What happened on Tuesday night at the Garden was downright depressing for anyone looking to see the Rangers show some life, to show some sort of pulse that allowed for hope this team is better than its middling record.
Instead, what the Blueshirts did was come out flatfooted and stay that way, getting discarded by the Predators, 4-1, in front of a crowd on Broadway whose voice was too filled with apathy to fill the place with the necessary boos.
To add injury on top of insult — as well as mounting injuries — Ryan Callahan left the game in the first period with what coach Alain Vigneault called a “second-degree MCL sprain” in his knee, which will keep him out four-to-six weeks.
“We can’t say enough good things about what he means to this team,” defenseman Ryan McDonagh said about his captain, and whose team is already without stalwart blue-liner Marc Staal, suffering a concussion on Saturday that has him out indefinitely. “Everybody from forwards to D to goalies are going to have to step up and really try and fill the void.”
Callahan was hurt with just 9:43 having gone by in the game, connecting with a good shoulder-to-shoulder hit on Nashville forward Victor Bartley but coming down awkwardly on his left leg. Once a whistle came, he immediately went to the dressing room and didn’t return.
And by the end of the period, the Predators (14-14-3) had built a 2-0 lead with goals from fourth-liners Nick Spaling and Rich Clune, further submerging the Rangers (15-16-1), who have gained just three points in the past five games and begun this nine-game homestand by going 0-2-1.
“I thought we started all right,” said Vigneault, “but down 2-0 early, with the difficulty of our offense right now as far as scoring goals, makes it very challenging.”
The Rangers came into the game ranked 28th in the league in scoring (2.18 goals per game), and only got one against third-string goalie Carter Hutton, coming when Rick Nash cut the lead to 2-1 early in the second.
Yet that was wiped out when Matt Hendricks put Nashville up 3-1 with just 2:38 gone by in the third, the topper coming when Paul Gaustad tossed one into the empty net with just over a minute remaining.
“After two periods, it’s just a one-goal game and that third goal killed us,” said Henrik Lundqvist, who made 22 saves but lost his third game in a row. “The only thing I know right now is it can only go up.”
That is an optimistic view, for sure, and an expected one from a man who just signed a seven-year, $59.5 million extension. The Rangers do have the under-.500 Blue Jackets and Flames coming up Thursday and Sunday, respectively, and that could help them level the ship.
Could being the operative word.
“Sometimes we’re playing so hard, you can tell we were just trying to do too much and that was causing problems,” said Brad Richards, who set up Nash’s goal with a great cross-ice pass. “It’s tough right now. This isn’t a fun part of the game, but it’s a challenge for us to come together here and get back to work.”
They also get back to work without their heart and soul in Callahan, making the challenge of turning this thing around even tougher.
“No one is going to feel sorry for us and no one is going to come in the building and give us a win,” Richards said. “So we have a lot of work to do.”