Columbus fans could breathe again shortly into the Blue Jackets’ overtime period at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers. Kirill Marchenko scored his second goal of the game to give his squad a 5-4 win after they gave up a 4-0 lead in the third period to force extra time.

Columbus scored two goals in each of the first two periods and appeared to be cruising to a victory and two much-needed points in the standings. The scores came from four different Jackets – Marchenko and Adam Fantilli in the opening frame, then Sean Monahan and Mathieu Olivier in the second.

Immediately in the third period, things took a nasty turn. The Rangers scored twice in the first 54 seconds and the contest’s complexion changed dramatically. New York added goals at the 12:52 and 15:14 marks to even the score at 4-4 and head to OT. Marchenko’s winning goal ended the horror show for Columbus.

The Blue Jackets now trail the Boston Bruins by three points for the second wild card spot in the NHL’s Eastern Division. Washington is between the two teams, just two points behind Boston. The Capitals, however, have played three more games than both Columbus and the Bruins.

The Blue Jackets return to Nationwide Arena Tuesday for a game against Nashville. The Predators, playing in the Western Conference, are also three points out of a playoff spot. In their last outing, the Preds lost in overtime Saturday at Dallas. Tuesday’s game gets underway at 7:00 p.m.