The month started and ended well. Three days removed from their only defeat, the Rangers took the rematch over the Blue Jackets 4-1 to finish a near perfect February.

After a disappointing January that saw them go 5-7-2, the Rangers flipped the script by going 10-1-0 this month. By posting such a good record in February, they lengthened their Metropolitan Division lead to seven points over the Hurricanes. The Canes will visit the Blue Jackets tomorrow on Leap Day.

Panarin Leads the Way

As has been a constant throughout the season, Artemi Panarin led the way by scoring his team-leading 34th and 35th goals. He also added an assist for a three-point game, hiking his point total to 82. That ranks fifth for the league lead in scoring.

Although it’s unlikely that he’ll become a candidate for the Hart Trophy, Panarin has taken his game to another level. It’s hard to imagine where the Rangers would be without him. He’s carried the offense at even strength while continuing to be a weapon on the power play. He even has shown a willingness to take the body.

It’s safe to say that Rangers coach Peter Laviolette has gotten the best out of the Bread Man. He’s played with more determination and been a leader.

Shesterkin Has Perfect February

Entering the month, Igor Shesterkin was searching for his confidence. Out of the break, some extra time off turned out to be a wise move by the Blueshirts. They rode Jonathan Quick to two early victories before Shesterkin returned to the net.

The rejuvenated starting goalie continued to play well. After getting Feb. 25 off, he was back making 30 saves against the Blue Jackets to finish with a perfect record in February. He went 7-0-0 with a 1.72 goals-against-average (GAA), and .953 save percentage for the month.

On Wednesday night, he was dialed in. When the Blue Jackets made it interesting in the third period, Shesterkin held it together by stopping 11 of 12 shots to get the win. That included some timely saves with Columbus pressing for the equalizer. He was at his best when the Rangers needed him to be.

Merzlikins Strong in First Period

In the early going, it was the stellar play of Elvis Merzlikins that was the story. Facing a barrage of dangerous scoring chances created by a more aggressive Rangers’ attack, the Blue Jackets’ starting netminder had a strong first period. He stopped all 17 shots sent his way to keep the game scoreless.

Similar to the third period he played this past Sunday, Merzlikins had it all working. He made a few sparkling glove saves to give his team a chance. He was very good against the Rangers, making 26 saves for the game, including 24 through two periods.

The only shots that beat him came from former teammate Panarin and Adam Fox. Merzlikins also channeled Dominik Hasek by venturing way out of his net to make a diving poke check on a Vincent Trocheck rush. It was a chaotic sequence. But Merzlikins wasn’t victimized on the exciting play.

For some reason, he seems to play his best against the Rangers. He certainly helped his cause in the two-game home and home series.

Blueshirts Score Twice in Second Period

Even though they generated more quality chances in a well played first, the Blueshirts were able to solve Merzlikins by scoring twice in the second period.

On what was a simple faceoff play, following a Trocheck win in the Blue Jackets’ zone, the puck took a favorable hop right to Panarin. He wisely fired a quick shot that fooled Merzlikins. The puck went between his pads to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead with 12:43 remaining.

It remained that way until a wild collision between Trocheck and Johnny Gaudreau led to some chaos. With Gaudreau’s head down, he was nailed by an off balance Trocheck to the ice. The Blue Jackets’ leading scorer stayed down for a while.

Displeased with what transpired, Blue Jackets forward Mathieu Olivier gave Trocheck a vicious cross-check from behind to send him down. With Matt Rempe away from the action, Fox got involved in the scrum.

Initially, the refs ruled that Trocheck had a five-minute major. However, they were able to review the original call on video replay. Once they saw that it was an incidental collision, they overturned their call. Trocheck wasn’t given a penalty. But Olivier was for cross-checking. That gave the Rangers a power play.

While on it, they took advantage. On what was a bad break for Blue Jackets defenseman Erik Gudbranson, he had the puck go over his stick right to Chris Kreider. That allowed Kreider to feed a wide open Fox in the slot for his 10th goal of the season with 5:41 left in the second. His power-play goal proved pivotal.

The Rangers took a two-goal lead to the locker room.

Sillinger Gets One for Blue Jackets

The third period was about survival. Predictably, the Rangers went into prevent mode. They backed up. Fortunately, it didn’t cost them the game.

However, that allowed the Blue Jackets to come with a lot of speed and create opportunities. It was a mistake by Shesterkin that got Columbus back in it.

On a play behind his net, an aggressive Shesterkin played the puck around the boards. However, Damon Severson intercepted it and fired a tough shot on Shesterkin that rebounded out for Cole Sillinger to score on at 3:24. That made it a one-goal game with plenty of time remaining.

Shesterkin would also take a tripping penalty for taking down Kirill Marchenko less than a couple of minutes later. But the Rangers did a good job to bail out their goalie.

Cuylle Answers Voronkov’s Challenge

With the Rangers still ahead by one, Will Cuylle hit Blue Jackets defenseman Ivan Provorov from behind into the boards. He was lucky a penalty wasn’t called. Cuylle was forced to answer Dmitri Voronkov’s challenge for the borderline hit.

It wasn’t a long fight. Voronkov got off a few early punches to get the decision. Both players were given five minutes for fighting with 4:28 left. They headed to the dressing room.

Cuylle hits hard. Most of his checks are clean. In this instance, it wasn’t. He probably deserved two minutes for boarding.

Kreider makes it 30 goals

With Merzlikins lifted for an extra attacker, the Blue Jackets got set up in the Rangers’ zone. However, an overpass led to a turnover. Trocheck intercepted the puck and got it to Jimmy Vesey. He then passed for Panarin, who got it in front for Kreider, who made it 30 goals with the empty netter.

It’s the third straight season that Kreider’s scored 30 goals or more. In 2021-22, he had a career best 52 to tie Adam Graves for the second most goals scored by a New York Ranger in a single season. Jaromir Jagr holds the record with 54 scored in 2005-06. In 2022-23, Kreider scored 36. He has 30 with 22 games remaining this season.

For good measure, Panarin added another empty netter late to get his 35th.