Rangers' 10-game win streak ends with loss to Blue Jackets
Rangers goalie Jonathan Quick, left, makes a stop in front of Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kent Johnson during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024. Credit: AP/Paul Vernon
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The only thing standing between the Rangers and a rewrite of history Sunday night was the Columbus Blue Jackets, the last-place team in the Eastern Conference.
In the end, the Blue Jackets proved too much.
The Rangers, who had won their 10th straight Saturday in Philadelphia to tie a club mark, had a chance to break the record against a Columbus team that was 35 points behind them in the Metropolitan Division. But the Blue Jackets scored three goals in the second period to take control, and they beat the Rangers, 4-2, ending the win streak at 10 games.
The loss was the first for the Rangers (39-17-3) since Jan. 26, when they lost at home to the Vegas Golden Knights, 5-2. They started their win streak the next night in Ottawa in the last game before the NHL All-Star break.
The 10 straight wins match the team mark which had been accomplished twice (1939-40 and 1972-73).
“I don’t think it’s something that we’ll dwell on too much,’’ a disappointed Adam Fox said of failing to break the record. “Obviously, it would have been cool for us to have that, but we’re trying to go into every game and win. So to make it 11 straight, or to snap a one-game losing streak . . . the loss still hurts the same.’’
The loss was the first for the Rangers this season in the second game of a back-to-back. They had been 9-0-0.
“We needed to win a game tonight,’’ coach Peter Laviolette said. “There’s no excuses with the schedule. The schedule’s the schedule. Everybody catches back-to-backs. You’re expected to be able to handle that. And tonight wasn’t our best.
“We’ll learn from it. We play the same opponent. We’ll look to fix some things and we’ll get back at it.’’
The teams play again Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.
Rangers backup goaltender Jonathan Quick, starting his first game in 10 days, made 37 saves, but goals by Jack Roslovic and Ivan Provorov in the second period broke open a 2-2 game.
Roslovic’s goal, on a two-on-one break at 11:57 of the second, came just 46 seconds after rookie Adam Edstrom’s goal for the Rangers had tied it at 2.
“Too many odd-man rushes to a team that’s looking for odd-man rushes,’’ forward Chris Kreider said. “And they capitalized.’’
“We were a little sloppy in the second,’’ said Fox, who recorded his 38th assist. “They were snapping it around the offensive zone, getting odd-man rushes, and any team’s going to make you pay [for giving those up]. They have skill over there, and you get that big goal, and it was just sloppy out of us there.’’
Trailing 4-2 late in the third period, the Rangers got a power play with 2:19 left when Columbus forward Dmitry Voronkov was called for a faceoff violation after putting his hand over the puck. Laviolette pulled Quick to give his team a six-on-four advantage, but they failed to score.
Columbus (19-28-10) got on the board first with a power-play goal by Dmitri Voronkov, who scored at 4:34 of the first period, just as a holding penalty to Jacob Trouba was expiring.
Columbus seemed energized after the goal and had several good chances to add to their lead, but Quick kept them at bay until Artemi Panarin tied it at 14:22 with his 33rd goal of the season, a new career high.
Panarin scored after Fox made a great keep-in at the right point and passed to him in the right circle, catching the Blue Jackets out of position as they tried to leave the zone. Panarin beat goaltender Elvis Merzlikins (38 saves) from a sharp angle.
Kirill Marchenko’s goal 18 seconds into the second period put Columbus back in front, 2-1 — Quick lost his stick on a poke check and Marchenko ended up with the puck and skated around the fallen goaltender and scored — but Edstrom tied it when his centering pass for Rempe banked off the skate of Columbus defenseman Jake Bean and in at 11:11.
Roslovic put Columbus back in the lead almost immediately, taking a pass from Johnny Gaudreau and lifting a shot over the glove of a diving Quick to make it 3-2.
Provorov made it 4-2 at 18:35, joining the rush to make it a three-on-two break. He took a pass from Roslovic and whipped a shot past Quick.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
