Adam Fantilli registered his second career hat trick and Mathieu Olivier and Dante Fabbro each added a goal and an assist as the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets pulled away for a 7-3 victory over the New York Rangers on Sunday night.
The win sent the Blue Jackets into the first wild-card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The big night by Fantilli upped the Blue Jackets to 70 points, one ahead of the Ottawa Senators.
Fantilli scored twice in 26 seconds to start a four-goal second period for Columbus, and he completed the hat trick with a goal into a slightly vacated net with 8:09 left in the third. Fantilli — who also had a hat trick on Jan. 22 at Toronto — became the fifth Blue Jackets player to reach 20 goals this season.
Olivier scored his first goal since signing a six-year contract extension Wednesday. It came on a redirection with 2:57 remaining in the second to snap a 3-3 tie.
Zach Werenski set up Olivier’s goal and assisted a first-period tally by Justin Danforth to give him 260 career assists and surpass Rick Nash for the most in team history.
Fabbro added a goal late in the second, and Dmitri Voronkov set up two of Fantilli’s tallies.
Artemi Panarin tied a career high by scoring in a fifth straight game as the Rangers dropped their third straight (0-1-2) and heard loud boos in the final minute. New York’s 68 points are two ahead of the Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins.
Braden Schneider and Chris Kreider scored short-handed goals 42 seconds apart, but the Rangers struggled defensively all night.
Columbus goalie Daniil Tarasov made nine of his 32 saves during three New York power plays. Rangers netminder Jonathan Quick allowed seven goals on 28 shots.
After Danforth and Panarin traded tallies in the first period, Fantilli began the wild second where the teams combined for six goals.
Fantilli scored on a shot from the right circle 3:07 into the period after Voronkov forced a turnover by Will Borgen along the boards in New York’s offensive zone. Fantilli scored again when he went to the net and converted Voronkov’s centering pass after Schneider misplayed the puck behind the net.
Schneider pulled the Blueshirts within one by blasting a shot from the left circle past Tarasov 6:54 into the second. Kreider tied it when he finished off a two-on-zero with Mika Zibanejad.
After Olivier and Fabbro scored in the final 2:57 of the second, the Blue Jackets scored twice in a span of 94 seconds in the third to finish off their fifth win in seven games.
–Field Level Media
