COLUMBUS, Ohio — Sunday was a rare night this season for the Columbus Blue Jackets where almost every facet of their game — even the aspects that have routinely frustrated them — came together and thrived in clutch moments against one of the NHL’s top clubs.
The power play scored a goal. The penalty kill was perfect. Even a third-period lead was protected with only a few little hiccups, sending the Blue Jackets to a 4-2 win over the New York Rangers before a sold-out crowd of 18,293 in Nationwide Arena.
The loss snapped the Rangers’ franchise-record-tying win streak at 10 consecutive games, making it all the sweeter for Columbus.
But the lingering memory for many took place only 2:12 into the game, shortly after Blue Jackets’ fourth-liner Mathieu Olivier and Rangers’ behemoth fourth-liner Matt Rempe came over the boards for their first shifts of the game.
Olivier and Rempe could be seen chatting during warm-ups, but Olivier said it wasn’t the precursor to a scrap. He was merely complimenting Rempe on his well-publicized fight on Saturday against Philadelphia’s Nicolas Deslauriers.
“I just told him ‘Great tilt (Saturday), and I hope you’re doing all right because that was a tough one,’” Olivier said. “He said, ‘Yeah, I’m good.’
“Then, first shift, he came and asked me (to fight). There’s a lot of respect there for him, for doing that. Kudos to him. He’s doing a good job getting noticed.”
Rempe has been a major story in New York during the Rangers’ recent hot streak, not just his fighting but some thunderous hits he’s landed. He became an instance folk here, much like New York Giants quarterback Tommy Devito did a couple of months back.
But Rempe’s legend took its first dent on Sunday.
MATHIEU OLIVIER THREW SOME HAYMAKERS AT MATT REMPE 😳🥊 pic.twitter.com/eJvC4sLZeM
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) February 25, 2024
Olivier, who is six inches shorter and 20 pounds lighter than Rempe, landed a flurry of rights on the 6-foot-7 rookie. They’re all uppercuts when you’re a towering galoot like Rempe, but Olivier’s right was coming from over the top and up and under.
Olivier’s second punch sent Rempe’s helmet sailing. He landed at least 10 flush punches, including the three-punch flurry at the end of the fight that sent Rempe tumbling backward to the ice.
Asked if he saw something in Rempe’s fighting that he was able to expose, Olivier chuckled and smiled. The big guy was playing only his fifth NHL game.
“Strategy, huh?” he said. “There is some, yeah, but I’m not gonna tell ya. I’m going to keep that to myself.
“I didn’t know much about him (until recently). He’s coming in and making a name for himself. It’s just two guys doing their jobs. Nothing but respect.”
While Olivier took a triumphant skate to the penalty box under loud approval from the crowd, NHL official Ryan Daisy took a long look at Rempe and sent him to the Rangers’ dressing room for repairs. Olivier appeared to have Rempe’s blood on the left shoulder of his sweater.
“Two tough guys going at it,” Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent said. “The reaction of the fans tells you (what they thought of it). The bench was the same. Oli is our guy and he’s really good at it. He’s a strong man.
“It sends a message to the whole league. We can play that style of game if that’s what other teams want to do. Olivier got challenged. Everybody knows about the fight (Saturday) in Philly. But that part of the game, as far as we’re concerned, we’re pretty good at it.”
The Blue Jackets knew they were up against it on Sunday. The Rangers came into the game atop the NHL standings. They hadn’t lost since Jan. 26, almost an entire month.
And while Olivier didn’t register a point — he played only 9:27 in the game — there’s no question that his actions contributed to the Blue Jackets starting on the right track.
“That’s the whole point of a fight,” Olivier said. “When you get a good one like that, it’s gonna do the job. I’m happy it worked. That’s the whole reason we do it.”
Dmitry Voronkov, Kirill Marchenko and Jack Roslovic each had a goal and an assist for the Blue Jackets, while Ivan Provorov also scored and Johnny Gaudreau had two assists. Goaltender Elvis Merzlikins was sharp, too, making 38 saves, 18 of them in a perfect third period.
Voronkov’s goal, his 16th of the season, gave the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead at 4:34 of the first period, when the glow of Olivier’s fight could still be felt in Nationwide.
But it was in the second period when the Blue Jackets pulled away from the Rangers. Marchenko scored off a nifty Voronkov pass just 18 seconds into the period to make it 2-1. Roslovic scored off an odd-man rush to make it 3-2 at 11:57, and Provorov scored — also off the rush — for a 4-2 lead.
“We played a really smart game,” Vincent said. “Their transition game is so good. They use the full length of the ice. Guys were ready. We played a real smart game.”
The Blue Jackets’ third-period struggles have been a major issue this season. They’ve won 19 games this season, but in 13 others they had the lead in the third period and couldn’t hold it, The Rangers, meanwhile, have 18 comeback wins this season, tied for most in the NHL.
The recipe for disaster, right?
But this time the Blue Jackets didn’t cave. They were outshot 18-11 in the final 20 minutes, but the Rangers pulled goaltender Jonathan Quick with three minutes to play. They also spent most of the final 2:13 on a 6-on-4 power play after Voronkov went off for a faceoff violation.
Merzlikins was outstanding in the final minutes.
“We’re growing. We’re learning from the past,” Vincent said. “We’ve had more success recently (holding onto leads). There’s more confidence. We’re not just giving time and space to make sure we don’t get beat. We’re still pressuring. We still make plays when we can, but we manage the puck properly under pressure.
“It’s a team that’s learning and tonight was the result of those (earlier) setbacks. Hopefully, we’re going to keep on growing. We locked it down in the third. It was good to see.”
(Photo: Russell LaBounty / USA Today)
