COLUMBUS, Ohio _ The Rangers can take it as a compliment that the Blue Jackets saw their presence enough motivation for shaking off the lost chance at history. For their part, the Rangers proved worthy of the respect, even if the outcome was not one for the ages.
Maybe the Rangers' 5-4 victory on Saturday night, which Michael Grabner sealed with a steal and breakaway goal with 16.5 seconds left, will mean plenty in April. No doubt the triumph, which came after the Rangers had trailed by three, will be a big mood-lifter this week, when they have a schedule-mandate spate of five days without a game.
Anyway, Saturday night had the makings of a letdown for both teams. Circumstances had seemed almost perfectly set up, with Columbus on course to try for a possible unprecedented 18th consecutive victory against a respected and familiar nemesis. But the Blue Jackets' loss on Thursday took the air out of that lofty balloon _ for the Rangers, too. The streak was stopped at 16 games, one short of the record set by the 1992-93 Penguins. So the focus was on the fact that, despite having won 16 in a row, the Blue Jackets were only three points ahead of the Rangers in the Metropolitan Division. Proximity took precedence over history.
It sure was a night that Adam Clendening never will forget. The Rangers defenseman entered without a goal and scored twice in the third period, once on a power play from the left circle and once, at 12:57, from the right boards against backup goalie Curtis McElhinney to complete a comeback from a 4-1 deficit.
There is no telling what sort of electricity would have filled Nationwide Arena had the Blue Jackets not lost on Thursday, costing themselves a shot at setting an NHL record for consecutive victories and robbing the Rangers of a chance to block it.
As it was, the Rangers had their hands full just trying to stop the Columbus attack. Before the game, Alain Vigneault was wary of the Blue Jackets' league-leading power play. "It has been without a doubt one of their big weapons this year. It gives them momentum and their execution is a challenge for any team," the Rangers coach said. "Staying out of the box would be a good idea."
Easier said than done. Ten seconds into the Rangers' first penalty, Cam Atkinson converted a goalmouth feed from Sam Gagner past a defenseless Henrik Lundqvist. That was only 4:37 into the game and already it was 2-0 (preceded by Markus Nutivaara's long slap shot at 1:54).
John Tortorella had promised a spirited response from the team that had its streak snapped in Washington, 5-0, Thursday. Earlier, the Blue Jackets coach said, "We have zero reason to have a hangover. I think we've gained some respect in the league: 37 games worth. Squat. You look at our division, you look what's happening there, you look at the parity there, you cannot exhale."
Not even after the lead grew to 4-1 in the second period as Lukas Sedlak scored on a breakaway. The Rangers cut it back to 4-2 one minute and 12 seconds later as Michael Grabner turned on his considerable speed, coming out of a defensive zone faceoff and increased his team-leading goal total to 17.
As Tortorella had said hour earlier, in one last postmortem on the streak, "We're playing the New York Rangers, a very good hockey club. A Saturday night," he said. "This is a very good game to come back with."
