Rangers’ loss to Penguins tightens up division
Conor Sheary of the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrates his second-period goal against Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, March 13, 2016 in New York City. Credit: Jim McIsaac
At the end of a lost weekend, Henrik Lundqvist was asked to assess the mood in the Rangers’ dressing room and did not attempt to sugarcoat it.
“It’s not a good feeling, obviously, for these two days here,” the goaltender said Sunday after the Rangers’ 5-3 loss to the Penguins at Madison Square Garden.
The game began less than 19 hours after the conclusion of an exhausting, 3-2 overtime loss to the Red Wings in Detroit in which the Rangers led entering the final minute of regulation time.
Net result: For the first time since mid-December, they have lost consecutive games — including regulation and overtime losses. They had won 13 in a row following a regulation or overtime loss.
There is no shame in that; it speaks to the Rangers’ recent consistency. But the timing was problematic, given who they were playing.
A victory would have given the second-place Rangers a nine-point advantage over the fourth-place Penguins in the Metropolitan Division. Instead, that lead now is only five, 85-80, with the Islanders between them at 82.
In other words: Hold off on making those Islanders vs. Rangers first-round playoff plans for now.
“Even though we’re second in our division, that doesn’t mean anything,” Dan Girardi said. “Teams are right within grasp, within arm’s reach. Games like [this] where we can put a team far behind us, we give them more life and give them a chance to catch us.”
Asked about the need to match the intensity of opponents chasing the Rangers in the standings, Lundqvist said, “I think it’s important that we do because it comes down to will. This game is all about will.”
The Rangers did not lack for that Sunday, shaking off the travel, quick turnaround and change to Daylight Savings Ttime by storming to an early 19-8 lead in shots on goal. Only brilliant early play from Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury kept the visitors from falling behind.
“You saw the way we came out,” coach Alain Vigneault said. “We were ready to play. We just didn’t sustain it.”
That is an understatement. The Rangers managed only two shots on goal in the second period and six in the third.
Still, they showed grit in thrice erasing deficits before the Penguins went ahead for good at 11:09 of the third period. Matt Cullen shot from behind the net during a delayed penalty, and the puck bounced off the skates of defenseman Marc Staal and past Lundqvist.
It was the second goal of the day for the Penguins from behind the net. Their first score came when Patric Hornqvist caromed one in off Lundqvist’s back.
“A couple of their goals, they had some good bounces,” Lundqvist said.
It was 1-1 after one thanks to Chris Kreider’s tying goal. Conor Sheary of the Pens and Derick Brassard of the Rangers traded scores in the second. Then Sheary scored again after outracing Kevin Hayes to the puck later in the second.
Hayes disappeared from the forward rotation down the stretch. Vigneault said that was partly a result of the second Sheary goal but mostly part of an effort to jump-start the offense by going with only three lines.
Ryan McDonagh’s nifty wraparound early in the third tied it again, but the Rangers could not overcome the Cullen goal.
“Frustrated we can’t find a way to get a point out of that game,” McDonagh said. “Hopefully two, but if not, one.”
There are 13 games to go. Next up: a three-game California swing against the Ducks, Kings and Sharks that starts on Wednesday.
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Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
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