The Rangers fumbled a pivotal weekend.
It’s been over two months of scratching and clawing their way back into playoff contention, only for the Blueshirts to lose 7-3 to Columbus on Sunday night at Madison Square Garden as part of an 0-1-1 effort in a crucial back-to-back slate this weekend with major implications in the Eastern Conference wild-card race.
Not once, but twice the Rangers whiffed on a chance to step into the top wild-card spot in the East, after they blew a two-goal lead in the third period in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Senators on Saturday afternoon in Ottawa.
Opportunities for considerable swings in the standings will only be fewer and farther between now.
Columbus met this moment, picking up its first win over the Rangers this season to leapfrog the Senators into the first wild card.
These two teams will meet again for a final time this regular season in less than a week on March 15 back at the Garden.
Adam Fantilli’s hat trick played an integral role in powering the Blue Jackets to victory, but the Rangers were wide-open defensively.
The Rangers didn’t put up much resistance as Zach Werenski danced through their zone and dished to Justin Danforth for the first goal of the game less than six minutes in.
The Rangers capped the Blue Jackets at just two shots on goal after that, however, until they were able to tie it up.
Artemi Panarin got a stick on an Alexis Lafrenière shot, extending his goal-scoring streak to five games and tying the game up 1-1 with 29 seconds left in the period.
Most of the action unfolded in a six-goal second period, with the Rangers falling behind by two, tying it up and then falling behind by two again by its end.
Two goals from Fantilli in the span of 24 seconds exposed the Blueshirts and how prone they’ve been to defensive breakdowns this season.
After scoring off the rush in the aftermath of Will Borgen’s stick breaking, Fantilli was left all alone in front of the net as several Rangers chased the puck below the goal line.
Getting outplayed five-on-five, the Rangers made their push shorthanded.
With Will Cuylle in the box for holding, Columbus couldn’t gain control before Braden Schneider wristed one home from the right faceoff circle.
Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider then stood up at the blue line to send the puck the other way with no one in front of them.
The two longest-tenured Rangers passed it back and forth before Kreider buried it for the 3-3 score, giving the home team two shorthanded goals in the span of 42 seconds.
It was the first time the Rangers scored two shorthanded goals while killing the same penalty since March 5, 2014.
The two quick goals brought Madison Square Garden back to life, but it was quickly quieted when play returned to five-on-five.
Mathieu Olivier first redirected a Werenski feed past Rangers goalie Jonathan Quick (20 saves) before Dante Fabbro whipped one in from the high slot.
The two goals in the span of 1:44 had the Rangers trailing 5-3 entering the third period.
If the way the second period ended didn’t take the air out of the Garden, an own goal by Zac Jones just over halfway through the third period certainly did.
Attempting to glove down a puck that bounced in the air, Jones inadvertently guided it over Quick to give the Blue Jackets a 6-3 lead.
This before Fantilli completed the hat trick and capped the scoring with a goal from all alone in the slot.
