New York Rangers: Sluggish start proves costly in Canucks loss

It was a case of too little too late for the New York Rangers who were made to pay for a sluggish first two periods after dropping their fourth straight in a 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks.

In what was the first of five straight home games, the New York Rangers were hoping to snap a three-game losing streak, although that mission got off to the worse possible start.

Vancouver were better in every single department in the first period and they scored three goals in three completely different ways.

Bo Horvat got the scoring started early with a goal on the power play, a man advantage that had previously struggled to convert while on the road.

And, not for the first time this year, a failure to convert on their own power play came back to haunt the Blueshirts twice in quick succession.

First, a turnover in the defensive zone from Marc Staal presented Brock Boeser with an easy opportunity to make it 2-0 for the Canucks after the Rangers had failed to make their first man advantage count, and that lead was extended further when Jay Beagle scored a shorthanded effort.

Everything was getting through to Henrik Lundqvist in net and he was overworked in the first period alone with the Canucks outshooting the Rangers 20-13.

Lundqvist had to come up big on a number of occasions in the second period in order to keep the Blueshirts alive, a job that was made easier when Jesper Fast started a play and then finished it by deflecting Jacob Trouba‘s shot into the net.

Fast played a huge role in the Rangers’ second goal of the afternoon too, feeding the puck to Artemi Panarin who sniped home his fourth goal of the year to get his team right back into the contest.

Although there will be growing pains throughout the course of the year, and they were painfully on show in the first two periods, one thing this Rangers team doesn’t lack in is heart.

And that was on full display for much of the third period as they threw everything they had at the Canucks, with Madison Square Garden at one point rising to their feet in appreciation of the effort they were seeing.

The noise levels inside MSG were at an all-time high and they shook the building after the Rangers were not given a power play after Pavel Buchnevich was hacked down, a shocking decision that sealed the Blueshirts’ fate.

The Game

First Period – The Rangers were quick out of the gate after Ryan Strome forced an early puck on net, and they had a total of four shots on goal in the opening minutes while the Vancouver Canucks had three as the game was played at a frantic tempo early on.

It was the Canucks, however, that took the lead and, yes, it came on the power play with Bo Horvat wristing one beyond Henrik Lundqvist for his 100th goal in the NHL, with Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes being credited with the assists.

The Rangers continue to struggle on the penalty kill and they couldn’t stop a power play that had gone 0-for-23 on the road prior to today.

Vancouver very quickly got another chance on the power play but the Rangers were able to kill that one off in large part thanks to the efforts of Lundqvist, and the Canucks’ top unit in particular didn’t look like one that had struggled on the man advantage.

It wasn’t long before the Blueshirts had an opportunity on the power play themselves, and it was notable that Kaapo Kakko had been promoted to the top unit.

They moved the puck well and were able to generate some looks in front of net, with Artemi Panarin testing Vancouver goalie Jacob Markstrom with a couple of one-timers.

Brendan Smith‘s hustle presented Jesper Fast with a high-quality chance in the slot but Markstrom was able to make the save.

And the Rangers were made to pay at 13:24 as a turnover from Marc Staal in the defensive zone allowed Brock Boeser a clean sight on goal and he was able to wrist a shot beyond Lundqvist.

It only got worse for the Blueshirts, too, who failed to generate any offense on their second power play and they were punished by way of a shorthanded goal for the Canucks, which was scored by Jay Beagle at 16:53.

Vancouver were dominating every aspect of play although they were nearly caught at the end of the period after both Kreider and Brendan Lemieux had opportunities to pull a goal back, although they couldn’t force the puck past Markstrom.

Second Period – Despite playing in New Jersey against the Devils on Saturday, it was the Canucks who looked the more refreshed of the two teams.

Brock Boeser, Jake Virtanen and Micheal Ferland all had opportunities to inflict further damage on the Rangers,

Former Ranger J.T. Miller – who came into this contest with four goals and four assists for eight points – forced Henrik Lundqvist into action and the goalie then made a smart pad save to keep out the rebound.

It was ugly at times for the Blueshirts who were giving up a plethora of odd-man rushes and high-danger chances, and the attention to detail that Head Coach David Quinn called for after the loss to the Washington Capitals just didn’t seem to be there.

For all of Vancouver’s dominance in both zones, though, the Rangers were given a spark at 14:58 when Jesper Fast came up big for his team.

The gritty forward dumped the puck in, was first in to retrieve the puck, he won the board battle and then got to the front of the net quickly in order to deflect Jacob Trouba’s wristshot beyond Markstrom.

Fast’s second goal of the year injected some life into the Rangers and they finished the second period on top, with Lias Andersson forcing a fine stop from Markstrom with seconds remaining.

It was mostly thanks to Lundqvist that the Rangers were the ones who scored in a period  where shots were 17-10 in favor of Vancouver.

Third Period – Chris Kreider had a glorious opportunity to get the Rangers right back in the game early in the third period, but he missed on a shot with the net open following good work from Mika Zibanejad behind the net.

It was all Rangers to start the final period and they were playing with a real swagger and purpose, although they couldn’t find a way past Markstrom who kept out an attempt from Zibanejad.

But a goal was coming and it arrived at 5:31 as hard work along the boards paid off again, this time Zibanejad and Fast combining to keep the puck alive before the latter fed Artemi Panarin in the slot and the Russian stud did the rest.

Markstrom then pulled off a stunning stop to keep out a Tony DeAngelo shot, with the puck somehow staying out of the net during the following scrum.

And the Canucks goalie found himself under siege as the Rangers, with the momentum firmly on their side, launched wave after wave of relentless attack.

It was all Rangers and they were keeping Vancouver hemmed into their own zone for large periods, chucking pucks on goal and creating a glut of chances by being aggressive on the forecheck.

Pavel Buchnevich made a great play in his own zone to prevent Vancouver from scoring an empty-netter with Lundqvist pulled, while the Russian should have won his team a power play in the offensive zone after being hacked down moments later, although nothing was given.

Ryan Strome was robbed by Markstrom in the dying seconds and the Swedish goalie’s 16 third period saves were enough for Vancouver to survive with the New York Rangers dropping their fourth straight.