New York Rangers: Takeaways from ugly Canucks loss

NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 20: New York Rangers Center Mika Zibanejad (93) skates with the puck during the third period of a regular season NHL game between the Vancouver Canucks and the New York Rangers on October 20, 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. (Photo by David Hahn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

We’re finally getting to see some hockey on a consistent basis three weeks into the season, but it hasn’t exactly been easy viewing from a New York Rangers perspective.

With six games under their belt following what has been a disjointed start to the 2019-20 NHL regular season, the New York Rangers are 2-4-0 on the year after dropping four straight.

The latest of which, a 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday, came in ugly fashion and it was a stark reminder that this franchise is still in the midst of a rebuild and this process still has some way to go.

There will be growing pains, there will be warts, there will be moments that will make you want to bang your head against all the wall, and we were given a fairly large portion of all three against the Canucks.

First and foremost, Vancouver is a good hockey team with an exciting young core and some key veteran pieces.

They could well be a bubble playoff team this year and they have all the ingredients needed to surprise a few people in 2019-20.

However, the Rangers made the Canucks look like world beaters on Sunday and the first two periods were horrific to say the least.

There were a plethora of turnovers and odd-man rushes, all leading to a busy night at the office for Henrik Lundqvist who did his best to keep the Blueshirts alive.

Jesper Fast also hauled the team on his back and his hustle and fight sparked a hell of an effort in the third period, but it was too little too late with an ugly first two periods proving all so costly.

So, on that note, here were our main takeaways from the New York Rangers’ 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday at MSG…