COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Patience paid off for Columbus Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella Friday night, and Artemi Panarin picked a great time to notch his first goal for his new team.

The 25-year-old left winger's goal with 12:35 left in the third period proved to be the difference as Columbus edged the New York Rangers 3-1 on Friday night.

Panarin, acquired in a trade from Chicago in June, skated down the center of the ice, starting from his team's blue line, weaving through multiple Rangers before finally beating goaltender Henrik Lundqvist from the high slot.

After getting three assists in the season opener, Panarin and his teammates on the first line had struggled since. To the point, where Tortorella contemplated making some changes.

He fought that urge and instead sought to give Panarin, Alexander Wennberg and Cam Atkinson more ice time. As a result, Panarin finally showed the talent that spurred Columbus to get him.

"That's a dynamic play," Tortorella said. "He made something out of nothing. It was such a quick move and a shot, I think it caught (Lundqvist) opening up."

The entertaining goal upstaged what had been to that point a riveting matchup between Lundqvist and Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.

Kevin Hayes put the Rangers (1-4-0) ahead in the first period. Moments after Columbus (3-1-0) failed to cash in on a power play, the center capitalized on a turnover at center ice to beat Bobrovsky unassisted on a breakaway with 5:25 left in the period.

Bobrovsky shined in the second as he set aside all 18 shots he faced in the period. Then, with 45.8 seconds remaining in the period, Seth Jones' slap shot hit off Mika Zibanejad to beat Lundqvist and tie the game.

The reigning Vezina Trophy winner said seeing Lundqvist's play at the other end of the rink added to the intensity, knowing he had to match his opponent's performance.

"The momentum goes back and forth, and I have to make sure I give a chance to my teammates." Bobrovsky said.

For Jones, the goal gave him some redemption. He committed the turnover in the first period that gave the Rangers the early lead. However, Jones said he couldn't let the miscue affect his play.

"I'm not going to shy away from the game because I make mistakes," Jones said.

Alexander Wennberg and Zach Werenski got the assists on Jones' first goal of the year.

The game almost started badly for Lundqvist.

After giving up a goal in the opening minute of Tuesday's 3-1 loss against St. Louis, Matt Calvert appeared to deflect one past him just 27 seconds into the game.

However, coach Alain Vigneault challenged the call, claiming the Blue Jackets winger interfered with Lundqvist and officials overturned the call.

Lundqvist then set aside 13 shots in the period to set the tempo for the Rangers. That was despite the Blue Jackets controlling the puck in the Rangers end for the final 73 seconds. The Swede made two saves, saw teammates block two more shots and another go just wide of the net.

Bobrovsky made 37 saves, and Lundqvist finished with 40.

For the Rangers, Friday was another disappointing chapter to a disappointing start of the season. With just two points in five games, they reside in the Metropolitan Division basement. Vigneault said he's seeing quality play from his team in spurts, but they haven't been able to build on them.

"Tonight, I thought we had some real good moments, but in the third, we certainly weren't good enough," he said.

New York entered the game with the league's fourth-best power play, having scored on 5 of 16 chances with the man advantage. However, Bobrovsky and the Blue Jackets shut them down all four times Friday.

The Rangers drew a Columbus penalty with 2:15 remaining in the game, giving them a chance to go 6-on-4 for part of the opportunity. However, Bobrovsky came up with three saves to preserve the lead.

Lukas Sedlak scored an empty-net goal with six seconds left to finish the scoring.

NOTES: Blue Jackets LW Nick Foligno skated in his 700th career game Friday and his 349th for Columbus. ... New York scratched D Steve Kampfer and D Tony DeAngelo. ... Columbus scratched D Scott Harrington and LW Markus Hannikainen Blue Jackets D Gabriel Carlsson left the game due to an upper-body injury. ... Both New York C Mika Zibanejad (four games) and Columbus LW Sonny Milano (three) saw their goal-scoring streaks to start the season end.