Turnovers continue to cost the New York Rangers as Ottawa Wins 3-2 (Highlights)

After losing to Dallas on Monday, the New York Rangers tried—and failed—to get back on track against Ottawa on Wednesday.

• New York Rangers 2 (16-12-3, 35 points)
• Ottawa Senators 3 (10-13-7, 27 points)
• NYR Goals: Michael Grabner (15), Pavel Buchnevich (11)
• OTT Goals: Bobby Ryan (2), Cody Ceci (4), Zack Smith (2)
• NHL, Final, Boxscore
• Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, Canada

Turnovers have been hurting the Rangers all season and tonight’s game was no exception. The Rangers found themselves down 2-1 as they entered the third period and wound up on the short side as the Senators won 3-2. It was only their second win in their last 14 games.

The Senators had not scored the first goal of a game in the last five games they played. Bobby Ryan took care of that just four minutes into the first period as he beat Henrik Lundqvist off a feed from the Senators’ leading point man, Mark Stone. The first period ended with Ottawa leading 1-0.

Now that's the start the @Senators were looking for. #NYRvsOTT https://t.co/W4Hy6n0xLy

— NHL (@NHL) December 14, 2017

The Rangers got on the scoreboard early in the second period as Michael Grabner scored a goal with help from an incredible pass off the stick of Mats Zuccarello to make the score 1-1. Ryan McDonagh had the other assist, putting him in a tie for second place for even-strength assists at 13.

👀 @grabs40’s 15th 🚨 of the season! Stay tuned for more #NYR hockey on @MSGNetworks or https://t.co/TMLf6zaGIh. https://t.co/UabR2QeYex

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) December 14, 2017

At 15:08 of the second period, Rangers defenseman Brendan Smith lost the puck and then his stick, resulting in a Senators goal by Cody Ceci, giving Ottawa the lead again, 2-1.

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https://twitter.com/hayyyshayyy/status/941119617669455872

The Senators took their 2-1 lead into the third period and it only took eight seconds for them to extend their lead to two goals. Zach Smith scored on a feed from Tom Pyatt as J.T. Miller lost sight of Smith in front of the net.

https://twitter.com/hayyyshayyy/status/941126638972137472

The Rangers showed no quit after the Smith goal, though, as Pavel Buchnevich scored on an assist from Chris Kreider to cut the Senators lead to 3-2 at 4:40 of the third period. Kreider’s assist was his 200th career NHL point (99 goals, 101 assists).

https://twitter.com/hayyyshayyy/status/941128732433141762

The early third-period goal by Smith proved to be the game-winner, as Ottawa held on to win, 3-2. The Senators outshot the Rangers 30-to-29.

The Rangers are back on the ice Friday as they host the Los Angeles Kings. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

A Milestone for the King

Lundqvist reached a milestone in the first period, making save number 20,000. He became only the 15th player in NHL history to reach this plateau.

With that save Henrik is the 15th goaltender in @NHL history to make 20,000 career saves. #NYR pic.twitter.com/TZx0IZIaqU

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) December 14, 2017

[sc name=”Rangers Link Next” link=”https://elitesportsny.com/2017/12/13/new-york-rangers-what-is-wrong-ryan-mcdonagh/” text=”What Is Wrong With Ryan McDonagh?” ] [sc name=”Rangers Section” ]