Rangers Vs. Blue Jackets Recap: Third Period Surge Gives Rangers Second Straight Win

So, that happened.

The New York Rangers scored three goals within a span of 1:17 tonight during the third period, and defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 to spoil their home opener festivities. Once again, Henrik Lundqvist was completely dialed in at the other end of the ice and kept the Rangers afloat when the Blue Jackets turned up the pressure in the offensive zone.

Oscar Lindberg also had a huge game tonight, which included the game tying goal with under three minutes remaining that sparked the comeback. As expected, the Blue Jackets came out flying right from the opening faceoff tonight, and started tossing their weight around with some heavy hits. The Rangers handled the pressure fairly well, and when the Jackets did get their chances, Lundqvist was there to put out the fire.

While the Jackets were clearly winning the physical battle, the Rangers showed just how much it really mattered with Mats Zuccarello putting the Rangers up 1-0. The goal came late in the period as Zuccarello corralled a loose puck off to the side of the net, and shoveled a backhand towards the net. Sergei Bobrovsky was unable to recover after the puck came out of the corner, and Zuccarello slipped it by on the shortside.

Coming into the second period, the Rangers were looking to build on their late goal but unfortunately, it wound up working against them. The Rangers continued their lousy second period trend, and allowed the Jackets to walk all over them for a majority of the middle frame.

After numerous chances, the Blue Jackets were finally able to convert after Cam Atkinson burned Lundqvist and the Rangers on a breakaway. Brandon Dubinsky made a perfect pass up the middle to catch the Rangers defensemen napping, and Atkinson finished it off with a beautiful move to the forehand.

The Rangers wound up shooting themselves in the foot later on in the third period as Ryan McDonagh took a delay of game penalty. As it usually goes, the Blue Jackets converted shortly after with Brandon Saad ripping a hard wrist shot through traffic that Lundqvist was unable to locate. Things were certainly looking bleak with under four minutes remaining, but the Rangers pulled some late game magic out of their hat.

Oscar Lindberg started the comeback off with a quick response to Saad's goal to knot the game up at 2-2. Just 17 seconds after Lindberg's goal, Kevin Hayes tossed an off-angle shot on net from the corner and it slipped through Bobrovsky's legs to give the Rangers the late 3-2 lead. But the Rangers weren't done just yet as Mats Zuccarello ripped home his second goal of the night and gave the Rangers a commanding 4-2 lead with under two minutes remaining.

At the blink of an eye, the Rangers pulled off a remarkable comeback in just their second game of the season. That game will certainly set the tone for tomorrow night's home opener at Madison Square Garden, with the Rangers looking to prolong their streak to three games.

Thoughts?