Slumping Rangers lose to Panthers, 3-2, at the Garden
Photo credit: AP | New York Rangers' Ryan Callahan, left, checks Florida Panthers' Dennis Seidenberg, during the second period. (November 21, 2009)
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Nov. 21: Panthers 3, Rangers 2
Margin of error for the Rangers? None.
Secondary scoring? None.
Those truisms held again last night in a 3-2 loss to the Florida Panthers, the Rangers' fifth loss in their last seven games at Madison Square Garden.
A high, seemingly-harmless backhanded floater from the right point by Jordan Leopold bounced through a nest of players and under Henrik Lundqvist just 2:23 after the Panthers had tied the game at 1 midway through the second period.
"I just lost it," Lundqvist said. "Guys were waving their sticks and it just bounced in front of me. Instead of going down to block it, I went down on one knee."
From there, the slumping Rangers (11-10-1) pressed but could only beat Tomas Vokoun once, and dropped their fourth game in the last five.
When trailing after the second period this season, the Rangers are 0-9. More numbing numbers? After 22 games last season, the Rangers had 30 points. They are seven behind that pace, with four games, including three on the road, next week.
Only Marian Gaborik and Vinny Prospal seem to be able to score. Any thought of a comeback seemed to vanish 2:35 into the third, when Gaborik's pocket was picked at center ice and Nathan Horton fired the rebound of Stephen Weiss' shot past a diving Lundqvist for a 3-1 lead. The puck went under and through the back of the net, which was slightly raised when the right post was dislodged.
The latest No. 1 line, with Ales Kotalik moved up with Prospal and Gaborik, the team's two leading scorers, had been ineffective for two periods. The trio also was on ice for both Panthers goals, along with defensemen Wade Redden and Matt Gilroy.
But Gaborik converted at 6:01 of the third on a rush, off a backhand pass from Michal Rozsival. It was his 16th goal of the year, and trimmed the lead to 3-2.
The Panthers, who had played in Detroit on Friday, had been just as quick as the Rangers, who had three days without a game. But they hung on.
"We've had a lot of games like this," Lundqvist said, "where we try to come back and tie it in the third. I don't know if we can play better in the third."
In the second period, Sean Avery had just missed doubling the 1-0 lead provided by Prospal's sixth goal of the season in the first, when Michael Del Zotto's point shot was stopped in front and at Avery's feet. He tried to poke the puck, but defenseman Kamil Kreps swept it safely to the boards.
Instead, at 8:46, the Panthers tied it on Steven Reinprecht's 10th of the season when he cut in front and fired a low backhander to Lundqvist's glove side.
In the first, Prospal scored unassisted when he stole the puck at the blue line, skated into the left circle, and his wrister was partially blocked by Vokoun's left pad. But the puck trickled under and across the goal line for a 1-0 lead at 14:11. It was the Rangers sixth shot of the period.
Through the first 20 minutes, Lundqvist, making his fourth straight start after sitting out the Calgary game with a sore groin/thigh, was sharp and seeing the puck well. He denied Michael Frolik's finishing attempt on a two-on-one just before Prospal's goal, then stopped Horton alone in front with 3:36 left and ended the session with 12 saves.
