything’

3 things to watch for when Rangers visit Blue Jackets

1. Break the Daniil Tarasov hex

The Blue Jackets will once again start backup goalie Daniil Tarasov against the Rangers. Their No. 1 goalie Elvis Merzlikins is away with his wife, who’s set to give birth to their child. But Tarasov might have gotten this start anyway.

Tarasov’s been excellent against the Rangers this season. In two starts, he’s stopped 58 of 61 shots and surrendered only one goal at even strength. The 25-year-old earned his first NHL shutout Jan. 18 against the Rangers, stopping all 26 shots through 65 minutes. However, Vincent Trocheck beat him in the shootout to hand him a loss to go along with the shutout.

Last Sunday, Tarasov was very good, and couldn’t do much of anything on either short-handed goal scored by the Rangers. But the Blueshirts need to crack the code Saturday, because the rest of the League has against Tarasov, who has a 3.54 goals-against average and .883 save percentage this season.

2. Maintain the trend

Each team has only one win in its past five games — the Rangers are 1-2-2; the Blues Jackets 1-4-0. But a look back at the past six weeks sees the Rangers outpacing the Blues Jackets in the race for a wild-card spot in the East.

Since Feb. 1, the Rangers have earned 18 points with an 8-6-2 record. That’s basically. 500 hockey, with extra points gained via two overtime losses. But it’s seven points better than the Blue Jackets in that same span. Columbus is 5-7-1 in February and March, picking up 11 points, though playing three fewer games than New York.

Still, the Rangers caught the Blue Jackets in points Thursday and can surpass them Saturday. They want to continue that trend Saturday.

3. Out-Foxing Columbus

There appears a chance that Adam Fox could return to the Rangers lineup Saturday. The 27-year-old defenseman was on the top power-play unit at the morning skate and has been practicing with the team the past several days, shedding a no-contact jersey Friday.

This is PP1 today. That’s Adam Fox at the point. #NYR pic.twitter.com/UUjYSar5Mo

— Colin Stephenson (@ColinSNewsday) March 15, 2025

The Rangers didn’t do line rushes, so it’s unclear if Fox is definitely going to play for the first time in nine games since sustaining an upper-body injury against the Islanders on Feb. 25.

Also of note, Zac Jones was on PP2, meaning he could remain in the lineup and another defenseman could be scratched or the Rangers might dress seven defensemen and 11 forwards to ease Fox back in.

New York Rangers projected lineup

Panarin – Trocheck – Cuylle

Lafreniere – J.T. Miller- Zibanejad

Kreider – Carrick – Berard

Othmann – Brodzinski – Rempe

K. Miller – Fox

Vaakanainen – Borgen

Jones – Schneider

Shesterkin

Quick

Rangers vs. Blue Jackets: When, where, what time, how to watch

Who: New York Rangers vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

When: Saturday, March 15 at 7:00 p.m. ET

Where: Nationwide Arena

How to watch: MSG

This matchup had massive playoff implications, since each team came in with 68 points in a tight race for the two wild-card spots in the Eastern Conference. With the win, Columbus (31-24-8) sits alone in the first wild card, while the Rangers (31-27-6) are ninth in the conference, one point out of the second wild card.

A timely power-play goal might have made a game-changing difference Sunday for the Rangers, who’ve lost three in a row (0-1-2).

After trailing by one for most of the first period, New York evened the score at 19:31 thanks to a perfect deflection by Artemi Panarin on a shot by Alexis Lafreniere, marking Panarin’s fifth straight game with a goal.

The Rangers had a golden chance to take the lead seven seconds later when Denton Mateychuk went to the box for interference. Panarin fired a shot on net and sent another wide in the 22 seconds before the period ended, but that would be all for the Rangers’ power play.

The first intermission zapped New York of its momentum; the Rangers failed to get anything going on the remaining 1:38 of the penalty once the second period started. That was a crusher for the Rangers.

The timely penalty kill jump-started Columbus, specifically second-year center Adam Fantilli. The 20-year-old scored two goals within 26 seconds at even strength, the first at 3:07 and the second at 3:33.

