Rangers Can’t Keep Up With Blue Jackets In 6-3 Loss

The New York Rangers continue to sink deeper into the basement of the Eastern Conference.

Despite goals from stars Vincent Trocheck, Mika Zibanejad, and the red-hot Alexis Lafrieniere, the Rangers couldn't keep the puck out of the net in a 6-3 loss at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Center Adam Fantili scored twice for the Jackets, who also got three assists from Norris Trophy candidate Zach Werenski. Goaltender Igor Shesterkin could not withstand the Blue Jackets barrage, stopping just 31 of 36 shots in a game that effectively would've been stealing a win had the Rangers come out on top.

Columbus outshot New York 37-25 overall on the night, bolstered by 10 takeaways. The Rangers' giveaway-to-takeaway ratio (19-to-5) simply wasn't sustainable.

The game wasn't necessarily unwinnable. Lafrieniere's goal, his 20th of the season, made it a 4-3 game early in the third period. But less than six minutes later, veteran defenseman Damon Severson made a savvy play to pull out of the offensive zone and gain a clean zone entry, setting up a fresh opportunity. Severson passed it off to Cole Sillinger, who executed a give-and-go with a streaking Severson right down Broadway, and Severson finished the golden opportunity to give the Blue Jackets an insurance goal, and an ugly sequence for the Rangers' defenders. Fantilli popped it into the empty net late in the third to ice the game for good.

An unexpected recent bright spot for the Rangers, Lafreniere has scored eight goals and 15 points in 12 games since returning from the Olympic break.

With the loss, the Rangers dropped to 28-33-8 (64 points) on the season, the worst record in the Eastern Conference, with now a six-point game between themselves and the second-worst team, the Toronto Maple Leafs (29-28-12, 70 points). But they somehow only have the third-worst record in the NHL, ahead of only the Calgary Flames (27-34-7, 61 points) and Vancouver Canucks (21-39-8, 50 points).

The Rangers have the third-best odds to land the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft lottery. They will also have a late first-round pick via the Stars or the Hurricanes, whichever pick ends up higher (the Stars pick, as of Friday), as a condition of the K'Andre Miller trade.