The New York Rangers certainly thought that after notching two wins in the first part of this critical five-game swing that they would be able to carry that momentum into the three-game section of this trip to Western Canada. That did not happen. The Rangers lost all three games after falling 2-1 to the Vancouver Canucks. That loss was made more difficult by the fact that the Rangers played well in that game, only to see the Canucks score the game-winner with just over a minute to play in the third period.
What Went Wrong for the New York Rangers
In the first two games, slow starts and poor defense led to leads that the Rangers could not overcome. On Saturday night, the Rangers ran into a red-hot team with an equally hot goaltender. Jacob Markstrom made 36 saves for his sixth straight win for the Canucks. Vancouver outscored opponents 30-17 during their win streak. Markstrom made his best saves with the Canucks being outshot and outplayed by the Rangers for long stretches of the third period. The best of those happened when he made a diving glove save to rob Jacob Trouba with under four minutes remaining. Despite the pressure, the Rangers could not get that second goal past him. Also, some of the big-name players for the Blueshirts seem to be in a mini-slump. It was the second straight game without a point for Rangers forward Artemi Panarin, who had 21 points in his previous 11 games. Not too worrisome as Panarin is still on pace for career highs in most of the major stat categories.
Rangers goalie Alexandar Georgiev started the game because Henrik Lundqvist was sidelined with an illness. Lundqvist took part in warmups after skipping the morning skate and was the backup but did not sit on the Rangers bench. Georgiev made 25 saves in the game.
The Rangers will not make the long trip back to New York and host Colorado on Tuesday night.