New York fought back, this time showing prowess on the other side of special teams. With Will Cuylle spending two minutes in the penalty box for holding, the Blue Jackets could have blown the game wide open. 

Instead, two short-handed goals knotted the score: the first by Braden Schneider at 6:54, the second scored by Chris Kreider at 7:36 on a 2-on-0 breakaway with Mika Zibanejad, igniting the Madison Square Garden crowd.

Sam Rosen’s calls of back-to-back @NYRangers shorthanded goals scored on the same penalty kill are absolutely electric ⚡️ 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/BxQnOwerof

— Rangers on MSG (@RangersMSGN) March 9, 2025

Similar to how they started the period, the Blue Jackets ended the second with back-to-back goals. Mathieu Olivier gave Columbus the lead at 17:03 and Dante Fabbro added to it at 18:47. It was a stunning turn of events, but the Rangers had a chance on the power play early in the third period to swing momentum back in their favor.

A delay of game penalty by Blue Jackets defenseman Ivan Provorov at 5:57 brought the Garden back to life. That changed when the Rangers again failed on the power play in a key moment of the game.

“We’ve got to score,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette lamented postgame. “That’s a chance to get that fourth goal, or that’s a chance to get that second goal in the first period.” 

Columbus put the game away with two goals soon after, including Fantilli’s third of the night to complete the second hat trick of his young career.

New York failed to convert on those two key power-play opportunities and went 0-for-4 on the night – adding to a now 1-for-21 slide in the past seven games.

“There’s been a lot in the last couple of games where I feel like we could’ve scored a few, but just pucks didn’t go in,” center Vincent Trocheck said about the struggling power play.

While the recent struggles could be attributed to the absence of defenseman Adam Fox, New York’s power play has not been up to snuff all season long. The Rangers’ 0-fer against Columbus dropped them to 24th in the League at 19.7 percent. The power-play woes this season are a massive step down from a formerly consistent part of the Rangers’ game – they ranked third in the 2023-24 season (26.4 percent), seventh in 2022-23 (24.1 percent) and fourth in 2021-22 (25.2 percent)

“Obviously our power play has to get better,” Zibanejad said.

Related: Winners, losers from brutal 7-3 home loss to Blue Jackets

Rangers sloppy defensive play also cause for concern: ‘We’re shooting ourselves in the foot’

The Rangers’ effective penalty kill helped mask defensive struggles that plagued them throughout their crucial loss to the Blue Jackets

Jonathan Quick was far from stellar in net, saving only 21 of 28 shots faced. But the defense did him no favors, giving up numerous Grade A chances to the Blue Jackets. The Rangers were outshot 24-15 at even strength and allowed 11 high-danger chances while generating only seven, per Natural Stat Trick.

“We’re shooting ourselves in the foot,” Trocheck said. “I don’t know how many of their goals were just a product of us giving them a Grade A chance.”

The two short-handed goals briefly swung the momentum in New York’s favor, but the Blueshirts failed to capitalize, ultimately giving up four unanswered goals.

“When we made it 3-3, we needed to grab the juice, get the fourth goal and then push the game in our direction,” Laviolette said. “It didn’t happen.”

The fourth goal never came for New York, as the Blue Jackets dominated the rest of the game to win 7-3. However, with a packed schedule ahead, the Rangers can’t afford to dwell on the loss.

“We have nine games in 15 or 16 days, we don’t have time to pout,” J.T. Miller said.

The Rangers start a three-game road trip Tuesday when they travel to Winnipeg to face the Jets, who are tied for the most points in the NHL (44-17-4, 92 points). Then it’s a visit to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday before a rematch with the Blue Jackets in Columbus on Saturday.

After tinkering around the edges before the deadline on Friday by trading forward Reilly Smith to the Vegas Golden Knights and adding defenseman Carson Soucy from the Vancouver Canucks, the Rangers missed their chance to take over a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with back-to-back losses against the two teams directly ahead of them in the standings.

