Rangers’ playoff chances take a hit with loss to Columbus

At least when they blew a two-goal lead in the third period Saturday in Ottawa and lost in overtime, the Rangers were able to take away a point that helped them in their battle to make the playoffs.

Sunday, against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Madison Square Garden, in their last game before an upcoming three-game road trip, they couldn’t even do that.

The Blue Jackets scored four goals in the second period to take a lead, then got two more in the third to pull away and rout the Rangers, 7-3, leapfrogging the Ottawa Senators into the first wild-card spot in the East, while the Rangers remain on the outside looking in.

Adam Fantilli had a hat trick for Columbus (31-24-8, 70 points) and backup goaltender Daniil Tarasov, getting a surprise start, made 31 saves to doom the Rangers, who failed to score on four power play opportunities, extending their drought with the man advantage to four games. They are scoreless on their last 14 power plays.

Jonathan Quick made 20 saves for the Rangers.

The regulation loss, following two straight overtime losses, leaves the Rangers with a record of 31-27-6 (68 points), one point behind Ottawa for the second wild card. The Blueshirts leave for a three-game road trip that will see them play in Winnipeg, Minnesota and a rematch Saturday in Columbus against the Blue Jackets.

Coming off a painful 4-3 overtime loss Saturday in Ottawa, in which they blew a 3-1 third-period lead, the Rangers had little choice but to get over their disappointment and turn their attention to another one of the teams in the playoff chase with them.

“We’re playing a team that’s fresh (not having played Saturday) and right near us in the standings,’’ Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said before the game. “They’ve got good young players, and we’re going to need a 60-minute effort … It’s not just about the start. It’s not about the ending. It’s going to be a 60-minute grind.’’

The Rangers, who have had trouble in giving up goals early in games, fell behind in this one on a goal by Justin Danforth, who was alone at the back post to tap in a feed from Zach Werenski at 5:56. But the red-hot Artemi Panarin got them level with 28.1 seconds remaining in the period, tipping a shot by Alexis Lafreniere past Tarasov for his 28th goal of the season. It was the fifth consecutive game in which Panarin has scored a goal.

Columbus, though, regained the lead, then expanded it on two goals by Fantilli that came 26 seconds apart early in the second period. First, Fantilli picked up a loose puck just inside the Blue Jackets zone and drove his way up the ice on a two-on-one with Dmitry Voronkov against K’Andre Miller. Fantilli then whipped a shot over the glove hand of Quick to make it 2-1 at 3:07. Then, at 3:33, Fantilli was open at the back post to tap in a feed from Voronkov to make it 3-1.

Things appeared to get worse when Will Cuylle was called for a holding penalty at 6:13, but the Rangers tied the game with two shorthanded goals, the first by Braden Schneider at 6:54, and the second by Chris Kreider, who passed the puck back-and-forth with Mika Zibanejad on a 2-on-0 break before scoring at 7:36.

It was the first time the Rangers scored two shorthanded goals while killing the same power play since March 5, 2014 against Toronto.

But the Blue Jackets stunned the Rangers and the Garden crowd with two late goals, from Mathieu Olivier at 17:03 and from Dante Fabbro, on a shot through traffic at 18:47, to make it 5-3.

Olivier was credited with Columbus’ sixth goal at 10:17 of the third period, when his backhand shot was saved by Quick and the puck popped up in the air. Rangers defenseman Zac Jones gloved it, but Columbus’ Kent Johnson swung his stick at Jones’ glove and the puck popped up in the air, over Quick and into the net.

Fantilli completed his hat trick 1:34 later.

Notes & quotes: Besides starting Quick in goal, Laviolette made one other change to the lineup, inserting Brett Berard in place of Juuso Parssinen. Berard drew two penalties in the first period, giving the Rangers two power plays.