COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Even New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist -- ever the optimist -- said he was beginning to lose faith.

The Columbus Blue Jackets scored a go-ahead power-play goal with 3:50 remaining, and a sold-out Nationwide Arena was in full-throttle celebration mode.

"I have to admit I didn't have a good feeling after they scored that late in the game," Lundqvist said. "Columbus was looking very confident in their play."

The rest of the Rangers, on the other end of the ice, had no such concerns.

The Rangers scored three goals in a span of 1:17 late in the third -- left winger Oscar Lindberg, right winger Kevin Hayes and right winger Mats Zuccarello -- in rapid succession to steal a 4-2 victory.

Zuccarello's goal was his second of the evening. Lundqvist finished with 31 saves.

The Rangers' rally started only 1:14 after the Blue Jackets took their first lead of the evening on a goal by left winger Brandon Saad.

"A 2-1 lead and you're feeling pretty good," Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards said. "About 30 seconds after that you're at the other end of the spectrum."

The Rangers improved to 2-0-0 on the season, while the Blue Jackets dropped their home opener. The two clubs meet again Saturday in Madison Square Garden.

"I like the way we responded," said Rangers coach Alain Vigneault, who earned his 100th win behind the New York bench. "This game is about finding ways to win. That's what we did tonight."

One might say the Blue Jackets found several ways to lose.

"I think the first night there's a lot of emotion with the guys," said Saad, who joined Columbus in an offseason trade with Chicago. "That might have gotten to us tonight. It's a tough one to lose, for sure."

Lindberg made it 2-2 only 1:14 after Saad scored, and Hayes followed only 17 seconds later -- an awful goal allowed by Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky to put the Rangers up 3-2.

Zuccarello followed one minute later with his second goal of the night to make it 4-2, and send many in the crowd filing out to the cars.

The Rangers, who won the President's Trophy last season with the league's best record, improved to 2-0-0 after a season-opening 3-2 win over defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago on Wednesday.

The Blue Jackets' first goal was scored by right winger Cam Atkinson, while Bobrovsky finished with 21 saves.

The scoring came rapid-fire late in the game, but it took both clubs a while to get going.

The Rangers took a 1-0 lead with 43.6 seconds remaining in the first period, thanks to a bad turnover by Blue Jackets defenseman David Savard behind his own net.

Zuccarello scored on a spinning backhander for his first of the evening.

The Blue Jackets pulled even midway through the second when center Brandon Dubinsky found Atkinson behind the defense for a breakaway goal.

The game appeared to swing on Saad's goal, a power-play wrister from the right circle that was helped by a screen from Blue Jackets' captain Nick Foligno.

But Blue Jackets defenseman Kevin Connauton coughed the puck up to Lindberg two shifts later, and he beat Bobrovsky under his right arm to tie it.

The truly egregious goal allowed by Bobrovsky came next.

Hayes, with the puck in the corner on the goal line, fired on goal and caught Bobrovsky napping, the puck squirting between his left pad and the goal post to make it 3-2.

NOTES: Rangers coach Alain Vigneault challenged his No. 1 line during practice on Thursday, the New York Post reported, saying they needed to work harder than they did in Wednesday's opening win over Chicago. LW Rick Nash, C Derick Brassard and RW Mats Zuccarello have all claimed to be "slow starters." "Well, my answer is to skate harder, push harder and be fast starters," Vigneault said. ... Blue Jackets RW David Clarkson is out short term with a lower-body injury. RW Jared Boll took his spot on Columbus' fourth line, but Boll might have beaten out Clarkson for the spot anyway after a much stronger training camp. ... The Jackets named C Brandon Dubinsky and LW Boone Jenner as alternate captains to captain Nick Foligno.