This one won’t be fondly remembered for its excitement. Without Rick Nash, who missed the game due to neck spasms, the Rangers played differently. Following two ugly periods that featured way too many icings, rookie Kevin Hayes got the lone goal and Cam Talbot shut the door in a 1-0 win at MSG over the Flames.

Talbot stopped six third period shots en route to his fourth shutout. He made 21 saves altogether improving to 7-1-2 since Henrik Lundqvist’s injury. Despite giving up a lot of goals, he had been winning consistently. As a team, the Rangers are 8-1-2 since Lundqvist went down earning 18 of 22 points. They maintained pace with the Islanders remaining two points out of first. The Isles broke open a tie game with a four-goal third to beat the Coyotes 5-1. The Rangers have three games at hand.

The game wasn’t a Picasso because it didn’t have to be. Without Nash, coach Alain Vigneault moved Hayes up to the top line with Derick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello. The second and fourth lines remained intact. Rookie Oscar Lindberg made his NHL debut on the third line with Carl Hagelin and J.T. Miller. He was fine taking 16 shifts (8:18) finishing with two shots, three hits and winning two of five draws. He didn’t look out of place but is expected to go back to Hartford if Nash returns Thursday against the Coyotes.

Facing the Flames for a second time, the Rangers got an early power play and nearly scored. But Calgary goalie Karri Ramo slid across to rob Miller on the doorstep. It was an eventful night for Miller, who had his first NHL fight with Michael Ferland in the second. He didn’t win but got a couple of shots in before being taken down.

Vigneault opted for Matt Hunwick over John Moore in the continuing sixth defenseman rotation. Hunwick struggled during some shifts including a scary one in the final minute of the first following a dreadful Tanner Glass turnover. Why Vigneault insists on having his worst line and worst defensive pair out in the last minute of periods remains a mystery. He nearly got burned.

After the Rangers were credited with 10 shots to the Flames’ seven in a scoreless first, the teams played about as uneventful a second as possible. Aside from Miller’s scrap versus Ferland, there was nothing going on. The teams managed to combine for several icings in between the 17 total shots. Both netminders were sharp keeping the game scoreless after 40 minutes.

For a while, it looked like this one was destined for a shootout. But Brassard pounced on a Dennis Wideman neutral zone turnover and fed Hayes for a sweet finish with 17:00 left in regulation. Hayes stayed hot scoring for the fifth time over his last nine games. He then got a cool #PurpleHayes tribute from MSG during a stoppage. Playing against former Boston College teammate Johnny Gaudreau, Hayes had another strong game playing the left wing for the first time this season. He continues to improve and is eighth in rookie scoring with 27 points.

For a welcome change, the Rangers played well with the lead in the third. Instead of sitting back, they attacked and got better chances forcing Ramo to come up with some difficult saves. He finished with 28 in a losing effort earning the game’s third star. The Rangers outshot the Flames 10-6 and never were really threatened.

It was my first game since 12/8. A birthday win over the Pens. While there were lulls, it was still fun. Especially hearing someone yap “There’s some Corsi” in reference to Glass leveling a Flame with a big hit that lead to a Rangers scoring opportunity. Aside from a couple of predictable moments, he played a decent game registering four hits and even getting two shots on net. The first one a routine wrist shot from the right circle that Ramo easily squeezed to my amusement.

With his team nursing a one-goal lead, Vigneault chose to substitute Dominic Moore for Lindberg on the third line. Moore is defensively responsible and basically is the whole fourth line. He was dominate on faceoffs winning 10 of 11 while playing a smart two-way game. Despite being held back by Glass and Lee Stempniak, Moore’s still found a way to shine. A credit to how smart a player the former Harvard alum is.

Calgary made one last ditch effort with Ramo pulled for an extra attacker. They held the puck in a couple of times and moved the puck around but were unable to get a quality shot through. The Rangers defended well in front of Talbot making his life easy. It was the best they played since a Feb. 4 win over the Bruins.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Kevin Hayes, NYR (goal-12th of season at 3:00 of 3rd, +1 in 18:33)

2nd Star-Karri Ramo, CGY (28 saves)

1st Star-Cam Talbot, NYR (21 saves for 4th shutout)