Alexis Lafreniere tied the game with 11 seconds left and added the only goal of a 3-round shootout to help the New York Rangers knock off the Columbus Blue Jackets Sunday night at Madison Square Garden.
Lafreniere also scored a goal past the halfway point of period 2, but going back to the start, Columbus' Justin Danforth (6) had the opening goal at 16:26 of the 1st period. It didn't take long for the Rangers to knot things at 1, though, after Chris Kreider's 10th of the season created that tie heading to the 2nd period. Lafreniere made it 2-1 New York at 11:17 before Columbus once again made it a tie game from Adam Fantilli (4) at 12:35 and then Sean Kuraly (5) just 19 seconds later to give the Jackets a 3-2 lead heading into the 3rd. The only goal there was by Lafreniere at 19:49 for an improbable 3-3 tie heading into overtime.
After an uneventful overtime in question, things headed to a shootout, where NY's Artemi "Breadman" Panarin had his shot saved by Columbus goaltender Elvis Merzlikins. Columbus' first attempt was a crossbar off and out by Johnny Gaudreau. In round 2, birthday partner Mika Zibanejad (April 18, 1993 for those unaware), had his shot stopped by Merzlikins and the Jackets' Patrick Laine saw his attempt gloved by NY veteran goalie Jonathan Quick. Lafreniere then roofed NY's next attempt on the backhand over Merslikins, and then Quick stopped Columbus' Alexandre Texier's backhand attempt for the game winning save.
The Rangers improve to 11-2-1, firmly atop the Metro with their 3rd straight win yesterday. Their next contest is a trip across the Hudson to clash with longtime rival New Jersey, scheduled for 7 pm on November 18. Columbus drops to 4-7-4 and remains dead last in the Metro, now losing 5 straight. Their next game is a home battle against Pittsburgh on November 14, scheduled for 7 pm.
Team Stats:
Shots: CBJ 28, NYR 40
Hits: CBJ 11, NYR 18
Faceoff Wins: CBJ 24, NYR 45
PIM: CBJ 10, NYR 6
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