New York Rangers vs Blue Jackets: A bitter 2-1 last minute loss

The New York Rangers dropped a 2-1 decision to the Columbus Blue Jackets on two third period goals, the last with 26.5 second left in the game.

David Quinn called this the biggest game of the year for the New York Rangers’ playoff hopes and they laid an egg.  Ironically, it was one of the best defensive games of the year, but they lost some of their discipline in the third period and it cost them big time.

The Blue Jackets are a team that plays a tough, disciplined style.  They are never out of a game and they are opportunistic.  The hockey gods are smiling on Columbus and the Rangers got a tough lesson in this game.

Columbus surprised everyone by not starting Elvis Merzlinkins and going with Matiss Kivlenieks, a Latvian goalie making his NHL debut.  Kivlenieks had an outstanding game, outplaying Igor Shesterkin, who was almost as good in net for the Rangers.

Both goals were scored by Oliver Bjorkstrand who was cleared to play just this day after missing a month with a rib injury.  Bjorkstrand is the kind of player the Rangers need to find to succeed in the future. There’s a lesson to be learned looking at his career.

Bjorkstrand was a third round draft pick in 2013, selected 89th overall while playing for Portland in the WHL. The Rangers had no first or second round picks that year, but did have three picks in the third round.  Before the Danish forward was selected, they took Adam Tambellini 65th overall, Pavel Buchnevich 75th overall and Anthony Duclair 80th.    Did they miss on Tambellini?  Absolutely, but you cannot argue with Buchnevich or Duclair.

The important thing to note about Bjorkstrand is that though he was drafted in 2013, he played two more seasons in the WHL, then most of a season in the AHL before  making his NHL debut.  He didn’t make his mark as a fulltime NHLer until 2017-18 and blossomed into a 20 goal scorer in 2018-19. It wasn’t until his sixth season in the Columbus organization that he became a meaningful NHL player at age 23.

And that brings us to the Rangers.  The expectations we have placed on a team of 20-somethings is unfair. Brett Howden is four years out of his draft year.  Filip Chytil is in his third.  Kaapo Kakko is in his first. Vitali Kravtsov is in his second.  Lias Andersson was in his third. Bjorkstrand scored 11 goals in the fifth year after his draft year.   Now he is a 20 goal scorer.

The fact that defensemen like Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren are playing so well is remarkable.  Tony DeAngelo has finally broken through, six years after he was drafted.  Face it, New York Ranger fans are impatient and in a rebuild, patience is a requirement.

The good thing about this loss to Columbus, as bitter as it was, is that the Rangers played one of their better defensive games of the year against one of the best teams in the NHL (right now).  It will be another learning lesson for the kids and the team will see the benefits in the future.  As disappointing a loss as this was, it was a step in the right direction.