They had to settle for one point when a 3-1 third-period lead turned into a 4-3 OT road loss to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, then got blown out 7-3 at home on Sunday by the Columbus Blue Jackets. The results left the Rangers heading into the first of back-to-back four-game weeks in ninth place, one point behind the Senators and two in back of the Blue Jackets, holders of the two wild cards. The Blue Jackets have a game in hand on the Rangers; the Senators have two.

After winning just twice during a stretch that saw them play five of six games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers face a nasty three-game trip that begins against the Western Conference-leading Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday and continues with a visit to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday. But the key game comes Saturday, when the Rangers head to Columbus for a rematch against the Blue Jackets.

Even tougher is the fact that the Rangers have to fly back to New York for a Sunday night date with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers, who demolished New York 6-2 on Nov. 23.

We should have a much better idea of the Rangers’ playoff hopes a week from today. This is a week the Rangers can’t afford to be at anything but their best.

Who’s hot

Artemi Panarin has rediscovered his scoring touch. The Rangers’ top scorer (67 points in 62 games) has goals in each of New York’s five games in March, giving him 28 for the season. He’s two away from his fifth season (third with the Rangers) with at least 30 goals and his his five-game goal streak ties his NHL career high.

Who’s not

Igor Shesterkin was in goal for two overtime losses last week that saw the Rangers cough up third-period leads each time – a 2-1 edge against the Washington Capitals at the Garden on Wednesday turned into a 3-2 OT loss, and the Senators came from two goals down in the final 10 minutes of regulation before Shesterkin was beaten by Brady Tkachuk 33 seconds into overtime. His 21 regulation losses and 25 defeats (including four in overtime) are already career worsts.

Rangers lookahead this week includes …

Games 3, 4, 5 and 6 in a 15-day stretch that will see the Rangers play nine times.

Rangers at Winnipeg Jets (March 10, 8 p.m. ET; MSG)

There are easier ways to start a road trip than facing the top team in the Western Conference, albeit one that’s coming off a split of its four-game swing through the East, which ended with a 4-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday.

The Jets have been first or second in the overall standings all season, riding the combination of Connor Hellebuyck’s goaltending (37-8-3, 1.99 goals-against average, .927 save percentage, six shutouts), a deep, balanced offense (five players with at least 50 points) and the League’s best power play (31.6 percent).

Winnipeg won 6-3 at the Garden on Nov. 12, setting an NHL record by winning 15 of its first 16 games. Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele, the Jets’ two 30-goal scorers, each had two against Shesterkin, who is 4-3-0 in his career against Winnipeg but with a 2.32 GAA and .932 save percentage.

Rangers at Minnesota Wild (March 12, 8 p.m.; MSG)

Minnesota is the only team that the Rangers haven’t seen yet; the Wild don’t come to the Garden until April 2. Minnesota is two different teams – a lousy 14-14-1 at home after a 3-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday in the opener of a seven-game homestand, but a fabulous 22-10-3 away from Xcel Energy Center.

The Rangers are catching the Wild when they’re beat up. Star left wing Kirill Kaprizov and center Joel Eriksson Ek are both out with injuries, a big reason Minnesota has dropped behind the Colorado Avalanche for third place in the Central Division. Minnesota trails Colorado by two points but still holds the first wild card in the Western Conference.

New York is 19-14-1 in its all-time series against the Wild, with each team winning five times in the past 10 games. Interestingly, neither team has ever shut out the other since Minnesota entered the NHL for the 2000-01 season.

Shesterkin has played just three times against the Wild in his career, and is 2-1-0 with a 2.95 goals-against average and .912 save percentage. If Marc-Andre Fleury is in goal for the Wild, he’ll be going for his 35th career win against the Rangers.

Rangers at Columbus Blue Jackets (March 15, 7 p.m. MSG)

Every game is a big game for the Rangers now, but this one might be the biggest. The Rangers will be looking to avenge their embarrassing loss to the Blue Jackets and win for the third time in four games against Columbus this season.

Even with the loss, the Rangers have won seven of their past 10 games against the Blue Jackets, including a 4-3 victory in their first visit to Nationwide Arena on Feb. 8.

