Rout by Penguins is second straight gut punch

battle-level needs to be extremely high — every night.”

It was for portions of the first period Sunday, but the same crippling mistakes with coverages and turnovers they’ve committed over the last three-plus weeks led to pucks in their net.

If it seems like the Rangers (22-17-5), who have lost three straight and four of five, should alter their preparation considering the same errors are being made, well, they have.

“We have been changing things. It’s not like we haven’t been trying,” Marc Staal told the Daily News. “We’ve changed our attitude in the room, the way we individually prepare. It’s something we haven’t ignored. We’ve been trying to work at it, it just hasn’t translated into wins.”

Injuries only further hampered the Rangers’ chances Sunday. Ryan McDonagh suffered back spasms during Saturday’s embarrassing 7-2 home loss to the Islanders and is day-today, according to Alain Vigneault. Kevin Hayes also sat with the contusion he suffered last Sunday in Las Vegas after playing Saturday.

The Rangers felt good about themselves after the first period, taking a 2-1 lead via Michael Grabner’s team-best 20th goal and Brendan Smith’s first of the season. Smith played for McDonagh after being scratched the previous two games.

Two Penguin goals in a span of 1:15 in the second period put the Rangers behind for good, the first off poor coverage in front and the second after Kevin Shattenkirk’s turnover deep in the Rangers’ zone after a dump-in.

Compounding matters is the fact that the Rangers have scored only 15 regulation-or-overtime goals over the last nine games. “Obviously we’ve got to limit our mistakes to stay in games. That’s a fact, and that’s something we’ve got to realize,” said Lundqvist, who faced 46 regulation shots, tied for the most he’s seen this season.

Lundqvist called upon every player to focus on raising his individual level, believing the Rangers can turn this around. They’re constantly saying the right things but nothing changes. Their words are hollow.

“You almost get tired of yourself sitting here trying to find the right thing to say,” Lundqvist said. “It comes down to just going out and executing. We talk about what we need to do, how important it is with coverage, getting pucks deep, and when we do that we’re a good team.

“But enough talking. We just need to do it.”