MONTREAL — A 62-second nightmare, that’s what it was for the Rangers and that’s what it was for Henrik Lundqvist on a Saturday night of intense, dramatic and unpredictable hockey that ended in a 5-4 Rangers loss to the Canadiens.
The Blueshirts and their goaltender, who came in to start the second period after Antti Raanta suffered a lower-body injury, buckled and imploded, surrendering three goals on consecutive shots of all shapes and sizes at 10:53, 11:29 and 11:55 of the third to squander a 3-2 lead the Rangers had achieved against nemesis Carey Price.
When it was over, when they had gone down in a finish as frantic as most of the match, the Rangers blamed themselves for a loss of focus and a loss of structure. No one would blame Lundqvist, who is at the nadir of a magnificent career after having allowed nine goals in five periods over the last two nights, and of course they wouldn’t.
“Bang … bang … bang,” Derek Stepan said. “We have to be able to grab ahold of things much better than we did when the momentum turns the way it did. It’s a good lesson for us.”
This was physical and emotional from the start. And guess what? When goals go in, games become compelling. And, guess what? After having scored a sum of four goals on 271 shots over 541:31 in their past nine regular-season games against Price on his home ice dating back to the start of 2010-11 — over which time they had been shut out six times — the Blueshirts scored three on 22 shots within 31:07 to carry a 3-2 lead into the third.
J.T. Miller, who fought Andrew Shaw in the first period after the Montreal forward picked up a five-minute interference major and game misconduct for blasting Jesper Fast into oblivion, scored shorthanded for the 3-2 lead at 11:07 after Brandon Pirri had scored on the power play in the first and Rick Nash banged home a rebound earlier in the second.
The Rangers were resilient and relentless, even after Lundqvist surrendered a goal on the first shot he faced, a deflection in front from an uncovered Alex Galchenyuk at 3:08 of the second, and then another off a goalmouth scramble at 7:58 with two Habs camped alone in front. And they played with poise through the first half of the third.
Until. The. Castle. Caved. In.
“The first half of that period, we played really well,” said Ryan McDonagh, who had moments of brilliance through a spectacularly uneven 25:55. “We forced them to come the length of the ice. We had a good gap. We were where we wanted to be.
“And then we lost it. It’s a matter of focus and structure. We have to find the way to finish that.”
The beginning of the end came when Alexei Emelin somehow sent a seeing-eye 60-footer from the left boards through a screen and past an almost startled Lundqvist at 10:53. It is the kind of inexplicable long one that has undermined No. 30 since he allowed one like that — from the right side — in Carolina way back on Oct. 28.
“Did it look like I [saw] it? No, I didn’t see it,” Lundqvist, who has looked lost these last two nights after coming off the bye week, said.
Then, a Max Pacioretty breakaway at 11:29 on which the goaltender had no chance. Then, a Paul Byron backhand from the right doorstep that glanced in off Adam Clendening’s skate at 11:55.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Game. Set. Match.
“I can’t [explain it],” said Lundqvist, who yielded five goals on 22 shots after Raanta stopped all 10 he faced through the first 20 minutes. “Just things going wrong, extremely fast.
“It’s disappointing. I’m trying hard to be positive. I’m trying to battle. But obviously things are not bouncing the right way.”
Nightmare in 62 Seconds.
The Rangers are not interested in a sequel.