Vincent gets first win as NHL coach in CBJ victory over Rangers

COLUMBUS -- Boone Jenner scored a natural hat trick for the Columbus Blue Jackets to help coach Pascal Vincent to his first NHL win, 5-3 against the New York Rangers at Nationwide Arena on Saturday.

“Obviously, it doesn’t happen often so I tried to soak it in when it happens,” Boone said of his second NHL hat trick. “It’s pretty cool and the fans were cheering; pretty special. I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s a good feeling.”

Johnny Gaudreau and Ivan Provorov each had two assists, and Elvis Merzlikins made 24 saves on 25 shots for the Blue Jackets (1-1-0) before leaving after two periods because of illness. Spencer Martin made 15 saves in his Columbus debut.

“We managed the game really well the first two periods,” Vincent said. “It got a little tight in the third, but it’s a process. A really hard win bouncing back from a loss.”

The 52-year-old was named coach Sept. 17, replacing Mike Babcock, who resigned. He lost his NHL coaching debut when the Philadelphia Flyers defeated Columbus 4-2 here Thursday.

Erik Gustafsson had a goal and an assist, Adam Fox had two assists, and Igor Shesterkin made 16 saves for the Rangers (1-1-0).

“The process was good,” New York forward Chris Kreider said. “We generated a lot of shot attempts but we gave up a few too many big chances and they capitalized.”

Gustafsson gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead at 50 seconds of the first period. He sent a pass across the slot intended for Jimmy Vesey and the puck deflected in off Blue Jackets forward Liam Foudy in the right circle.

Rangers forward Filip Chytil had a goal overturned at 5:26 after Vincent challenged for offside.

Jenner tied it 1-1 at 9:36, scoring from the right side of the net.

Mika Zibanejad had a goal overturned for the Rangers at 10:53 after another offside challenge.

Columbus forward Patrik Laine then had a goal overturned at 12:36. Video review determined the puck was not completely over the goal line when New York defenseman Jacob Trouba dived and swiped it away.

Jenner gave the Blue Jackets a 2-1 lead on the power play at 17:45 when he redirected a shot by Gaudreau.

“We were on the right side of two of those and then obviously it changes the game,” said Jenner, the Columbus captain. “So, definitely wanted to take advantage of that.”

Jenner made it 3-1 at 12:30 of the second period, deflecting Jake Bean’s point shot out of the air.

“We were getting a lot of good looks but equally giving up a lot of good looks,” said Trouba, the New York captain. “We just lost the tightness we had and dug ourselves too deep of a whole.”

David Jiricek extended the lead to 4-1 at 13:37. It was the defenseman’s first NHL point in his fifth game.

He was recalled from Cleveland of the American Hockey League on Friday when defenseman Zach Werenski was placed on injured reserve with a quad contusion.

“In the first I was a little nervous,” said Jiricek, the No. 6 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. “It was my first start (with the Blue Jackets) this year, so it was tough. I handled it well and want to just keep it going right now.”

Will Cuylle cut it to 4-2 at 10:53 of the third period. It was the forward’s first NHL point in his sixth game. 

Justin Danforth pushed the lead to 5-2 at 15:54, finishing a 2-on-0 off a pass from Cole Sillinger. 

With Shesterkin pulled for the extra attacker, Kreider scored on the power play at 19:24 for the 5-3 final.

NOTES: Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren (upper body) was a late scratch. … Jenner’s first hat trick was against the Boston Bruins on March 12, 2019. … Blue Jackets forward Kirill Marchenko got his third assist and is one shy of his total from last season (59 games).