JUMP THE SHARK

Hopes to get on streak a distant memory

One has to wonder how many more times this can happen without substantial change coming. How many more times can the Rangers go down almost immediately into a game, then struggle to fight their way back and fall short?

Now 10 games into the season and 2-6-2 after a disheartening 4-1 loss to the Sharks at the Garden on Monday night, how many more defeats can the Blueshirts sustain before this season is entirely out of control? How much higher can the frustration level go above what Rick Nash already called “high.”

“It’s been going on way too long,” a visibly upset Nash said. “And it’s tough right now. I think you can say all the cliches you want — we have to stick together, we have to keep it simple. But at the end of the day, we have to give ourselves a chance to win the games.”

The explanation of how the Rangers are losing begins at the start. They gave up the first goal to Logan Couture just 1:56 into the first period, making it the third time in the first 10 games they have given up the first goal on the first shot against. That goes along with the fact they’ve given up the first goal another three times on the third shot of the game. Overall, the Rangers have been down 1-0 within the first six minutes of the game in six of their 10 games, and five times within the first 2:40.

“When we’re in the position we’re in — when we start the game chasing — it’s just so much harder,” said Henrik Lundqvist, who didn’t make it any easier when he allowed a bad sharp-angle goal to be the

first of Tim Heed’s NHL career at 12:45 of the first, making it 2-0. “After that, it’s uphill. There’s no question about it. If we’re 5-1 [on the season], it might have been a little different. But right now, we’re looking for a good feeling, and to start the game chasing, it’s not easy.”

Insult came with injury as Joonas Donskoi scored with 37.1 seconds remaining in the second period, easily walking into the zone and beating Lundqvist’s glove before nudging the goalie’s extended left leg and causing a quick scare when he was slow to get up.

“I just got stuck on my foot there and twisted my leg a little bit,” Lundqvist said. “That’s the least of my concern right now. It was just a game where too many bad things happen.”

It actually got worse, as Lundqvist was stripped by Couture behind the Rangers net and Melker Karlsson was easily able to bang one in to make it 4-0 just 2:51 into the third. That was about as low a moment as the Rangers have had in their first 10 games that have been defined by low moments. And there was almost no good feeling to be taken from Mika Zibanejad’s sixth of the year at 4:23 of the third period, just as the 4-2 win over the Predators on Saturday and the two overtime losses that preceded it are now a distant memory.

So the currently winless Coyotes will come into the Garden on Thursday, and someone will have to win.

“It’s not one guy. As a group, we have to be better,” Vigneault said. “Everyone in that room has got to be better than they are right now.”