Cuylle scores the winning goal late in the 3rd period as Rangers rally to beat Blue Jackets 4-3

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Will Cuylle scored the go-ahead goal with 1:39 left and the New York Rangers rallied to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 on Saturday night.

Mika Zibanejad had a goal and an assist, Arthur Kaliyev and Urho Vaakanainen also scored — a goal originally credited to Cuylle, who got the assist — and Vincent Trocheck had two assists to help the Rangers win for the third time in four games. Jonathan Quick made 22 saves.

Kent Johnson, Justin Danforth, and James van Riemsdyk scored for Columbus in its fourth straight loss, including the last two at home. Elvis Merzlikins made 36 saves and the Blue Jackets remained one point behind Detroit for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot.

Vaakanainen scored his first goal of the season and second of his NHL career to tie it for the Rangers 1:57 into the third period.

Takeaways

Rangers: New York looked poised to dominate after taking a 1-0 lead just 1:56 into the first period on Kaliyev's goal, but twice fell behind before rallying for the win in the third.

Blue Jackets: Columbus came out flat-footed and fell behind early before coach Dean Evason gave the team a wake-up call during the first media timeout. The Blue Jackets responded by taking the lead in both the first and second periods but failed to close out the victory.

Key Moment

Cuylle corralled a loose puck on the right side on a clearing attempt by the Blue Jackets, skated around to the left side, turned and fired the puck through traffic. It was determined after the game the puck deflected off Vaakanainen and past Merzlikins to tie it early in the third period.

Key Stat

Zach Werenski's assist on Johnson's goal extended his home point streak to 21 games, the fifth-longest by a defenseman in NHL history and the third-longest by an American-born player. He continues to extend the Blue Jackets' single-season record for points by a defenseman (59) and is now just four assists behind Rick Nash (258) for the team's all-time lead.

Up Next

Both teams head into the 4 Nations Face-Off break. The Rangers visit Buffalo on Feb. 22, and the Blue Jackets host Chicago.

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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL