Rangers again fall behind early, lose to Winnipeg

This is the thing about hockey that makes it different from the other sports: Sometimes the better team doesn’t win because the goalie on the other team is simply too good.

The Rangers will argue that Monday was one of those times.

Playing their third game in four nights, with a cross-continent flight home on the non-game day, the Rangers had enough legs to throw 51 shots on Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck at Madison Square Garden, but it wasn’t enough.

Hellebuyck saved 50 of those shots as the Jets beat the Rangers, 4-1, ending the Blueshirts’ point streak at 10 games (8-0-2).

Afterward, the Rangers (33-15-9) weren’t even angry.

“I was happy with a lot of things, obviously, and it’s one of those games,’’ coach Gerard Gallant said. “I mean, coming back from a road trip like that and playing with the energy we played with, it’s tough to lose like that. We had 50 shots. But overall, we played a good hockey game. We didn’t win.’’

“These games will happen,’’ forward Barclay Goodrow said. “I think throughout the year, there’s certain games where even when you don’t get the two points, you kind of feel good about the way you played and the fight you put up, and just chalk it up to one of our nights.’’

“He’s obviously a world-class goalie over there,’’ Vincent Trocheck said. “So you tip your hat. Every once in a while, you run into a goalie that’s standing on his head, and he did that tonight.’’

Trocheck was the only Ranger to beat Hellebuyck, tapping in a feed from Vladimir Tarasenko at 11:00 of the second period to pull the Rangers within 3-1. Hellebuyck stopped all 19 shots he saw in the third period and Mark Scheifele got his second goal of the game at 15:29 of the final period.

Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin allowed four goals on 21 shots. It was the third straight game in which Shesterkin, last year’s Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL’s best goalie, allowed four goals (though he won two of them). He’s allowed 21 goals in his last six games.

“I thought he was fine,’’ Gallant said. “I mean, seriously, the goals that he let in? I mean, I don’t see many issues with them. The first two, not much you can do on them. He’s screened, he doesn’t see it, gets double-tipped. So it’s the way it goes some nights. Their guy had a lot of puck luck; our guy didn’t tonight.’’

Asked if he wished to speak afterward, Shesterkin declined.

For the third straight game, the Rangers fell behind by multiple goals early. They trailed 3-0 and 4-1 before the first period was over Friday in Edmonton and were behind 2-0 after 46 seconds Saturday in Calgary. But they rallied to force overtime in both of those games, beating Edmonton in a shootout before losing in OT against Calgary.

This time, after Pierre-Luc Dubois scored on a power-play deflection at 5:12 and Scheifele poked home a rebound for his first goal at 16:32, the Rangers trailed 2-0 after the first period. Kyle Connor’s wrist shot, with Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider screening Shesterkin, made it 3-0 at 6:04 of the second.

The loss was the first for the Rangers in regulation since Jan. 19, when they fell to the Bruins, 3-1, at the Garden. The Rangers have 75 points and are four points behind second-place New Jersey, which has a game in hand, in the Metropolitan Division.

And they are about to go back on the road: Thursday in Detroit and Saturday afternoon in Washington before returning home for Sunday’s game against Los Angeles.

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.