Heading into the night, the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Rangers were tied for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Jackets’ 7-3 win in Madison Square Garden Sunday is their only win in the last five games, and they absolutely needed to right the ship, tonight. Let’s see how they did.
First Period
Under two minutes in, and the Jackets are already in the hole. Mika Zibanejad caused a turnover thanks to aggressive forechecking on Damon Severson, Daniil Tarasov went for an ill-advised pokecheck in the corner, and Zibaneja was able to get it to Alexis Lafreniere, who had a wide-open net.