The Rangers, who have struggled so mightily at Madison Square Garden this season, lost another game at home Saturday afternoon.
And that may prove to be the least of their worries on the day.
Because with 12:57 left in the third period of their 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, defenseman Adam Fox, their second-leading scorer and power-play point man, left and did not return. The injury that caused him to leave, and his status, were immediately unknown.
In the meantime, the Rangers, playing the second game of a back-to-back, saw their three-game winning streak come to an end. Their home record fell to 2-8-1.
Brandon Hagel had two goals for Tampa Bay, and Nick Paul added a big insurance goal early in the third period.
Igor Shesterkin, playing for the second straight day after backstopping Friday’s 6-2 road win over the Bruins, stopped 31 of 34 shots to keep his team in it. J.T. Miller’s goal late in the second period off a pass from Fox, cut the Rangers’ deficit to 2-1, and briefly gave the Rangers hope, but they couldn’t capitalize.
Jake Guentzel scored into the empty net with 17.4 seconds left to end any suspense.
Down 3-1, the Rangers got a power play with 8:04 left in regulation. But they didn’t have Fox to run the point. They chose to use a five-forward power play, with Artemi Panarin running the point, and Will Cuylle joining the group to play at the net front. But they couldn’t score.
The Rangers, whose next game is Tuesday at home against Dallas, played their ninth game in 15 days on Saturday. They were sluggish and thoroughly outplayed over the first two periods. Only luck and some fine goaltending by Shesterkin kept them within striking distance.
With Jonathan Quick still on injured reserve with a lower-body injury – coach Mike Sullivan said Quick skated Saturday and has been skating for a few days – Shesterkin started the second game of a back-to-back for the seventh time in his career. In his previous six back-to-back starts, he had been 4-1 with a 2.41 goals-against average and .925 save percentage in the second game.
The Rangers trailed 1-0 after one period, and were outshot 11-2. Hagel’s second goal 2-0 midway through the second period made it 2-0, but Miller’s redirect of Fox’s feed at 17:31 of the second had them within 2-1 after two periods, despite being outshot 27-8.
But a penalty against Shesterkin for interfering with Hagel as he cut across the crease to try and pressure Vladislav Gavrikov, gave the Lightning a power play with 18.1 seconds left in the second, and though the Rangers managed to kill the penalty, Tampa Bay got a goal from Nick Paul shortly after it expired, at 2:02, to restore the Lightning’s two-goal lead.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.