Rangers fall in shootout, winless in five
SOONER or later something has to give, because even though the Rangers again played a strong third period and erased a two-goal deficit to earn a point for the second straight game, their 4-3 shootout loss to the Islanders Thursday night at the Garden leaves them 1-5-2.
The Rangers — winless in their last five (0-3-2) — have shown resiliency in coming back for two straight games, but their poor starts are forcing themselves into these situations.
“It’s too many games now where we allow the first goal,” said Henrik Lundqvist, who had to make two huge saves against Josh Bailey in the dying moments of regulation just to get to overtime.
Indeed, Thursday marked the fourth time the Rangers h a v e allowed a goal within the first 2:40 of the game after Anders Lee converted on a power play; the Islanders (33-1) entered the game 0-for-20 on the man advantage.
Toronto scored at 2:30, St. Louis scored 15 seconds in and Pittsburgh went ahead 43 seconds in. That doesn’t included the disallowed goal Columbus scored 29 seconds in due to goalie interference. After trailing 3-1 heading into the third, Mats Zuccarello cut the Ranger deficit before Kevin Hayes tied the game with 5:54 left in the third, going coast-to-coast and scoring on a sharp angle backhand which snuck through Jaroslav Halak at the near post amid a Rangers thirdperiod push. That came about two minutes after the Rangers had a goal waved off. The officials determined upon review that Brendan Smith kicked the puck into the net after he appeared to kick it with his left skate before it deflected in off his right. Part of Rule 49.2 says “A kicked puck that deflects off the body of any player of either team (including the goalkeeper) shall be ruled no goal.”
“If you flip the coin, how many times it goes heads, it’s gonna come back tails, and we need it to come back in our favor,” Smith said. “And it’s going to.”
Rick Nash had five more shots, had 34 through eight games and yet just one goal. He has been dominant in using his body to create opportunities for himself and has come within centimeters of scoring time and again, but right now he just can’t seem to break through.
“Sooner or later you have to convert,” Nash said. “It’s tough right now. Goals come in bunches, and when you’re in a drought it’s always tough. But the opportunities are there.”
Nash says though the team continues to fail to put a 60-minute performance together, the Rangers must look at the positives in order to build on something. Things can easily snowball at times like these, and the Rangers have no margin for error. “That’s the challenge we face right now as a group,” Alain Vigneault said, “and the only way to get those bounces is to continue to play the right way and continue to work hard.”
And to do that from start to finish.