Panarin, who played two seasons with the Blue Jackets early in his career, scored his 14th goal in 21 career games against Columbus in the loss Sunday.

Edmonton Oilers at Rangers (March 16, 7 p.m. ET; MSG)

Connor McDavid & Co. wrap up a four-game swing through the East – the last three in the New York area — with their lone visit to MSG this season.

McDavid has 22 points (eight goals, 14 assists) in 14 career games against the Rangers — including two goals and assist in the win in Edmonton that began New York’s year-ending 4-15-0 slide that knocked the Rangers out of a playoff berth.

NHL goal-scoring leader Leon Draisaitl is better than a point-a-game player against the Rangers (20 points; eight goals, 12 assists in 19 games). He had a goal and an assist in the early-season win.

Shesterkin has split two career decisions against the Oilers, allowing eight goals. Jonathan Quick, who could get the start in the second of back-to-back games, took the loss in Edmonton in November but is 25-13-6 against the Oilers with a 2.27 GAA and .918 save percentage.

With a chance to show the upstart Ottawa Senators and Columbus Blue Jackets who’s the team to beat in the Eastern Conference playoff race, the Rangers lost in a stunning fashion to each this weekend.

After blowing a pair of two-goal leads, including a 3-1 advantage midway through the third period, in a 4-3 overtime loss at the Senators on Saturday, the Rangers collapsed on home ice, losing to the Blue Jackets 7-3 on Sunday.

Instead of sitting in the first wild card in the East on Monday morning, the Rangers remain ninth in the conference, securing one of a possible four points in a crucial weekend back-to-back against the teams now directly ahead of them in the standings.

Remember, the Rangers are supposed to know how to win big games with playoff implications. After all, this core has helped the Rangers reach the Eastern Conference Final in two of the past three seasons. The Senators? No playoff appearances in the past seven seasons. The Blue Jackets? Been four years on the outside looking in.

Well, the Rangers didn’t look like the more veteran composed team against either opponent this weekend. Blowing those leads in Ottawa and somehow losing the next night even after tying the game with two short-handed goals 42 seconds apart on the same penalty kill early in the second period.

Sam Rosen’s calls of back-to-back @NYRangers shorthanded goals scored on the same penalty kill are absolutely electric ⚡️ 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/BxQnOwerof

— Rangers on MSG (@RangersMSGN) March 9, 2025

How did the Rangers react to that stunning momentum swing in their favor? They didn’t score the rest of the game and allowed the Blue Jackets to pull away with four even-strength goals.

There are 18 games to play and it’s still there in front of the Rangers, the chance to secure a playoff berth for the fourth straight season. But they simply do not make it easy on themselves, do they?

Related: Winners, losers from stunning loss to Blue Jackets

Three takeaways from Rangers brutal home-ice loss to Blue Jackets

Here are three takeaways from the Rangers 7-3 loss to the Blue Jackets on Sunday.

1. Not-so-even strength

The Rangers were mauled at even strength Sunday, outscored by a whopping 7-1. It’s crazy to say, but the Rangers were more structured and disciplined and effective defending short-handed on the penalty kill than at even strength. It’s like the 3 Stooges spinning around, running into one another in their defensive zone 5v5.

Losing puck battles, losing men in prime scoring position, inability to clear the zone, beaten consistently one on one, slow to defend, reactive not proactive. You name it. The Rangers were a mess, especially in the second period, out-chanced 12-5 (6-2 high danger) 5v5 and with an xGF of 28.9 percent, per Natural Stat Trick.

Thought it was completely out of their system after that putrid 4-15-0 stretch in November and December? Think again.

2. More penalties please

It’s like the Rangers are a different team when on the penalty kill. Certainly that was the case Sunday. They scored one even-strength goal and were 0-for-4 on the power play. But short-handed? The Rangers dominated the Blue Jackets there. The Rangers scored twice short-handed and stole momentum in the game, tying the score 3-3 at the time of their two shorties.

The problem? The Rangers didn’t take any more penalties, so they weren’t short-handed any more. Their third-ranked penalty kill — a unit that leads the League in short-handed goals with 13 — appeared to be the Rangers only chance Sunday. The Blue Jackets looked overwhelmed by the Rangers PK, whereas the visitors played with confidence and swagger at even strength.

