COLUMBUS, Ohio — Nick Foligno scored twice, Sergei Bobrovsky returned from a team suspension and stopped 22 shots and the Columbus Blue Jackets held off a late surge and defeated the New York Rangers 7-5 Sunday night.
Cam Atkinson and Artemi Panarin each had a goal and an assist, Ryan Murray had two assists and nine other players picked up points in the offensive explosion for Columbus. But, two goals by the Rangers late in the third period turned it into a closer game.
The Blue Jackets have won four of the last five, despite being terrible on the power play. They managed the wild victory over the Rangers despite coming up empty on five power plays.
Columbus Blue Jackets’ Markus Nutivaara tries to clear the puck as New York Rangers’ Filip Chytil defends. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
Mats Zuccarello had two goals, and Ryan Stome, Chris Kreider and Jimmy Vesey also scored for the Rangers. Alexandar Georgiev, spelling starter Henrik Lungqvist on the second night of a back-to-back, had 33 saves. New York has lost six of its last seven games.
Anthony Duclair, Lukas Sedlak and David Savard also scored for the Blue Jackets, and Bobrovsky — who had been benched for Thursday’s game for violating a team policy and didn’t play in Saturday’s overtime win over Washington — wasn’t terrific, but held off the Rangers after they pulled the goalie for a sixth skater late in the game.
Zuccarello and Vesey scored to pull the Rangers within a goal, but Foligno’s second goal with 1:26 left in the game gave Columbus some breathing room.
NOTES: Columbus’ 19 shots in the first were the most in a period for the team this season. … Blue Jackets D Zach Werenski played in his 200th NHL game. … Rick Nash, who was the first star of the Columbus franchise, did the ceremonial puck drop. The 34-year-old Nash retired because of concussion issues after 15 seasons. … New York D Neal Pionk returned after missing a game with a lower-body injury.
UP NEXT
New York: Hosts Carolina on Tuesday.
Columbus: Hosts New Jersey on Tuesday.
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Mitch Stacy, The Associated Press
