Calgary’s Joe Colborne celebrates a goal while Ryan McDonagh can’t bare to look.
The Canadian Press/Jeff McIntosh

It was a Flame out. By quick show of hands, who thought the Rangers would fall victim to the classic trap game? Unmistakably, I did. Maybe it was the lingering doubt that after such an emotional win just two days ago in the Eastern time zone, the first game in Western Canada was doomed from the start. The all too predictable end result was a 4-3 loss in Calgary snapping their five-game win streak.

Look. No matter what way you slice it, it’s unacceptable. Sure. This was always going to be a tough game due to all the travel. The schedule makes no sense because it’s not supposed to. Make no mistake. The Rangers had enough chances to win in regulation. They fired 18 shots on Karri Ramo in the first period alone. None beat him. For the game, they outshot the Flames 41-28. It didn’t matter. Calgary was opportunistic beating Henrik Lundqvist four times on 28 shots. They also were resilient after blowing a two-goal lead when they gave up three straight to fall behind 3-2 before rallying in the deciding second.

”They’ve been playing well,” Lundqvist said. ”They’ve been beating a lot of good teams. They’re a fast team. It doesn’t matter if you play a team in the playoff race. Guys are playing for pride and for jobs and they’re going to come hard no matter what.”

After Kevin Westgarth tied it, Michael Cammalleri beat Lundqvist with an unscreened wrist shot from the right circle with only 7.7 seconds left in the period. It was one you rarely see him allow. This one trickled through resulting in a back breaker. The Rangers spent most of the third attacking in the Calgary zone. They fired 11 more shots on Ramo, who let out some rebounds. But no one pounced.

Alain Vigneault tried different combos. At one point, he had Rick Nash with Derick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello. Nothing worked. Despite good pressure, they never found the equalizer on a night the Flyers gained ground with a 4-2 win over the Leafs. Philadelphia trails the Rangers by one point for second in the division with two extra games left. Neither club plays Saturday. The Blueshirts visit Edmonton Sunday while the Flyers are home for the Bruins.

The best opportunity came from Derek Stepan. Set up in front by Zuccarello, he was denied by Ramo from in tight. He probably didn’t get the shot he wanted but it was a bang bang play with not much room. Stepan also had another chance on the rush but chose poorly with a weak backhand that never even reached the net. It typified a frustrating final stanza which saw them fire blanks. Along with the 41 shots on goal, they missed the net 14 times and had another 17 blocked. That’s 31 of 72 attempts that never reached its target. Oddly enough, the Flames missed the net nine times and only had five blocked. That might be more indicative of the Rangers dominating territorially.

The trouble was they were poor defensively and Lundqvist allowed a cheap winner. Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi had off nights each going minus-two. When that happens, you lose. There also were undisciplined penalties which contributed to the loss. Derek Dorsett took one of those ill advised offensive zone minors early that led directly to Joe Colborne’s power play goal. I don’t like to pin the blame on a guy who scored a big goal last game and hustles. His bad penalty set the tone. Mark Giordano scored later in the first to put Calgary in front 2-0. Easily one of the most unheralded defensemen, he plays in obscurity. He’s put together a nice season.

”We knew coming into this game that Calgary was a very good team at four-man rush and they proved it tonight,” Vigneault said. ”We didn’t do a good enough job coming back in our zone and picking up the rush and after the rush protecting the front of our net. That led to Grade-A opportunities and they capitalized.”

The Rangers were able to come back scoring three in a row during the first six minutes of the second. Dorsett and Dominic Moore helped set up Brian Boyle’s sixth. That was followed 39 seconds later by Raphael Diaz. Since replacing the injured John Moore in the lineup, the extra defenseman has been a godsend. He’s provided Vigneault with another righty shot from the blueline who can get it through. He had four tonight with two takeaways and went plus-one in 24 shifts (17:36 TOI) paired with Kevin Klein. Brad Richards completed the three-goal barrage with his 18th coming from Carl Hagelin and Benoit Pouliot. Ironically, both Hagelin and Pouliot were again strong. It seems like what ever line they’re on gets a cycle going.

Unfortunately, the second had a bad ending with the Flames getting the final two. Cammalleri notching the deciding marker with less than eight seconds left off a rush in which he snuck past the defense. Chris Butler made a smart outlet and Cammalleri wisely shot and got rewarded. Sometimes, it’s really that simple. There were too many instances in the third where the Rangers passed up shots with silly passes. It was Karri Ramo in net. Not Mike Vernon. And definitely not Miikka Kiprusoff.

The Rangers only had one power play. But there were only three penalties total. And our man-advantage was so bad that it wouldn’t have mattered if they got another. It’s back to Mike Sullivan level. Not to beat a dead horse. But they do miss Chris Kreider’s net presence. It’ll be hard to replace what he brought. Six of his 17 goals came on the power play. J.T. Miller played less than 10 minutes and was nowhere to be found late.

Martin St. Louis had another game to forget. He had a goal disallowed and took a very bad offensive zone penalty with over two minutes left in regulation. Yes, it was the right call. He grabbed hold of Giordano, who sold it. But it would’ve resulted in a scoring chance. The refs had no choice. St. Louis was trying hard his final couple of shifts. He was noticeable on the forecheck. I’m trying hard to give him the benefit of the doubt. But my patience is running out. How in the world can he still not have a goal and only three assists? Enough excuses. The guy wanted to come here. Either produce or get out.

Rant done. Onto the next one. 😛