This was supposed to be a high-profile matchup, a competition between two teams that have outperformed their respective teams combined throughout the first two-plus months of the season.
The Canucks certainly played like the No. 1 team in the Pacific Division.
The same cannot be said for the No. 1 team in the metropolitan area.
The Rangers looked foolish at times on Monday when they lost 6-3 to a heated Vancouver team with a victory that vaulted the Blueshirts into second place in the NHL standings.
It was the Rangers' eighth loss of the season by a margin of three points or more.
Vancouver will always be a defensive challenge for the Rangers as they lead the NHL in points to start games, but the home team put the puck up too many times against a club that paid the price too many times.
Facing a 3-1 deficit for the second time in the game, head coach Peter Laviolette began tinkering with the line in the second period to get Artemi Panarin as much play as possible.
With Laviolette on the top two unit, the Rangers' forward bench was effectively cut in half, leaving rookie Brennan Osman with the only one-minute shift in the middle slot.
It worked when Alexis Lafreniere intercepted the puck at the blue line, pulled it into the offensive zone and hit Panarin on a drive for his 26th goal of the season at the 8:19 mark.
But the Canucks were getting comfortable under the Garden spotlight.
Elias Pettersson first waited for a sliding play from K'Andre Miller before taking a shot to Igor Shesterkin, but although Shesterkin made the first save, the Vancouver forward allowed his own ball around the Rangers goalie. They were unable to recover as they skillfully manipulated the rebound.
It was an impressive scene, but Nils Hoglander somehow topped it just a minute later, as the Canucks' fourth-line wing made an outrageous backward tuck and backhand finish to take a 5-2 lead. .
Vincent Trocheck scored his second goal of the night early in the third period as the Rangers outscored the Canucks 14-5 in the final frame.
However, Pettersson's empty-net goal led to the Rangers fans being ejected.
At the 3:38 mark of the opening frame, the Rangers might have taken the lead on a power-play goal by Trocheck, who held his stick like a scoring sword this season, but the Canucks pushed the pace on a 5-on-5 run. Play most of the night.
As has become a trend for the Rangers, Vancouver responded with a goal from former Blueshirt JT Miller 53 seconds later.
The Rangers lost a number of contests for possession in neutral territory, allowing the Canucks to push back into their own territory, and Nils Hoglander hit a one-time shot past Shesterkin at 6:45.
Brock Boeser then got behind the pair of Quandre Miller and Jacob Trouba and finished with a backhand for a 3-1 lead.
Booing followed the Rangers as they headed to the locker room for the first intermission. In the second period, the voices got even louder midway through.
After the final whistle rang as they trudged off the ice, the sound echoed throughout the arena.
