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 After whiffing in two previous tries to secure a postseason spot,
the Rangers asserted themselves in the first two periods and then
held off the Blue Jackets in the final period in Nationwide Arena to
advance to the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.
New York (44-26-9) was 0-2-1 in its previous three games and lost to
non-playoff qualifiers Carolina and Buffalo in the past week before
taking care of the business on the road against Columbus (31-40-8),
another opponent that will not be advancing past the regular season.
The Rangers acknowledged afterward that they were feeling some
pressure, particularly in the third period after the Blue Jackets
closed within 3-2 on Nick Foligno's second goal of the game with
9:15 remaining.
With 2:03 left, Rangers center Mats Zuccarello was called for a
high-sticking penalty, and the Blue Jackets applied even more
pressure by pulling rookie goaltender Joonas Korpisalo for an extra
attacker to make it six-on-four.
However, Rangers center Derek Stepan gained control of the puck in
the center of the ice and sent an unassisted, short-handed
backhander into the Columbus empty net for his 20th goal of the
season with 1:11 remaining to secure the victory.
 "Everyone was feeling a little bit of pressure to win a game and get
in," Rangers defenseman Marc Staal said. "Not we can focus on the
way we're playing going into the playoffs."
Chris Kreider, Dan Boyle and Zuccarello scored goals in the first
two periods as the Rangers took a 3-1 lead.
Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist bounced back from a subpar
outing in his previous game to make 27 saves Monday. On Saturday, he
gave up three goals and was pulled early in the second period of a
4-3 loss to the Sabres.
Lundqvist, who improved his record to 34-20-7, extended his winning
streak against Columbus to six games dating to March 2014.
"It hasn't been pretty at times, but playing in this league is a
grind," Lundqvist said. "We're in. It's just a really good feeling.
"It was a great feeling to see how we played and how determined we
were. We were blocking a lot of shots. We scored at the right times
as well. It was a hard-fought game. We knew they were going to play
hard."
Hurt by slow starts in the previous four games, the Rangers scored
first at 6:17 of the first period. Kreider fired a shot from the
left faceoff circle that Korpisalo stopped, but the rebound went
right back to Kreider, and his backhander found the net for his 20th
goal of the season.
Boyle increased the Rangers' lead to 2-0 at 5:28 of the second
period with his ninth goal of the season. His snap shot from a tight
angle to the right of Korpisalo snuck in for an unassisted score.
Columbus closed within 2-1 later in the period when Foligno
redirected a shot by defenseman David Savard from in front of the
goal past Lundqvist.
However, the Rangers responded quickly with a goal from Zuccarello,
his career-high 26th of the season, at 18:14 for a 3-1 lead heading
into the second intermission. Zuccarello had his initial shot bounce
back to him off Blue Jackets defenseman Ryan Murray, and he sent the
rebound past Korpisalo.
"I thought we'd get it tied up with the power play and see what
happens and kind of give them some payback from the start of the
year," Foligno said, "But we couldn't get it done, and we'll just
have to wait until next year to get some retribution.
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Rangers coach Alain Vigneault liked his team's aggressive start and
how it managed to withstand the Blue Jackets' rush at the end to
secure his third trip to the playoffs in three seasons at the helm.
New York has four games remaining before the playoffs begin next
week.
"It's tough to get in the dance," he said. "People don't realize how
hard it is to get a chance to play for the Stanley Cup. We finally
got our checkmark.
"This group has played good hockey for the most part. Now we can
still work for home ice (in the playoffs), and that's what we're
going to do."
The only bad news for the Rangers was an upper-body injury that
captain Ryan McDonagh sustained in the first period when he blocked
a shot on a Blue Jackets power play with his right arm. He finished
the period but didn't return to the game.
Vigneault said the injury will be evaluated overnight and there is a
good chance a player will be called up from the minor leagues to
take McDonagh's place.
The Rangers swept the four-game season series between the
Metropolitan Division opponents. New York is third in the division
with 97 points, three behind the second-place Pittsburgh Penguins,
with three games remaining before the playoffs begin next week.
Korpisalo finished with 26 saves for Columbus, which has three games
left in a disappointing season.
"We just weren't sharp moving the puck," said Blue Jackets coach
John Tortorella, a former Rangers coach. "They were just quicker.
... We had an opportunity at the end to maybe tie it up, but it just
didn't happen."
NOTES: The Rangers entered the final week of the regular season with
a three-game losing streak, including two losses to non-playoff
qualifiers. They were outscored 5-2 in the first period of their
previous four games. ... Rookie G Joonas Korpisalo made his second
consecutive start for the Blue Jackets ahead of regular G Sergei
Bobrovsky. Korpisalo had 26 saves in Columbus' 5-1 win over Carolina
on Saturday. ... F Jared Boll was on the Blue Jackets' fourth line
instead of F Scott Hartnell, who hasn't scored since March 4. ...
The Rangers finish the regular season with three home games,
starting Tuesday night against Tampa Bay. The Blue Jackets play two
of their last three on the road, including Wednesday at Toronto. ...
Blue Jackets D Cody Goloubef sustained an oblique injury in the
opening period and didn't return.
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