Just when you thought the Rangers could propel themselves into the playoff picture, or at least keep pace with the Boston Bruins, they put up a dud against the Montreal Canadiens on home ice. Greatly outplayed for much of the game, the Rangers lacked consistent energy throughout, managing just 11 shots in the first two periods, and 20 overall. Suffice it to say, the Rangers will have to regroup for their game on Thursday against the Blues.

Steve Zipay caught up with Erik Christensen, who touched on the Rangers struggles:

“We didn’t spend a lot of time in their end,” Erik Christensen said. “They blocked a lot of pucks at the blue line and came back real fast. Once they had the lead, they were chipping the puck back and making us regroup.”

Chris Drury also reflected on the Rangers problems in last night’s game

“We weren’t on the body as much as we should have been,” Chris Drury said. “They kind of lulled us to sleep in the neutral zone and just trapped us to death all night.”

…It could’ve been a great way to head into the game on Thursday, with three wins in a row. Instead, the Rangers have put a damper on the good vibes that they created from a good win against Philadelphia. The Canadiens always seem to make the Rangers look bad, they’re so quick, leading to Rangers that were out of position and Henrik Lundqvist needed to save the day on multiple occasions.