Rangers Burned by Slow Start in Fiery Loss to Flames

The New York Rangers' 3-2 loss to the Calgary Flames on the road was a game where the opening 20 minutes completely set the tone for the rest of the night.

And while the Rangers only trailed 1-0 after the first period, it should have been over much earlier. The numbers alone—being outshot 20-5 and giving up six high-danger chances—tell the story. But the way they played that first period exposed their systemic flaws and placed them in a hole they could never fully climb out of.

That frame was a disaster, and the 1-0 scoreline only looked close because of one man: Igor Shesterkin. The Rangers' goaltender proved again why he should make the big bucks this Summer, making 46 saves on Thursday, with a 2.14 goals saved above expected. He was the only reason they weren't down by three or four after the opening frame. The Flames dictated every aspect of the period, dominating the possession game, hemming the Rangers in their zone, and forcing turnovers.

The ice in Calgary is notoriously fast, thanks to the cold mountain air, but that shouldn't have caught the Rangers off guard. If anything, they should have been prepared for that extra pace. Yet, the Blueshirts started slow and never indeed adjusted. They were sloppy in their breakouts, unable to get the puck out of their zone cleanly, and Calgary capitalized on that repeatedly.

They allowed Calgary to easily waltz into the middle of the ice, giving the Flames far too much space. New York's forwards were caught in no-man's land, cheating for offense and leaving their defensive assignments behind. Meanwhile, Calgary's game plan was simple: forecheck hard, crash the net, and don't let the Rangers breathe. With the Blueshirts forwards caught too high up in the zone, the Flames kept coming right back at them. That led to back-to-back power plays for Calgary, which only intensified the pressure. Eventually, Matthew Coronato scored on a 3-on-2 break.

Defenseman Brandan Schneider needed help to get in position to make a proper defensive play. He didn't engage the body, didn't get on the right side of the puck, and was caught watching rather than defending. It was the epitome of the defensive issues plaguing them at the moment.

The rest of the game was pretty much the same. In the second period, Yegor Sharangovich buried a one-timer on the power play to make it 2-0, which felt like a punch in the gut. The Rangers did challenge for a hand pass on the goal, but it wasn't there.

At the other end of the ice, Calgary's Dustin Wolf, the Flames' red-hot netminder, had a dream opening frame. After surviving a couple of early high-danger chances, he hardly had to break a sweat for the rest of the frame. The Rangers had zero shots in the final 7:10 period and allowed six high-danger chances in that span. For perspective, in the entire 60 minutes of their 4-3 win against the Vancouver Canucks, the Rangers only allowed 23 shots and six high-danger chances. Against the Flames, they gave up that much in a single period. The disparity between the two teams was glaring, and the visitors were lucky to escape that first period with the game still within reach.

Yet somehow, the Rangers found themselves squared again.

Vincent Trocheck made an excellent play despite being pinned along the wall, finding Ryan Lindgren at the point. Lindgren passed it across to Jacob Trouba, whose low shot on net created a rebound that Alexis Lafrenière buried to cut the lead in half. Then, just 16 seconds later, Kaapo Kakko won a faceoff  where Adam Fox moved in from the back  down low and somehow swung a pass despite being pinned down by two black uniforms, which found K’Andre Miller. The defenseman took a shot that was tipped down by Will Cuylle for his fourth goal in seven games to tie it.  

For a fleeting moment, there was a feeling the record of 7-1 in the road whites wouldn't take a hit after all.

But then came a turning point: after an extended period of pressure from the Flames, in the third, Vincent Trocheck snapped at the refs, earning himself an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Calgary didn't score on the ensuing power play, but they wore the Blueshirts down. After the penalty expired, the Flames had a fiery head of steam and churned until they found paydirt. When MacKenzie Weegar's pass deflected off Jonathan Huberdeau to Connor Zary, who got a lucky bounce off Kaapo Kakko's stick and put it past Shesterkin, it appeared like the backbreaker. Calgary took a 3-2 lead with 9:25 left, and the game felt effectively over.

Yes, the Rangers had some chances after pulling Shesterkin, including a vast rebound opportunity for Chris Kreider. Yet Wolf, who made 25 saves on the night was up to the task. The disheartening fact is that was their lone quality chance during their 2:30 with the goalie pulled. New York couldn't generate more against a Flames squad just trying to hang on, and allowed numerous empty net opportunities encapsulated the night in a snowball.

New York has been mainly stuck in a defensive daze for the past dozen games, and this was another example of them getting exposed by a team playing with pace. We've seen the same results against the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers where this strech began, the Washington Capitals and NHL-best Winnipeg Jets. All are threats to a Blue Stanley Cup in June. Calgary (11-6-3), are not a contender right now. They're a team trying to find their way, but tonight, they were a juggernaut while New York was chasing.

The Rangers (12-5-1) entered Thursday, needing to make a statement against a fast team on the road and show pre-playoff muscle. Instead, they were flamed upside down with only Shesterkin spared from the BBQ. It's not on head coach Peter Laviolette, rather, the players who, before the season, claimed they were determined to make one final push for a title. They should start packing their bags now if this is how they play. They're still stuck the same bad habits. It's time for a change in mentality because if they don't wake up soon and stockpile consistent defensive efforts, this season will slip away quickly.