Blue Jackets Blow Four‑Goal Third‑Period Lead, Beat Rangers in OT

Adam Fantilli(16), Kirill Marchenko(21-PPG,22-GWG), Sean Monahan(11-SHG), and Mathieu Olivier(9) scored the goals for Columbus in a wild game at Madison Square Garden on Monday night. Elvis Merzlikins stopped 27 of 31 Rangers shots to help the Jackets pick up a much-needed two points.

This could’ve been disaster!

First Period – SOG 10-4 Columbus – CBJ Goals Fantilli, Marchenko

Adam Fantilli got the party started at MSG when he tipped a puck by Igor Shesterkin to collect his 16th goal of the season. The goal came with 14:10 left in the first period. Kirill Marchenko sent a beautiful pass to Fantilli, who was in on Shesterkin’s left and had no chance at saving it.

The rest of the first period was fairly ho-hum with a lot of back and forth between the two teams. Each team had a few chances, but nothing significant.

The Rangers were called for Unsportsmanlike conduct with 5:25 left in the first period. The power play represents their first power play since last Thursday against the Boston Bruins. For the last couple of days, Rick Bowness has mentioned to the media that he’s shocked the Jackets haven’t earned a power play.

Kirill Marchenko wasted no time putting the Jackets up 2-0 when he launched a rocket from Shesterkin’s right side. The puck was tipped by a Ranger defenseman on its way in, but no one will argue about how they go in.

The Jackets would take a two-goal lead into the first intermission. Kirill Marchenko mentioned how nice it was to actually have a power play.

The Rangers were held without a shot for over 13 minutes of the first period.

Second Period – SOG 11-9 Rangers – CBJ Goals Monahan, Olivier

Boone Jenner gave NYR a power play when he was called for tripping Matthew Robertson at 2:14 of the first. J.T. Miller scored a goal, but it was looked at for goalie interference. After a quick review, it was determined that there was goalie interference, and the goal would be disallowed.

Just seconds after the Ranger goal was called back, Sean Monahan would rip a shot through Shesterkin’s five hole to push the score to 3-0 in favor of Columbus. It was the 4th shorthanded goal for Columbus this season.

Mathieu Olivier ripped a one-time off the right post and passed Igor Shesterkin to make it 4-0 with 11:54 left in the second period. At this point, the Blue Jackets are scoring at will and in all situations.

The Rangers were pushing hard to this point, but just couldn’t get anything by Elvis.

Third Period – SOG 16-7 Rangers – No CBJ Goals

Vladislav Gavrikov scored just 30 seconds into the third period to spoil Elvis’s shutout bid. Gabe Perreault scored just 24 seconds later after Denton Mateychuk coughed up a puck in the defensive zone, giving Perreault a prime opportunity.

The Blue Jackets, to this point in the third period, were under siege by New York. After the second NYR goal, Rick Bowness called his time out to settle everything down. You could see him telling his team to “calm down” and to “breathe.”

The next 8 minutes still made everyone watching nervous, but they withstood the Ranger onslaught and had their own chances on Shesterkin.

Will Borgen scored on a delayed penalty to cut the lead to 4-3. They’re absolutely falling apart at this point, and there’s nothing the Jackets can really do about it, as the Rangers are pummeling them in possession and physically.

Gabe Perreault scored his 2nd goal of the game at 15:14 of the third to complete the Blue Jackets’ collapse.

After being outshot 16-7 in the third period and outscored 4-0, the two teams would go into overtime.

In overtime, Kirill Marchenko scored his second goal of the game to avoid a loss that would’ve been absolutely devastating to this team. A loss after leading 4-0 in the third period is unacceptable.

Final Stats

CBJ APP

Player Stats

Adam Fantilli scored his 16th goal of the season. He now has 4 goals in 5 games at MSG.
Kirill Marchenko scored his 21st and 22nd goals and picked up his 28th assist.
Sean Monahan scored his 11th goal of the season while shorthanded.
Mathieu Olivier scored his 9th goal.
Denton Mateychuk recorded his 14th assist of the season.
Ivan Provorov picked up his 15th assist.
Charlie Coyle got his 29th and 30th assists.
Damon Severson recorded his 18th and 19th assists.
Isac Lundeström won 50% of his faceoffs.

Team Stats

The Jackets went 1-for-1 on the power play.
The Columbus PK stopped both of the Ranger man advantages.
Columbus won 50% of the faceoffs – 33/66
The Blue Jackets had 15 hits and 19 blocks.

Next Up For Columbus: The Blue Jackets are back at home on Tuesday to face the Nashville Predators.

Stay updated with the most interesting Blue Jackets stories, analysis, breaking news, and more!

Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News and never miss a story.

Let us know what you think below.

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.

Read the full article here