I didn’t catch the first period of last night’s game. However, I was able to see the final two-plus including overtime and the latest shootout debacle. The Rangers were defeated by the Avalanche 4-3 in the skill competition. They lost for a third straight time in the shootout dropping their record to 1-3.

That Henrik Lundqvist was victimized tells you these are different days. As the Rangers are finding out, having Henrik doesn’t guarantee the extra point. He fell to 1-2 and took full responsibility even if the two shooters who beat him pulled off great moves. Both Nathan MacKinnon and Alex Tanguay deked Lundqvist to death. He admitted that he wasn’t patient enough despite some supreme skill.

It is what it is. At the end of the day, they came away with a point against a horrible defensive team that basically relied on Semyon Varlamov to bail them out. At one point, he didn’t have to stand on his head. A flat first period had Colorado in front on the strength of a Matt Duchene goal. He really is tremendous to watch giving Marc Staal and Dan Girardi fits. His speed and playmaking was on display scoring and setting up goals while creating dangerous opportunities.

Outshot 18-6 through an early portion of the second including 6-0, the Rangers finally turned it around. A wild middle stanza saw them spring to life outscoring Colorado 3-1. They outshot the Avs 10-4 the rest of the period. Kevin Hayes continued to shine. A dominant shift saw him draw a delayed call and then score his second from Dominic Moore and Matt Hunwick. Using his size and skill, he drove the front of the net for what would’ve been a hooking minor. Instead, the Rangers maintained possession. Kevin Klein reset in the neutral zone and then handed for Hunwick, whose shot Moore tipped right to Hayes for an easy finish at the goal mouth.

With the game knotted, Duchene worked some magic forcing a sliding Girardi to break up a scoring chance. However, he and Erik Johnson stuck with it setting up Tanguay for a sweet tip past Lundqvist. Amazingly, it was the veteran’s seventh goal. Who says you can’t go home? Tanguay is the only active player left from Colorado’s 2001 Stanley Cup. Fittingly, Patrick Roy is the coach. He really is a lot of fun showing plenty of emotion. Considering the run and gun style they play, you can see why.

Trailing 2-1, the Rangers drew even thanks to Derek Stepan, who converted a two-on-one for his first with 4:41 left. It came via a four-on-four. Following an iffy Dan Boyle boarding call that caught Johnson turning, a hustling Carl Hagelin forced Tanguay to hook him down. During a recent stretch, Hagelin has been playing well. He’s really skating and has been in on goals. Someone asked me recently what does Hagelin bring. You’re seeing it. A sloppy Colorado turnover led directly to Stepan skating in with Rick Nash. Using Nash as a decoy, he fired past Varlamov. I’m always asking him to shoot. For once, he listened.

After Boyle returned, the Blueshirts had a brief power play. Then Tanguay came back making it full strength. However, they maintained puck possession in the Colorado zone. On a bizarre night that saw former Ranger Dale Weise score on a penalty shot in a Habs’ win over the Bruins, John Moore and Mats Zuccarello combined to set up Girardi in front for a sweet finish that put the Rangers ahead with 2:58 remaining. It was incredibly odd to see Danny G look like a forward scoring. Aside from Klein’s three goals, Girardi became the second Ranger defenseman to score this season.

In the third, they had a chance to put it away but didn’t take advantage of a power play. Instead, a Jesper Fast holding minor allowed the Avs to tie it. MacKinnon caught a break when his shot pass for an open Duchene deflected off Girardi slipping past Lundqvist, who was anticipating the pass to Duchene. It was a bad break.

There were still plenty of chances to win. But Varlamov wouldn’t allow it. Aside from Johnson, his defense is non-existent. No wonder he nearly won the Vezina last season. Honestly, I feel he should’ve due to how poorly the Avs play in front of him. It’s like Christmas for opponents. That’s why they eventually fell in seven games to the Wild in the first round. Altogether, Varlamov stopped 30 including two in a more conservatively played overtime. But in the skill comp, he was better than Lundqvist.

Curiously, Alain Vigneault opted to shoot second. A change he later revealed was due to the last two shootout losses. It didn’t work. In Round 1, MacKinnon put on a series of dekes before finishing to give the Avs a 1-0 lead. After Varlamov stopped Zuccarello, Lundqvist denied Duchene. Stepan, who was their best player then wristed one home evening it after two frames. Then Tanguay turned back the clock with more fakes along with a beautiful finish. Vigneault had Lee Stempniak take the final shot but he was unable to beat Varlamov- allowing the Avs to skate off with a win.

Just a couple of quick observations:

-There was plenty of chatter on Twitter about Fast due to his penalty costing them. Everyone wants to see Anthony Duclair play. But it’s obvious that the coaching staff doesn’t fully trust him. They should just do him a favor and send Duke back to Quebec City. He’s wasting away in the press box. Development is best and that would include the U-20 World Junior Championships. My favorite prospect tournament. He should be a part of it for Canada.

-I’m really impressed with Klein. Who knew he could also add offense while playing a capable stay at home D? When the deal was made sending Michael Del Zotto to Nashville, I felt they could’ve done better. I didn’t feel MDZ got a fair shake from AV. However, with the way it turned out and the latest Del Zaster about his off ice shenanigans, kudos to Glen Sather. Klein has really stepped up with Ryan McDonagh out.

-Hayes is a keeper. His combination of size, skating and skill is fun to watch. It would be nice if he thought shot more but you cannot question his ability to hold onto the puck and make plays. He’s also solid defensively. He’s still learning. But the Rangers made the right decision keeping him over J.T. Miller. Speaking of which, if Duke goes to the Remparts, do we see JT again?

-One other thought on Fast. He just came back up. The criticism he received is understandable because Duclair is a better prospect. However, we shouldn’t be so quick to judge. Fast is older. It’s important to develop him and see if he can become a regular. What they’re trying to do is make him a defensively responsible forward first. He isn’t a bad fit on the fourth line. Duclair belongs in the top nine or back in juniors. Case closed.

-When you see Stepan put together the kind of games he did over the last two, it shows that he’s maturing into one of the Rangers’ leaders. Vigneault chose him as an alternate for a reason. When D-Step was vocal about wanting to take on more responsibility following the trade of former USA linemate Ryan Callahan- who btw visits MSG along with Brian Boyle and Anton Stralman Monday- it proved what he’s about. Stepan isn’t the most talented but his uncanny ability to see the whole ice and play solid two-way hockey makes him worth the new contract next summer. While there’ll be criticism for what he’ll earn (5.5-6 million), it’s market value. Even more, D-Step is similar to Callahan. Not just about fancy stats. Intangibles.

-If Hayes excels on the third line, a top three of Stepan, Brassard and Hayes is solid. While none of the trio will ever be mentioned in the same breath as Crosby, Malkin, Kopitar, Toews or Getzlaf, few teams are able to land such franchise players. Outside of 2003 with the failed Hugh Jessiman selection, the Rangers haven’t tanked but rather rebuilt through solid scouting in later rounds. Maybe it’s time to credit the organization. Of course, they probably want a do over on taking Dylan McIlrath over Cam Fowler. So do a few other teams. It happens.

-I can’t wait to see tomorrow’s rematch against the Pens. While they need more wins and must put together a good stretch in the second half of November to gain ground, I’m curious to see how Pittsburgh responds. Will we see a more edgy game? For the Blueshirts, they’ll see a different team Saturday. Can they raise their level in the rematch and step up against Tampa in Callahan’s homecoming? It will be a good litmus test. They need points but also must find consistency. We’ll get more definitive answers the next few days.