A day later, much has been made of Jonathan Quick going after Mason Appleton following his shot at an empty net when time expired. Considering how poorly the Rangers played, the 2-1 final score didn’t tell the whole story.

To be blunt, it was the worst game they’ve played this season. They were atrocious throughout against the Red Wings, who looked much faster than the Nov. 7 meeting that they won in Hockey Town.

They left Quick all by himself far too often last night. Unlike the Rangers, who were mostly one and done against former backup Cam Talbot, the Red Wings kept firing shots at Quick, who did his best to make a lopsided game competitive.

It’s hard to believe the game was still tied with less than five minutes left in the third period. Detroit not only outshot New York by a wide 14-3 margin, they were credited with 12 scoring chances to only four for the Rangers according to Natural Stat Trick. Four of their six high danger chances came in the final period.

On the game-winner Lucas Raymond scored, the Rangers stood around and watched him circle around the net and fire a shot past Quick with 3:47 remaining in regulation. It was a team effort on the deciding goal that cost them at least a point.

A turnover at the Red Wings blue line from Alexis Lafreniere allowed Moritz Seider to start a quick transition up for Dylan Larkin. After he moved the puck to Raymond, he easily gained the Rangers zone and beat Carson Soucy badly. With Adam Fox occupied in front of the net, Soucy didn’t bother chasing Raymond, who scored a goal as easy as one in NHL 94.

Vincent Trocheck was the only forward who came back defensively. J.T. Miller was too late, and Artemi Panarin had a nice view of things from the other side. It was pretty disgraceful. Even though he’s finally producing, Panarin should still be expected to give a better effort. Especially in a tie game. He just hung back.

After the Rangers didn’t score with a six-on-five, Appleton fired the shot into the empty net at the buzzer. An emotional player who doesn’t take kindly to that sorta thing, Quick made a bee line for Appleton while both Panarin and Zibanejad didn’t seem to mind.

Did Quick overreact? Absolutely. He was probably more upset with how they played. If he was trying to light a fire, he did. It got the team’s attention. Instead of just going back to the locker room with their heads between their asses, they had Quick’s back. Seeing every player for both teams at each other’s throats made for a unique scene.

The red and blue contrast in the jerseys was aesthetically pleasing. There’s something to be said about two Original Six teams wearing their traditional color centennial jerseys. It looked much better than either side wearing the road white.

If there’s one thing that should annoy our fans, why does Quick have to do that? At 39, he’s the oldest player on the roster. A throwback to how the game once was played.

Even in 2012, when he won his first Stanley Cup with the Kings, the game had a lot more edge back then. That same year, the Rangers and Devils had a line brawl that made MSG sound like a heavyweight title fight. If you were there for it, you know what I’m saying.

Would they have looked so disinterested if Matt Rempe played? Although he’s a role player who isn’t expected back anytime soon, he brings a lot of character and energy to the bench and during shifts. Coincidentally, Adam Edstrom hasn’t been as effective without him.

There was a much different feel to that line with Rempe. Taylor Raddysh hasn’t done much since his hot start. He doesn’t really fit on the fourth line. I’d move him up with Noah Laba.

I’m puzzled by the Rangers’ reluctance to play Juuso Parssinen over Jonny Brodzinski or Conor Sheary. What was the point of giving him a two-year contract?

The Rangers leadership is supposed to be better with Miller as captain. You wouldn’t know it by how underwhelming he’s been. He hasn’t looked any better shifting over to the right side to play with Zibanejad and Will Cuylle, who’s been one of the few bright spots on a vanilla roster.

It shouldn’t always be the same players that show up every night. They also shouldn’t need a kick in the ass from Quick to wake them up. A 1-7-1 home record is unacceptable. They’ve only scored over one twice. That’s unimaginable for a team that’s 9-1-1 on the road.

At 10-8-2, they look like a mediocre team still trying to figure it out. There’s a lot of parity in the league. So. They’re right where you’d expect them to be.

Now, they head back on the road for the next three games. In what world did it make sense to fly home for one game and then go to Vegas for tomorrow? You’ll have to ask both the NHL and MSG. When they complete the road trip at Utah, they’ll return to host the Blues before visiting Carolina and Boston before and after Thanksgiving.

Logical.