3. Your guy, my guy

It’s not a completely fair apples to apples comparison, but would you keep your guy or take their guy? Would you keep Alexis Lafreniere, the 23-year-old Rangers forward who was the No. 1 overall pick in 2020? Or take Adam Fantilli, the 20-year-old Blue Jackets center who was selected third overall in 2023?

It may seem like a set-up considering Fantilli notched a hat trick Sunday, including two goals 26 seconds apart early in the second period. Engaged, skilled and smart, Fantill found different ways to burn the Rangers, and now has 21 goals in his sophomore NHL season.

Lafreniere picked up an assist Sunday, when his first-period shot that was going wide of the net was redirected home by Artemi Panarin. Other than that? Pretty invisible. Again. He has four assists in the past five games as Panarin is on a scoring tear now. However, Lafreniere is generating little offensively, and in fact has five shots on goal in his past seven games. Five. He hasn’t scored a goal since Feb. 2 against Vegas, a span of 12 games. Five seasons into his NHL career, he’s still an enigma, even playing on a line with Panarin, Lafreniere sits with 14 goals and 36 points this season; and has had really one signature season (28 goals, 57 points last season).

Right now, Fantilli or Lafreniere? Without even factoring in the contract difference. You choose.

A multitude of defensive breakdowns coupled with a lack of execution piled up quickly on the Rangers, who melted down repeatedly and reverted to some brutal defensive play, allowing seven even-strength goals in this latest loss that kept them from jumping into the first wild card in the Eastern Conference.

“When it did break down, it was bad,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said postgame. “There was guys right in front of (goalie Jonathan Quick) with no support and no help. You go back and look at all the goals, one of them was off a skate, a guy falls in a corner, a broken stick come back on the two-on-two. But everything could have been done differently and done better, it needs to be better inside of that.”

There’s no excuses when it comes to the way the Rangers lost on Sunday night. They battled back in dramatic fashion to tie the game 3-3 after Adam Fantilli scored a pair of goals 26 seconds apart to make it 3-1 Columbus early in the second period. The Rangers responded by scoring two short-handed goals on the same penalty kill, the first time that’s happened for New York since March 5, 2014.

That whiplash sequence, with goals by Braden Schneider and Chris Kreider 42 seconds apart, had The Garden rocking and the visiting team on its heels.

Braden Schneider and Chris Kreider scored 42 seconds apart on the penalty kill and helped the @NYRangers record multiple shorthanded goals in a game for the first time since Nov. 30, 2019 (2 at NJD).#NHLStats: https://t.co/uKbIjcEQak pic.twitter.com/5kO8WJGSx7

— NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) March 10, 2025

With a tie game on their hands and all of the momentum after that kill, the Rangers seemed primed to continue the push and work toward taking the lead. It was quite the opposite, however.

Columbus scored twice late in the period on goals by Mathieu Olivier at 17:03 and Dante Fabbro at 18:47 to blunt New York’s momentum.

Quick wasn’t great — overall allowing seven goals on 27 shots — but he was left high and dry by his teammates on these two goals, and others.

Olivier scored again in the third period and Fantilli finished the Rangers off with his third goal for his second career hat trick.

“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,” explained Laviolette. “Then it’s right at the end of the period, bang bang again. Inside of that, there were those opportunities where we had looks … We didn’t capitalize. When we made it 3-3 we needed to grab the juice, get the fourth goal, and push the game in our direction. It didn’t happen.”

Related: Winners, losers from deflating loss Saturday against Senators

Rangers look to clean up mistakes on 3-game road trip

The Rangers did a good deal of damage to their playoff hopes between this defeat and a 4-3 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Earning one of a possible four points against the two teams right in front of them in the wild-card chase is just about as bad as it can get, but it’s how they lost that makes things even worse.

They’re just two points behind the Blues Jackets for the first wild card and one in arrears of the Senators for the second wild card. But they’ve lost three straight games (0-1-2) now, including blowing a pair of two-goals leads Saturday before the debacle on home ice Sunday.

