What Happened? Rangers Lose 5-4 in the Shootout to the Canucks.

Returning home from an amazing road trip featuring 22 goals in 4 games and a 4 game win streak the Rangers proudly took to their home ice to take on the Vancouver Canucks

The Rangers had a 1-0 lead.  They lost it.

They had a 2-1 lead.  They lost that.  In fact they trailed 3-2 in the third. 

But then they struck back for a pair and lead 4-3.  Their third lead of the night.

They lost that too and then lost in the Shootout.

I guess – if you’re going to lose – that’s a good way.  Lots of goals and excitement.  And you get 1 of a possible 2 points.  So the nights not a total loss

Also interesting was the fact that we did as badly as you can possible do in the shootout.  Both Zuccarello and Stepan decided to shoot into Ryan Miller’s pads while Cam didn’t stop either shot that came his way.  It was so bad that they stopped the shootout after two rounds because it was already over. 

The best moment for me was when the Garden began chanting “Talbot, Talbot, Talbot”.  But it was short lived.  Cam’s save percentage was 0.857 tonight and I think it’s safe to say this was a game Henrik Lundqvist would have found a way to win.

And of course – we won the faceoff battle 32-29, proving yet again that face off wins is an incredibly overrated stat.   

On the bright side – great to see goals by

 Marty St. Louis (a great backhand to forehand move around the defenseman. 

·         Rick Nash on a Brassard fueled breakaway.  That 37!

·         Hagelin on a nice deflection, and

·         Stepan on a perfect pass from St Louis from behind the end line.  (that was two goals by the no-longer-slumping Stepan line)

But sloppy defense and, well, four goals wasn’t enough.  Oh well.

Uh, A Little Help?  Assists?  Well, okay.  2 for Girardi and one each for Brassard, Stepan, St. Louis, Zuccarello AND Hagelin.  You know this loss really felt like a win.

Did Special Teams Determine The Outcome Of This Game?  I think new can say yes this time.  Rangers were 0-3, Canucks were 1 for 1.  So yeah – we lost the game right there.   

Where Do We Stand?  It’s 34-16-6 and I would have totally signed up for that if it was offered to me at the start of the season.  The shootout loss gets us to 74 points – good for 2^nd in the metro.  We’re 5 points back of the Islanders with three games at hand.  The Caps are tied with us in point but also played three more.  And, in the feel good story of the day – the Penguins have dropped to 4^th place.  Also we are 12 points up on the 9^th place Panthers. 

Oh My - What Will Happen Next?  It’s off to Buffalo for a game tomorrow night.  This is the downside of games-at-hand.  They come in bunches with less rest.

Non-Sequitur of the day:   The Rangers are somehow third in the league in offensive goals scored per game.  If we ever get Hank back we will be unstoppable.