Columbus 4, NY Rangers 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, December 12, 2013
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Referees:
Kelly Sutherland, Ian Walsh
Linesmen:
Michel Cormier, Matt MacPherson
Attendance:
18006
By SportsDirect Inc.
Blue Jackets 4, Rangers 2: Artem Anisimov scored in his return to Madison Square Garden and Mike McKenna stopped 17 shots in relief of an injured Curtis McElhinney as visiting Columbus skated to its fourth win in five outings.
Matt Calvert tallied for the third straight contest, Ryan Johansen scored to extend his career-best point streak to seven games and defenseman David Savard snapped a 33-game goalless drought for the Blue Jackets.
Dominic Moore scored for the first time since Jan. 17, 2012, defenseman Dan Girardi also tallied and rookie Cam Talbot made 13 saves in relief of Henrik Lundqvist, who yielded three goals on 13 shots before exiting midway through the first period. Rick Nash was held without a shot in his first game against his former team as the Rangers fell to 0-3-1 on their franchise-high nine-game homestand.
Calvert scored from the left circle to draw first blood 38 seconds into the contest before Anisimov tallied from a sharp angle to cap a 3-on-1 rush just over eight minutes later. Savard gave Columbus a 3-0 edge at 11:10 of the first period with a wrist shot that deflected off New York defenseman Michael Del Zotto and past Lundqvist, who was promptly pulled from the contest.
Moore answered nearly three minutes later by cleaning up a rebound to snap a 58-game goalless drought. Girardi scored from the inner edge of the right circle to trim the deficit with to 3-2 with 8:53 remaining in the third period, but Johansen thwarted the comeback bid by tallying from the slot with 1:32 remaining in the contest.
GAME NOTEBOOK: McElhinney (15 saves) aggravated a lower-body injury during the latter stages of the first period, prompting McKenna to start the second for his first NHL appearance since Dec. 2, 2010 when he was a member of the New Jersey Devils. ... Nash was acquired from Columbus in July 2012 in a five-player deal that also included Anisimov and C Brandon Dubinsky. Columbus D Tim Erixon was also involved in the trade, but he was a healthy scratch. ... With family and friends in attendance, New York D Dylan McIlrath made his NHL debut and logged 8:33 of ice time. McIlrath was the 10th overall pick of the 2010 draft. ... New York suffered its fifth straight home loss (0-4-1) and fell to 5-9-1 at Madison Square Garden.
Top Game Performances
| Columbus |
|
NY Rangers |
|
Fedor Tyutin 2 |
Points |
Daniel Girardi 1 |
|
Artem Anisimov 1 |
Goals |
Daniel Girardi 1 |
|
Fedor Tyutin 2 |
Assists |
Michael Del Zotto 1 |
|
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Mike McKenna .944 |
Save Percentage |
Cameron Talbot .929 |
|
Mike McKenna 17 |
Saves |
Cameron Talbot 13 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Columbus
|
27 |
4 |
0-2 |
3-3 |
12 |
24 |
| NY Rangers
|
34 |
2 |
0-3 |
2-2 |
8 |
39 |
Upcoming Games
-
NY Rangers will play their next game at home against Calgary. The Rangers have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .556 after a loss.
-
Columbus will play their next game at home against St. Louis. The Blue Jackets have a W/L % of .385 after a win and .474 after a loss.
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