There was a theft in Madison Square Garden Tuesday night. The Anaheim Ducks were robbed of or perhaps gave-away a game to the New York Rangers, 3-2, in extra time.
Both clubs needed a win but it was the Rangers who used two steals in the Ducks’ defensive zone to score twice in regulation.
“It’s a big stepping stone,” defenseman Marc Staal said. “We were better. We just can’t forget it in the next five days. We have to keep it going after the break.”
Derick Brassard scored both Rangers goals in regulation; the first after he corralled an errant pass from Josh Manson in the low slot. Brassard fired a shot that surprised John Gibson to tie the game at one all.
Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau was livid after the play and after the game.
“You go up the middle when all he had to do was go to the side, his guy was wide open too,” Boudreau said. “Use the boards. It’s a simple play.”
Henrik Lundqvist had 17 saves in a badly needed win for the Rangers.
“We didn’t give up much,” Lundqvist said. “It was really great to see that we were in control for the most part. They didn’t pressure us much; they made it a little easier for us to stay in structure. It is something that we have to keep working on here, try to get back to our game and get back to the time and making good reads. I think tonight we were really paying attention to being in the right place.”
Rickard Rakell scored late in the third period to tie the game 2-2 after Brassard scored his second goal off a steal by Mats Zuccarello.
“Everybody wants to play as good as they can and be as productive and help the team in any way, and it just hasn’t worked,” Rakell said. “All we can do is go into the break and get some rest, think about what you can do different and make sure to come back and work for the guy next to you. We’ve got to change this around.”
Wanting to play well and actually doing it are two entirely different things and the Ducks are doing neither.
“The mistakes we’re making, this is the NHL, this isn’t the Junior B at 14 years old when you expect that,” Boudreau said. “This is the National Hockey League. Those guys gotta make better plays coming out of our zone.”
Corey Perry scored in the first period to give the Ducks a 1-0.
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