CALGARY, Alberta — The Rangers needed just 16 seconds to get back into a game they had no business being in over halfway through.
That was all their efforts were good for, however, as the Flames came out on top in the third period to hand the Rangers a 3-2 loss and end their three-game win streak Thursday night at Scotiabank Saddledome.
The jackhammer that was the Flames’ offense, which was especially potent in the first period and gave the home team the undisputed upper hand, ultimately prevailed.
“We got outworked,” head coach Peter Laviolette said bluntly through pursed lips, referencing the first period in particular.
A few minutes before the halfway point of the game, the Flames had reached more than 30 shots on goal before the Rangers even made it to double digits.
The scoreboard reflected as much, with Calgary leading 2-0 at that point on goals from Matt Coronato and Yegor Sharangovich.
Struggling with puck retrieval, the Blueshirts were a bit nonchalant when they did have possession, and the Flames torched them for it.
Whenever they broke up a Rangers breakout, Calgary was speedy in turning the puck around and sending it back the other way.
When the Flames doubled their score on their third straight power play of the night — on a bullet one-timer from Sharangovich — the Rangers challenged for a hand pass prior to the goal.
Questionably, refs deemed the play to be a deflection and not a hand pass. There certainly was frustration that stemmed from the failed challenge, but the Rangers managed to stay in the game.
In a matter of just 16 seconds in the second period, the Rangers had tied it up.
After Alexis Lafreniere buried a rebound off a Jacob Trouba shot to cut the Flames’ lead in half, Will Cuylle deflected a K’Andre Miller shot to knot the game at two-all and set up a winner-takes-all third period.
Despite the Rangers’ effective spurt of energy and scoring, it faded quickly as Calgary locked down in the final frame.
Connor Zary then attacked the net with Kaapo Kakko on his hip, before roofing the puck past Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin for the game-winning goal.
“They were coming at us hard,” Ryan Lindgren said. “We just weren’t doing a good job with the puck and without. They were shooting everything. That’s frustrating. Just spent too much time in the ‘D’ zone. We talked about it after the first and played a little better after that.”
The Rangers have had just four man-advantage opportunities in the past four games, a sign the team has not had the puck nearly enough to draw penalties.
the Rangers. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
They were awarded only one Thursday night in comparison to the Flames’ five.
For a team so heavily reliant on the power play, the fact that the Rangers entered Thursday’s game with the fewest man-advantage opportunities among all NHL teams is one of the more concerning parts of their 12-5-1 start.
“I don’t really think we ever really got to our top game” Trouba said. “Been playing pretty well on the road trip, had one get away from us. Regroup, we still have a chance to have a great road trip.”