“I don’t think the execution was good on us coming out of the zone,” Laviolette explained. “I think we just kind of threw it away. That led to offense, that led to goals as well. We weren’t clean. We have to be cleaner than that coming out of our zone. It led to chances and goals against.”

The focus now turns toward cleaning up their mistakes, and getting the next set of available points on a three-game road trip that opens Tuesday in Winnipeg against the League-best Jets.

“It’s a really important road trip,” J.T. Miller said. “We don’t have much time to sit around and keep our heads down. We have to be ready. We have nine games in 15 or 16 days, so we don’t have time to pout. You’d like to win them all, but this team over the last little bit has been really nice. You want to win them all, but it’s not good enough. We’ll be better next game.”

That seemed to be the resounding message in the room following the brutal loss on home ice. Focus on the next two points. A tall task at hand considering the Rangers face off against the Jets, who’ve been atop the standings all season.

“This one sucks,” said a stone-faced K’Andre Miller. “It’s going to sting for a little bit. Try to turn the page as quick as we can, we got a lot of games to finish this stretch.”

Let that sink in for a second.

Then mix in that those short-handed goals tied the game 3-3 early in the second period against the team directly ahead of them in the tight Eastern Conference playoff race. It was right there for the Rangers. Instead, they allowed four unanswered goals at even strength, with Adam Fantilli finishing off a hat trick for the Blue Jackets.

To make matters worse, this brought a sour finish to a highly-anticipated — yet ultimately disappointing — weekend against teams ahead of them in the playoff race. The Rangers blew a pair of two-goal leads Saturday, including one in the third period, before losing to the Ottawa Senators 4-3 in overtime.

The Rangers (31-27-6) have now lost three in a row (0-1-2) and remain ninth in the East. They are two points behind the Blue Jackets (31-24-8) for the first wild card; the Blue Jackets have a game in hand, and the teams will play again Saturday in Columbus. The Rangers trail the Senators (32-25-5) by one point for the second wild card but have played two more games.

Though strong on the PK, the Rangers were outscored 7-1 at even strength Sunday and were 0-for-4 on the power play. Jonathan Quick didn’t get much help from his teammates and stopped just 21 of 28 shots. It was the second time the Rangers allowed seven goals in a game this season.

Braden Schneider and Chris Kreider scored the shorties, the first time the Rangers scored twice on the same PK since March 5, 2014, against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Artemi Panarin also scored, extending his goal streak to five games, tying his career high.

Fantilli recorded the second hat trick of his young career and Mathieu Olivier scored twice for the Blue Jackets, who had lost their previous two games and are 1-1-1 against the Rangers this season. Dante Fabbro had a goal and an assist, and Zach Werenski continued his splendid season with two more assists, giving him 68 points in 62 games. Justin Danforth also scored for Columbus and Daniil Tarasov finished with 32 saves, 17 in the third period.

Related: Carson Soucy makes immediate impact in Rangers debut against Senators

Columbus Blue Jackets 7 – New York Rangers 3

Following a fairly low-event first period, a dizzying sequence of momentum swings in a wild second period found the Rangers trying to dig out of a 5-3 hole after 40 minutes of play.

Despite allowing the first goal of the game at 5:56 of the first period, when Danforth tapped in a sweet pass by Werenski after the Blue Jackets star danced around Rangers defenseman Carson Soucy, the Rangers had the edge in play. They outshot the Blue Jackets 9-4, out-chanced them 10-3 in all situations (per Natural Stat Trick) and scored the tying goal with 28.1 seconds remaining in the period.

After the fourth line forced an icing call against the Blue Jackets, the top line went to work on the next face-off with less than a minute to play in the period. Vincent Trocheck sent the puck back to Alexis Lafreniere, who in turn fired ahead, with his shot seemingly headed wide of the net. But Panarin, stationed in the left circle, stuck out his stick and redirected the puck past Tarasov for his 28th goal of the season, tying the score 1-1.

