CALGARY, Alberta — It took the Rangers just 16 seconds to get back into a game that looked like it was over.
But their efforts only paid off as the Flames took the lead in the third period Thursday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome, losing 3-2 to the Rangers and winning their streak. stopped at 3.
Minutes before the game's midway point, the Flames had over 30 shots on goal before the Rangers scored in double digits.
The scoreboard reflected that, with Calgary leading 2-0 at the time.
The Blueshirts were a little flat when they had the ball, having struggled to retrieve the puck, but the Flames attacked them hard for it.
Every time the Rangers broke out, Calgary quickly turned the puck around and sent it back the other way.
When the Flames doubled the score on their third consecutive power play of the night (on Egor Sharangovich's one-timer), the Rangers called for a hand pass in front of the goal.
Although questionable, the referees deemed the play a deflection rather than a hand pass, giving the Rangers their fourth consecutive penalty kill.
But it took just 16 seconds for the Rangers to tie the game.
Alexis Lafreniere buried a rebound of Jacob Trouba's shot to cut the Flames' lead in half, then Will Quill deflected a shot from Quandre Miller to tie the game at two-all in a winner-take-all third period. was set.
Despite the Rangers' effective outburst of energy and scoring, that momentum quickly disappeared once Calgary locked down in the final frame.
Connor Zary attacked the net with Kaapo Kakko on his hip and funneled the puck past Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin for the winning goal.
The Rangers have only had four man-advantage chances in the past four games, indicating the team doesn't have enough of the puck to draw penalties.
They won just one award Thursday night, compared to the Flames' five.
For a team that relies heavily on the power play, the fact that the Rangers entered Thursday's game with the fewest man-advantage opportunities of all NHL teams was the most concerning after a 12-5-1 start. This is one of the parts.
The Flames had possession of the puck more in the first period, outscoring the Rangers 20-5.
Only six of Calgary's shots were considered high-danger, according to Natural Stat Trick, but that statistic still reflected the home team's momentum starting the game.
With the Russian netminder screened by Braden Schneider, the Flames forward converted Shesterkin's far corner, giving Matt Coronato the lead at 7:25.
