Rittich makes 44 saves in Flames 4-1 win over Rangers

If the New York Rangers can pout together an offensive game AND a defensive game then they may just be alright.

Until then, they will be a difficult team to watch this season.

Sunday night they took 45 shots on goal and lost 4-1 to the Calgary Flames in Manhattan.

David Rittich made 44 saves to get the win for the Flames.

“I thought without him tonight, it’s going to be a different story,” Flames coach Bill Peters said. “That was a real big two points, and it’s on his back.”

Mika Zibanejad was the only goal scorer for the Rangers.

“[Rittich] played really well, but we’ve got to find ways to take advantage of our chances, and we just haven’t done that,” Rangers coach David Quinn said. “That’s not just tonight. Throughout the season, we just haven’t been able to be opportunistic.”

Johnny Gaudreau and Garnet Hathaway each scored a pair of goals for the Flames.

“I think it started with our forecheck,” Hathaway said. “That’s a big part that we tried focusing on. You see [Jankowski] and [Dube] and how well they work down low, how evasive they are. And then you see the D keep it in and make moves at the blue line and get it to the net. If we keep working like that, it’s going to go well.”

[WATCH: All Flames vs. Rangers highlights]

Henrik Lundqvist took the loss on 22 saves.

They seem tantalizingly close to being a competitive club but there is not the experience to overcome the shortcomings.

“We are playing good enough to win games, but we are not finding ways to win games. It’s obviously something we need to change fast,” Lundqvist said after the loss.

Of the five losses so far this season, only one has been an embarrassment, the 8-5 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.