Late goal by Michael Grabner rallies Rangers

COLUMBUS -- The New York Rangers were determined winners, and the Columbus Blue Jackets' 16-game winning streak seems like a distant memory.
The Rangers trailed by three goals in the second period at Nationwide Arena on Saturday but rallied to win 5-4 on Michael Grabner's third goal of the game with 17 seconds left.

"We played one real solid period that enabled us to win the game," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said.
WATCH: All Rangers vs. Blue Jackets highlights
The Blue Jackets (27-7-4) have lost two straight -- and given up 10 goals -- after the second-longest winning streak in NHL history.
Grabner scored the winner when Columbus defenseman Seth Jones lost possession at the attacking blue line. Grabner got the puck and scored his 19th goal on a breakaway.

"Once the guy fanned on the puck I saw a chance to go and it worked out," Grabner said.
Grabner's first goal pulled New York (28-13-1) to within 4-2 and his second tied it at 4-4.

Adam Clendening scored on the power play at 1:22 of the third to make it 4-3. Clendening used a screen by J.T. Miller to score from distance on backup goalie Curtis McElhinney.
"The third period, it starts with a power play that I think needs to be saved, and it mounts," Columbus coach John Tortorella said. "I don't want to put it all on [McElhinney] but we do need a couple of saves there."
Oscar Lindberg had a goal and an assist, and Henrik Lundqvist made 33 saves for the Rangers.
Scott Hartnell had a goal and an assist, and Sam Gagner two assists for Columbus. Cam Atkinson, Markus Nutivaara and Lukas Sedlak also scored. McElhinney made 29 saves.

After being shut out 5-0 at the Washington Capitals on Thursday to end the winning streak, Nutivaara and Atkinson gave the Blue Jackets a 2-0 lead before Lindberg's first goal of the season at 14:01 of the first period made it 2-1. Hartnell scored his 10th at 15:57 for a 3-1 lead.

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Goal of the game

Grabner's third goal was most timely. He immediately got separation after the turnover by Jones and slipped his shot under McElhinney on the backhand.

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Save of the game

Lundqvist kept the game tied 4-4 with 2:47 to play when he found himself staring down Jones, who was moving toward the net after taking a pass from the left boards. Lundqvist did not yield, gave Jones no room to shoot and made the save.

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Unsung performance of the game

It didn't seem critical at the time, but New York killed successive Columbus power plays in the first period after the Blue Jackets, the top power play in the NHL, scored on their first try for a 2-0 lead.

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Highlight of the game

The Blue Jackets took a 2-0 lead at 4:37 of the first, scoring 10 seconds into a power play with exquisite passing. Defenseman Zach Werenski showed poise in keeping possession in the zone. The puck eventually went to Nick Foligno below the line. He sent a blind, between-the-legs pass to Gagner, who sent the puck the across the crease to Atkinson for the goal.

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They said it

"When some pucks went in we got nervous and lost ourselves a little bit." --Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella
"At that point you just have to battle, get a good bounce or something. I knew if I gave up one more goal the game was over, my game might be over. I was fighting for ice time." -- Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist on the Blue Jackets' 4-1 lead
"Regardless of the score we wanted to play hard. It certainly wasn't going our way. It was great to see us play with some energy and capitalize on our chances." -- Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh on the attitude going into the third period

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Need to know

The Blue Jackets' record eight-game home winning streak ended. … The Rangers are 3-10-0 when trailing after two periods. … The Blue Jackets are 20-3-3 when scoring first. … Grabner has five goals and two assists in the past two games. … Atkinson has 11 goals and 18 points in the past 15 games. … Gagner has six goals and 17 points in the past 15 games. ... Columbus fell one short of the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins, who won 17 in a row.

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What's next

Rangers: Host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday (7 p.m., ET; MSG, TSN4, NHL.TV)
Blue Jackets: Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday (6 p.m. ET; FS-O, TCN-PH, NHL.TV)