Oct 23, 2022; New York, New York, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Yegor Chinakhov (59) celebrates with Columbus Blue Jackets center Cole Sillinger (34), Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Jake Bean (22), and additional teammates after scoring a goal against New York Rangers goaltender Jaroslav Halak (41) during the second period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jessica Alcheh-USA TODAY Sports
NHL: Columbus Blue Jackets at New York Rangers
On a Sunday where the Jets and Giants managed to pull out wins, the Rangers failed to do so in their contest against the Columbus Blue Jackets as they got blown out 5-1 at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers played a better game than the score indicates, outshooting Columbus 31-21 in a game where New York led in shots after each period. 30 of those shots by Rangerstown were stopped by rookie goaltender Daniil Tarasov, who managed to get his first NHL win. The only man that got past the rook was none other than the NHL’s leader in points, Artemi Panarin. With his goal, he continues his point streak from the season opener (6 games) where he has at least a goal in the last three contests. For the Russian, he became the first Ranger to start the season on a points streak this long since Marian Gaborik had an 8-game point streak to start the 2009 season.
He added to his points total and retains the title for the time being with 12 points through 6 games. He had 5 shots total on the night, tying for the team lead along with Adam Fox and Mika Zibanejad. “We don’t take the shots, we try to look for something, and obviously when you get frustrated, you try to do too much,” Mika said in the locker room after the game, “I think that’s a little bit what we did today.” Before Panarin’s PP goal, however, it was all Columbus. Zach Werenski scored a goal to start it for the Jackets with 2:06 left in the 1st. It was a tough break for Jaroslav Halak, who started in goal for the Rangers for their starter, Igor Sheshterkin. He saved 16 shots on 21 attempts and could not stop Werenski on the counterattack where multiple Rangers were caught sleeping. The next goal was one that many goaltenders would want to have back as Andrew Peeke scored his first of the year 102 seconds into the 2nd period on a shot that sneaked through Halak’s massive frame. “Tough one to lose like this… I just got out-played by their goalie, so I got to be better next game,” Halak said in the locker room.
The pressure seemed to be too much at one point when Yegor Chinakhov scored a rocket past Halak at exactly 9:00 of the 2nd to make it 3-0. It almost seemed like the life was taken out of the team before the 2nd intermission came around. A 5-on-3 chance saw Panarin’s goal go through unassisted at 18:44 of the period, but the Broadway Blueshirts failed to capitalize on the remaining 47 seconds of the power play. After grinding through 14 minutes to try and find a spark, the Rangers were spent, and Columbus caught the team out of position for a tip-in from Eric Johnson at 14:13. 44 seconds later, Kent Johnson scored on a cross-creaser from former Philadelphia Flyer, Jakub Voracek. 5-1 was the final, Columbus executed more from the blue line, and Daniil Tarasov stayed composed in his first appearance at Madison Square Garden.
To make things worse, the Rangers suffered an injury 92 seconds into the game as Filip Chytil took a massive right elbow from Cole Sillinger. He was slow to get up just 11 seconds into the first shift of his afternoon and was helped off of the ice. He did not return to the game and coach Gallant provided an update in the post-game press conference. “He’s day-to-day, we’ll assess him tomorrow and see how he is so, big loss early in the game.” The team announced Monday that Chyitl suffered an “upper-body injury” and will miss at least 4 games to recover. The Rangers wrap up their 4-game homestand on Tuesday night at 8 pm as they welcome last year’s Stanley Cup Champions, the Colorado Avalanche.
