It was a hockey night in Columbus, but the game played by the Blue Jackets and New York Rangers looked more like soccer on skates Oct. 17 at Nationwide Arena.
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Shots were difficult to generate, outside of power plays, open looks around the net were scarce and the goalies were razor sharp while pushing the game into overtime tied 0-0. Finally, after 63:26 without a goal, Kent Johnson ended it by scoring 3:26 into OT to lift the Blue Jackets to a 1-0 victory over the Rangers (6-3-1).
Jet Greaves made 30 saves for his first shutout of the season for the Blue Jackets (3-3-0), while Dylan Garand took a tough luck OT loss for New York after stopping 29 of 30 shots. Taking a pass from Zach Werenski during 3-on-3 in OT, Johnson rifled a wrist shot past Garand for the winner on his fourth goal of the season.
The Blue Jackets will now go for a back-to-back sweep on the road Oct. 18 at the Minnesota Wild.
DispatchBlue Jackets/Crew reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Kent Johnson lifts Columbus Blue Jackets past New York Rangers in OT