Rangers Edge Blue Jackets 2-1 in Eric Staal's Debut
Eric Staal was held without a
point in his Rangers debut Monday night, but he did help his new team
pick up another important two points in the standings as the Blueshirts
held off the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1 at Madison Square Garden.
Derek Stepan snapped a 1-1 tie by scoring a shorthanded goal at 17:12 of the third period. It was his second shortie of the season, and 14th goal overall.
Staal made his Rangers debut 24 hours after being acquired in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes. He spent the first two periods centering a line with Kevin Hayes and Oscar Lindberg on the wings before shifting to the left side of Derick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello in the third. He also saw time centering one of the Rangers power play units.
With Staal's addition to the lineup, along with the absence of Jesper Fast from the lineup due to an illness, head coach Alain Vigneault had to shuffle his line combinations quite a bit on Monday. Viktor Stalberg, for instance, started with Stepan and Chris Kreider, and then slid back to his usual spot with Hayes and Lindberg.
Rookie defenseman Dylan McIlrath was pressed into service as forward for the first time in his professional career. He played right wing on the team's fourth line with Dominic Moore and Tanner Glass, drawing the most attention when he fought Columbus forward Jared Boll at 10:35 of the second period.
Whatever the reason it was a largely disjointed game for the Rangers, though goaltender Antti Raanta did a solid job between the pipes while starting in the place of the resting Henrik Lundqvist.
Zuccarello did give New York a 1-0 lead late in the first period, a lead they held until early in the third. Zuccarello's 21st goal of the season came after he sped behind the Columbus net, came out on right wing, and proceeded to bank a shot off rookie goaltender Joonas Korpisalo.
Columbus was able to pull even at 3:46 of the third period when Cam Atkinson netted his 20th, burying the rebound after Raanta had stopped his initial shot on a clean breakaway.
However with only 2:48 remaining in regulation Stepan's shorthanded goal, on a breakaway, proved to be the game winner.
Derek Stepan snapped a 1-1 tie by scoring a shorthanded goal at 17:12 of the third period. It was his second shortie of the season, and 14th goal overall.
Staal made his Rangers debut 24 hours after being acquired in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes. He spent the first two periods centering a line with Kevin Hayes and Oscar Lindberg on the wings before shifting to the left side of Derick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello in the third. He also saw time centering one of the Rangers power play units.
With Staal's addition to the lineup, along with the absence of Jesper Fast from the lineup due to an illness, head coach Alain Vigneault had to shuffle his line combinations quite a bit on Monday. Viktor Stalberg, for instance, started with Stepan and Chris Kreider, and then slid back to his usual spot with Hayes and Lindberg.
Rookie defenseman Dylan McIlrath was pressed into service as forward for the first time in his professional career. He played right wing on the team's fourth line with Dominic Moore and Tanner Glass, drawing the most attention when he fought Columbus forward Jared Boll at 10:35 of the second period.
Whatever the reason it was a largely disjointed game for the Rangers, though goaltender Antti Raanta did a solid job between the pipes while starting in the place of the resting Henrik Lundqvist.
Zuccarello did give New York a 1-0 lead late in the first period, a lead they held until early in the third. Zuccarello's 21st goal of the season came after he sped behind the Columbus net, came out on right wing, and proceeded to bank a shot off rookie goaltender Joonas Korpisalo.
Columbus was able to pull even at 3:46 of the third period when Cam Atkinson netted his 20th, burying the rebound after Raanta had stopped his initial shot on a clean breakaway.
However with only 2:48 remaining in regulation Stepan's shorthanded goal, on a breakaway, proved to be the game winner.
Feb 29 - 9:37pm by JimCerny
FINAL STATS
NY RANGERS 2 COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS 1
SOG: NYR 23 CBJ 26
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Period
17:41 NYR Mats Zuccarello (21) Wrist shot - ASST: Dan Boyle (12) 1 - 0 NYR
2nd Period
NONE
3rd Period
03:46 CBJ Cam Atkinson (20) Wrist shot - ASST: NONE 1 - 1 Tie
17:12 NYR SHG - Derek Stepan (14) Wrist shot - ASST: Ryan McDonagh (20) 2 - 1 NYR
PENALTY SUMMARY
1st Period
NONE
2nd Period
10:35 CBJ Jared Boll Fighting (maj) - 5 min against Dylan McIlrath
10:35 NYR Dylan McIlrath Fighting (maj) - 5 min against Jared Boll
3rd Period
05:56 CBJ Brandon Dubinsky Delaying Game-Puck over glass - 2 min against J.T. Miller
15:19 NYR Marc Staal Tripping - 2 min against Matt Calvert
FINAL TEAM STATS
Category CBJ NYR
Power Plays 0/1 0/1
Hits 29 25
Faceoff Wins 33 31
Giveaways 12 13
Takeaways 5 15
Blocked Shots 16 21
Penalty Minutes 7 7
THREE STARS OF THE GAME
1. ANTTI RAANTA NYR2. JONAS KORPISALO CBJ
3. DEREK STEPAN NYR
NEXT GAME:
The New York Rangers return to action on Thursday, March 3rd, 7:00 PM on the road in Pittsburgh vs Metro Division Rivals the Penguins.
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