LAF WITH THE SHOT + BREAD TIPS IT IN. pic.twitter.com/myJ9KLkNSH

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) March 9, 2025

The Blue Jackets took a penalty seven seconds later, and momentum was all on the Rangers side. Their second power play of the game carried into the second period, but they couldn’t tack on another goal after Panarin’s tally.

That led to the next momentum swing in the game. Fantilli scored twice in a span of 26 seconds to silence the Garden crowd and give the Blue Jackets a 3-1 lead. The 20-year-old went top shelf over Quick’s glove on a 2-on-2 rush at 3:07, shortly after the teams returned to even strength. Then he slammed home a Dmitri Voronkov pass from behind the goal line for his 20th goal of the season at 3:33.

It was another example of the Blue Jackets winning a puck battle in the offensive zone at even strength, something they did over and over on Sunday. Schneider was the defenseman in this instance who lost the puck battle and the Rangers found themselves down 3-1.

Less than two minutes later it was nearly 4-1, but Rangers defenseman Will Borgan made a sensational arm save lying in the blue paint with Quick out of the play.

At 6:13, Will Cuylle was assessed a holding minor, and what followed was a stunning swing in momentum in the home team’s favor. The Blue Jackets fell asleep on the power play and left Schneider wide open after turning the puck over in their own end. Schneider wired a short-handed goal past the glove of Tarasov at 6:54 after a quick feed from Trocheck.

SHORTHANDED SCHNEIDS. pic.twitter.com/i59VFbzpkI

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) March 9, 2025

Schneider’s fourth goal of the season and first in 16 games put the juice back in the building. Just 42 seconds later, Kreider helped blow thew roof off the Garden when he scored his fourth shortie of the season to tie things up 3-3 at 7:36.

Kreider started the play with a takeaway at the Rangers blue line. That sent him and Mika Zibanejad off on a 2-on-0 short-handed rush. The Rangers forwards played catch with the puck skating in on Tarasov before one last pass from Zibanejad was buried into the back of the net by Kreider, his 18th goal being New York’s League-leading 13th short-handed this season.

Chris Kreider tucks home Zibanejad's return feed for another Rangers shorthanded goal, tie game!#NYR pic.twitter.com/GFImmW0rD1

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) March 9, 2025

The Blue Jackets managed not to allow another shortie before their power play ended, then resumed their strong play 5v5 and shifted momentum back in their favor. Werenski made another gorgeous feed to set up Olivier’s go-ahead goal at 17:03. Alone in the middle, he redirected Werenski’s pass into the cage for his 13th goal to make it 4-3.

Columbus won another race to a loose puck behind the Rangers’ goal line and that paid off with another goal at 18:47. James van Riemsdyk passed to Sean Kuraly, who found Fabbro open between the circles. The defenseman zipped his fifth goal stick side past Quick to make it 5-3.

The Rangers nearly answered with 25 seconds to play in the period, but Panarin’s quick one-timer was denied by Tarasov.

Down by two, the Rangers started fast in the third period and had a crucial power play at 5:57 when Ivan Provorov was called for delay of game when he flipped the puck over the glass. The Rangers pressed and had two good scoring chances — one each for Zibanejad and Panarin — but Tarasov was up to the challenge. After the power play, the Rangers fourth line buzzed and Jonny Brodzinski had a pair of good looks. But to no avail.

Olivier then the backbreaker when he went hard to the net and the puck bounced up high off a Rangers defenseman and into the net at 10:17 to make it 6-3.

Fantilli was left all alone in the slot to bury his third goal of the game and finish off the hat trick at 11:51 after a hard-working shift in the Rangers’ zone.

The Rangers got another power play at 12:41 after Luke Kunin boarded Trocheck for the initial penalty. Borgen then jumped in to fight Kunin and when was all said and done, the Rangers had a power play even though Borgen received an instigator penalty for starting the fight.

Rangers coach Peter Laviolette pulled Quick to make it a 6-on-4 power play but they couldn’t score despite some prime chances.

All that was left was the booing from the fans who remained until the bitter end.

Next up for the Rangers is a three-game road trip that begins against the League-leading Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday.