NEW YORK -- On a night when a big-name center was making his New York debut, the one that's resided here since 2010 delivered the game-defining play.

Center Derek Stepan broke a tie and nearly the ankles of goaltender Joonas Korpisalo as he scored a shorthanded breakaway goal with2:48 remaining to give the Rangers a 2-1 victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Madison Square Garden on Monday night.

Eric Staal, acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday, played the first two periods at center but shifted to left wing for the third period. He had one shot in 15:31 of ice time and had several dangerous scoring chances while playing in the middle on the team's third line.

Backup goaltender Antti Raanta wasn't voted the game's first star but he was deserving; he made 26 saves, including a stop on right winger Cam Atkinson with one second remaining to seal the victory.

Atkinson scored on a breakaway early in the third period to make it a 1-1 game but Raanta denied him when it mattered most.

"We were pretty sluggish for most of the game, and a little sloppy with the puck at times," said defenseman Marc Staal after playing an NHL game with his brother for the first time. "He made some big saves and bailed us out for sure. He was sharp all night and we needed him to be tonight."

The Rangers (37-20-6) won their third straight and for the fifth time in six games. The addition of Staal represents the organization's belief the team can make another deep postseason run after a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2014 and conference finals in 2015.

Whether the 31-year-old Staal can make that happen for a team holding second place in the Metropolitan Division by seven points and seemingly destined for home-ice advantage in the first round remains to be seen but he could be a shot in the arm.

"He's a veteran guy who has been around a long time," Stepan said. "And to boot, he's a great hockey player. He did a lot of good things tonight. I wish he would've been rewarded one of the times he did a lot of things for us. It's good to have him on our roster, that's for sure."

"You want to be counted on in those moments and you want to be out there," Eric Staal said. "Not the best start, but we got better as it went on and a huge goal by Stepan there to close it out."

The Blue Jackets (26-30-8) entered the game on a 9-2-3 run and controlled things territorially at the outset. It mattered little, as the Rangers took a 1-0 lead to the first intermission after right winger Mats Zuccarello scored his 21st goal with 2:19 remaining in the period.

Zuccarello was trapped on the ice for an extended shift with the fourth line but made the most of it by scoring from a sharp angle to give the Rangers a 1-0 advantage.

The score remained that way until Atkinson was gifted a breakaway by a defenseman Dan Girardi turnover early in the third period. He was denied on his first attempt but slipped the rebound past Raanta to make it 1-1.

Instead of making the most of a late power play, Stepan drove the knife into a team competing for a top draft pick.

"We just couldn't really get it to settle down on that power play," Blue Jackets defenseman Ryan Murray said. "Pucks were kind of just bouncing around off our sticks."

"I thought we did a lot of good things," said Blue Jackets coach and former Rangers coach John Tortorella. "I thought we defended well. Neither team got too many scoring chances but they found a way to win."

Now the Rangers will look for a way to win the Cup that has slipped through their fingers the past two years with a veteran center they grabbed at the trade deadline.

"I'm real happy and I've said this many times, I felt this group deserved another kick at the can," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "We added a big piece. Now it's our time to go out and get the job done."

NOTES: Blue Jackets C Boone Jenner signed a two-year contract extension before the game. ... The Blue Jackets didn't make a single trade before the trade deadline Monday. ... Rangers RW Jesper Fast (illness) did not play. ... The Rangers had a moment of silence before the game for Hall of Fame Andy Bathgate, who died Friday. He spent 12 seasons with the Rangers and won the Hart Trophy with the team in 1959. He is fourth all-time on the Rangers with 729 career points.