Artemi Panarin and Chris Kreider scored two goals apiece Saturday night, including once each during a three-goal, 63-second flurry in the second period that lifted the visiting New York Rangers past the Columbus Blue Jackets, 5-3.
Jacob Trouba capped off the second-period outburst for the Rangers, who have won two straight. Goalie Igor Shesterkin made 31 saves before being pulled after a collision with Alexandre Texier following the Blue Jackets’ final goal with 6:45 left. Alexandar Georgiev made two saves in relief.
Jakub Voracek, Eric Robinson and Texier all scored for the Blue Jackets, who lost both ends of a back-to-back against the Rangers and Washington Capitals. Goalie Elvis Merzlikins recorded 36 saves.
The Blue Jackets took the lead shortly before the midway point of the first when Voracek took a pass from Oliver Bjorkstrand just in front of the blue line, moved into the slot and fired a shot past Shesterkin at the 8:59 mark.
Panarin, who played two seasons with the Blue Jackets before signing as a free agent with the Rangers in July 2019, scored his first goal with 2:31 left in the period when his shot into a wide-open net bounced off the arm of a sprawling Merzlikins and trickled into the net.
Robinson gave the Blue Jackets a short-lived lead 6:56 into the second when took a pass from Jake Bean in the neutral zone, raced up the left side of the ice and sent a shot beyond the glove of Shesterkin into the far corner of the net.
But the Rangers wasted no time taking a two-goal lead. Kreider tied the game 43 seconds later when he put his stick down to redirect a pass into the crease by Trouba.
A long rebound of a shot by Panarin helped set up his second goal 36 seconds later. Ryan Strome collected the carom off Merzlikins and dished to Panarin, who fired from the slot past the extended sticks of Bean and Gustav Nyquist and beyond Merzlikins’ glove.
Trouba put the Rangers ahead 4-2 just 27 seconds later, when Barclay Goodrow went around the back of the net and fed Trouba with the puck at point-blank range.
Kreider scored again 52 seconds into the third, when he beat Merzlikins from the doorstep off a pass from Mika Zibanejad.
Shesterkin exited when he fell head-first to the ice after Texier landed on him immediately after redirecting Vladislav Gavrikov’s shot. The Blue Jackets pulled Merzlikins with about two minutes left but got no closer.
–Field Level Media