This was a makeshift lineup, one put together at the last minute with spare parts.
And after showing glimpses that an upset was possible, even having a one-goal lead with as little six minutes remaining in the third, the Rangers could only escape with one point, a 4-3 shootout loss to the mighty Blues on Monday night at the Garden. The game-winner came when the terrifically talented Vladimir Tarasenko scored in the third round of the skills competition, beating backup goalie Cam Talbot with a high wrister.
Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk had taken a slashing penalty with 36.8 seconds remaining in regulation, and the Rangers had a great chance with a power play carried over into the overtime. With a 4-on-3 advantage, Rick Nash took a great feed from Marty St. Louis, only to ring the pipe and have goalie Brian Elliott reach back and snatch it before it crossed the goal line. Nash had another chance late in the overtime, but Elliott made a great right-toe save to send it to the shootout.
The Rangers were missing four of their top six defensemen to injury or suspension, as the Blueshirts had to play Dylan McIlrath and Conor Allen, two rookie blueliners they just called up on Sunday. Both had shaky moments, and by the third period, coach Alain Vigneault was relying heavily on the only two remaining stalwarts he had, Dan Girardi and Marc Staal.
"Stability is good, but in this game, with the nature of the game and things that happen on a daily basis, sometimes you don't get a lot of it," Vigneault said before the game. "Right now, we have a few moving parts, and we'll sort it out."
That also took into account that forward Mats Zuccarello was out with what was assumed to be a lower-body injury, and Derek Stepan remained out, close to returning from his broken leg but not quite there yet.
"They're just part of the game," Vigneault said of the injuries. "This game is about finding ways to win, and that's what we've got to do."
The Blues (6-3-1) came into the game having won four in a row, and were 7-0-1 in their past eight trips into the Garden. They took a 2-1 lead 3:50 in the third period when Patrik Berglund had a puck deflect off his skate while he was left alone in front of the net.
The Rangers (5-4-1) almost tied it soon thereafter when Kevin Hayes had a wide-open net he missed with a backhand, and Chris Kreider couldn't bury one while Elliot was out of his crease — yet all five Blues converged in the net to stop it. Yet the Blueshirts managed to sustain some pressure and did tie it at 6:28, when Carl Hagelin made a terrific pass from behind the net to St. Louis, who shoved it in for what was his second goal of the season and just his third in 30 regular-season games as a Ranger.
St. Louis appeared to be the hero when he got another about six minutes later, finishing a terrific cross-ice pass from Rick Nash to go up 3-2. But the Blues needed just 1:16 to tie it again, when Jay Bouwmeester ripped a wrister into the top-right corner, making it 3-3 with just over five minutes to go.
The second period was a total reversal of momentum, as the Blues stopped taking penalties, stopped making defensive gaffes and the Rangers looked a lot more like the inexperienced team that they dressed than they did in taking a 1-0 lead in the first. On a bad change midway through the period, the Rangers allowed the Blues to come into the zone unimpeded, and the resulting 3-on-1 had Matt Hunwick take an interference penalty.
As karma would dictate, the Blues then converted on the power play, as Vladimir Tarasenko made an all-world rush, weaving through three seemingly stationary Rangers' defenders before going to his backhand and leaving Talbot both helpless and hapless in the face of a highlight-reel goal.
"We're playing against, in my book, one of the elite teams in the NHL," Vigneault said.
The Rangers couldn't have asked for a better start to the game, with the Blues fumbling around in their own end and taking four minor penalties. On one of those power plays, 5:29 into the game, Kreider charged into the slot and redirected a point shot from Hunwick to give the Blueshirts a 1-0 lead. The Blues could never muster any push-back, getting outshot 15-4, but the deficit stayed at one goal going into the second due to some solid goaltending from Elliott.
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