Rangers collapse in third period as Canadiens romp

They were getting picked apart by the Canadians, but things were briefly looking up for the Rangers at the start of the third period Wednesday night.

Down two goals, Rick Nash had scored on a power play at 17:42 of the second period to cut their deficit to 2-1. Then, last year's league MVP, goalie Carey Price, who had shut out the Rangers in five of the last seven meetings, didn't start the third period because of an apparent leg injury and replaced by backup Mike Condon.

But Condon wasn't a factor as the Canadiens continued to roam freely to the net and broke the game open, scoring twice in the initial 1:29, the first on an intercepted McDonagh clear, the second on a shot that Henrik Lundqvist usually stops and a third midway through the period for a 5-1 victory.

The Canadiens snapped the Rangers' nine-game home winning streak.

"What killed us was that third goal," said Lundqvist, pulled for the first time this season at 9:06 of the third after the Canadiens' fifth goal, from Max Pacioretty. "I felt like we were slowly coming back into the game, I lost my focus a little bit when they scored the third one, then I give up a really bad one, the fourth one.

"They're good at finding that room right in front of the net. They pass the puck really well, so you have to be on your toes. To be a really good team, all of us have to play our best, starting with me, and I didn't."

Actually, the most lopsided loss of the year was a collective effort. "It was everyone out of sync," said Dan Girardi. "It seems to be the same story against these guys, we make the mistakes and they make us pay. We were stretched out too far apart. We were a step behind, a little in-between, indecisive, all over the ice. We've got to figure out how to correct that."

The Blueshirts, who had lost only once on home ice in regulation, fell for the second time to the quicker Canadians, who beat the Rangers, 3-0, in Montreal on Oct. 15. They moved into first place in the East with 36 points (17-4-2), two ahead of the Rangers (16-4-2), who allowed a season-high in goals.

In the third, Devante Smith-Pelly walked in off McDonagh's gaffe and scored his second goal of the game just 17 seconds into the period, and Alex Galchenyuk's shot off a turnover 1:12 later put the game away.

"Terrible decision by me," McDonagh said. "I tried to chip it by him and that's where the second forechecker was. We got a little bit rattled at times and frustrated with ourselves because of the pressure they were putting on us, which is uncharacteristic of us."

After Sven Andrighetto's goal at 4:45 of the first, Montreal took a 2-0 lead early in the second period. Tomas Plekanec poked the puck off the back of the net and Pacioretty swiped it in front, where Smith-Pelly quickly put it in at 2:25.

The Rangers later drew three consecutive penalties, and cashed in on the last one. With Nash screening in front, McDonagh's shot went past Price at 17:42. The goal was originally credited to McDonagh, but later changed to Nash.

Then things fell apart for the Rangers. "Instead of continuing our push, we put two pucks right on their tape that ended up in the net," coach Alain Vigneault said. "We obviously didn't answer the bell for the challenge we had."