It was a frustrating start to the three-game road trip for the New York Rangers, whose late rally fell short in a 3-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights at The Fortress.

The loss was their second in a row. It was just the second time they’ve lost a road game in regulation. The other came against the Calgary Flames on Oct. 26.

Unlike that one, the Rangers could’ve won against the Golden Knights, who entered play with only one win over their last six games (1-2-3). They also hadn’t won at home since Nov. 4. They were due for a victory. Even if it wasn’t a great show by Vegas standards.

Ultimately, the Rangers lost this one due to not getting enough from their top stars. For most of the night, they struggled to establish anything. Due to that, coach Mike Sullivan constantly juggled his lines in an attempt to get them going.

Both Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad had off nights. Panarin took an offensive zone penalty that led directly to a Vegas power-play goal from Braeden Bowman, who put in a Tomas Hertl rebound past Igor Shesterkin.

There were too many empty shifts for Panarin, whose passing wasn’t up to speed. Alexis Lafreniere also struggled to establish anything. He’s gone three straight games without a point. There’s still too many instances where he vanishes. They can ill afford for Lafreniere to go through another empty stretch like last year.

Zibanejad has been pretty consistent. However, he was unable to get much going against the stingy defense of the Knights. His line with J.T. Miller and Will Cuylle was eventually changed by Sullivan in the middle of the game.

Facing Akira Schmid for the first time since he beat them in the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs with the New Jersey Devils, the Rangers didn’t get enough shots through. Vegas blocked 17 shots. They were particularly tough in the third period, making life difficult.

Following a soft goal Shesterkin allowed to Ben Hutton, Jonny Brodzinski put in a rebound of a Will Cuylle shot to make it 2-1 with 11:04 left in the second period.

A good defensive play from Carson Soucy forced a turnover inside the Rangers blue line. That allowed Cuylle and Brodzinski to skate in on a two-on-one. Cuylle shot for a rebound off Schmid that Brodzinski finished for his second.

By that point, Sullivan had started mixing and matching. They were out with Noah Laba, who always seems to provide a lift. It was the play of his line that was noticeable. Laba’s ability to make plays due to his size and speed remains a constant on a team that lacks consistency.

Eventually, Sullivan decided to flip Brodzinski and Cuylle. With Brodzinski up with Zibanejad and Miller, he nearly tied the game late in the second. However, Schmid smothered his rebound to keep Vegas in front.

Brodzinski was the Rangers’ best forward. As commendable as that is, this team isn’t winning many games with Brodzinski as their best player. It’s an indictment on the same leadership who failed to show up against the Detroit Red Wings.

With Sullivan back behind the bench after missing the last game for family reasons, he opted to keep Matthew Robertson in on the blue line with Braden Schneider. The return of Will Borgen meant that Scott Morrow sat out. It would’ve been nice to see him play again.

Adam Edstrom was a healthy scratch. Juuso Parssinen was inserted into the lineup on the fourth line. He played with Sam Carrick and Taylor Raddysh, who again was ineffective. He’s better suited on the third line, where Sullivan tried him for a shift. Raddysh also got a cameo with Zibanejad and Miller, who continues to look like he’s got something nagging him. If he does, why continue to run him out there?

Vegas played a strong third. They came out and got the first five shots. A Soucy penalty  for interference led to the Knights converting for the second time on the power play. Shea Theodore had his long shot beat Shesterkin through traffic to make it 3-1 at 7:18. Shesterkin mildly protested due to some minor contact, but he was outside his crease. So, the goal counted.

The Rangers thought they had one when Brodzinski put in a rebound. However, the play was way offside. Even live, it was easy to tell that Zibanejad was way ahead of the play on the entry. It was ridiculous that the linesman missed it. The Vegas offside challenge took less than a minute to overturn the call on the ice.

With Shesterkin lifted for an extra attacker, the big guns finally did something. Miller made a pass up top for a Panarin shot that Vincent Trocheck deflected in to cut the deficit to 3-2 with 2:43 left in regulation.

That was as close as they came. Once again, the Rangers lost to Schmid. It wasn’t because he was great. He only had to make 17 saves. But that was enough to beat Shesterkin, who finished with 23 saves.