OTTAWA – The Rangers are 4-11-1 against Eastern Conference playoff teams, and in the next eight days they will face the Montreal Canadiens, the Winnipeg Jets, and the Pittsburgh Penguins twice. New York is 0-7-0 combined against those clubs this season.
 
On top of being shutout, 3-0, by the Senators on Thursday night at Scotiabank Place, the bleak road ahead likely contributed to Henrik Lundqvist’s frustration after this loss.
 
“I don’t know what to say,” Lundqvist said. “I have a few thoughts but I don’t think it’s going to help our group right now. Bottom line is, it’s not good enough and we’re not going to make it if … We need everybody right now. We need top player and smart plays for 60 minutes. We’re playing teams that are working really hard and we have to match it. If we’re not matching it, we’re not going to win.”
 
Lundqvist made 26 saves, several of which would have swung the momentum in the Rangers’ favor if they had ever had the ability and awareness to grab ahold of it.
 
“Hank played out of his head tonight for sure and gave us a chance,” defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. “Unfortunately, we can’t salvage a point or two.”

IGINLA TRADE TO PENGUINS HAS EAST FOES ON ALERT
 
Lundqvist made a big early save on Senators forward Mike Hoffman from the slot area, and Michael Del Zotto saved the rebound. Then with 13:45 remaining in the second period, Lundqvist shot out of his net and dove to the left circle to poke away the puck and undercut streaking Sens forward Jim O’Brien.
 
That save covered up for one of several miscues by third-pair defenseman Anton Stralman, who got caught along the right boards. It would not be a shock to see Matt Gilroy get another chance on the blue line in Montreal, considering how much Stralman has struggled the past couple games.
 
Stralman also was the defenseman that Hoffman beat around the left wing late in the second period, leading to Stralman’s tripping penalty as he tried to recover and eventually the Senators’ power-play goal from defenseman Andre Benoit to make it 1-0 with 48.8 seconds remaining in the second.
 
Earlier that period, Lundqvist had made a huge pad save on Erik Condra on a two-on-one and snagged a Kyle Turris wrister with his glove, and then in the third period he jabbed his left pad out to kick stop a Chris Phillips blast from the point.
 
Lundqvist also got help from Steve Eminger’s diving play to break up Jakob Silfverberg’s two-on-one pass attempt to Mika Zibanejad with his stick and 14:50 remaining in the second period. McDonagh, meanwhile, lifted O’Brien’s stick in the crease after Lundqvist stopped Condra’s shot to save a goal, getting help from center Kris Newbury, who shoved O’Brien away from the crease.
 
“Well, but they were able to skate pretty freely through the neutral zone that period,” McDonagh said. “I think we kind of beat ourselves and gave them those chances, with turnovers and some pucks we didn’t clear. They were jamming it down our throats there.”
 
“I just don’t like our (first) 40 minutes,” John Tortorella said. “I’m just a little bit frustrated with that. After playing the way we did in Philly and just not generating any offense until the third period (tonight). At this time of year, that’s why you lose. It’s not good enough. That’s why you lose. You’re not gonna win any games by not scoring any goals or generating offense.
 
“I thought our third period was better,” the coach continued. “It’s one of those periods, as we talked about, no matter how bad you played the first 40, you’re still down 1-0. I thought we made some big plays to (try to) tie that game up and we just didn’t do it. And this time of year, we need a big play at that time, no matter how ugly it was until then. And we come up empty.”
                                                                                                               
Whatever worked in Philadelphia didn’t in Ottawa.
 
Carl Hagelin moved his legs and generated some solid forechecks, but that top line with Derek Stepan and Rick Nash didn’t do nearly enough.
 
That line combined for three shots on goal. Nash had none. Stepan, who has been New York’s best player, had his first bad game in a while, getting manhandled in the faceoff circle by Senators center Kyle Turris and winning just four of 17 draws on the night.
 
Tortorella started with the same lines he used in Philadelphia but switched it up quickly.
 
From the end of the first period on, the coach took Marian Gaborik off the line with J.T. Miller and Ryan Callahan and moved Gaborik onto the right wing of Chris Kreider and center Brad Richards. That promoted Brian Boyle to Miller’s line, and that trio created the Rangers’ best scoring chance of the game early in the second period, with Miller driving to the net and getting one shot on goal and one just wide as Boyle fought off bodies in front of Senators goalie Ben Bishop.
 
The Rangers’ fourth line of Taylor Pyatt, Kris Newbury and Arron Asham was the only line that provided consistent energy, particularly early, and Newbury had a great chance of an offensive zone takeaway. Bishop saved the shot in front and Asham should have had a glorious rebound but couldn’t make contact on the sliding puck.
 
That was a maddening aspect of the Rangers’ game Thursday night: from Stepan to Callahan to Richards, players were whiffing on the puck anytime they seemingly had an opportunity from good range to beat Bishop.
 
McDonagh’s streak down the left wing, denied by Bishop with 9:14 remaining in the third period and New York trailing 1-0, was the Rangers’ best chance at tying it up. Del Zotto also executed a give-and-go with Stepan about a minute earlier that led to a strong shot from the defenseman in the center of the ice and a Bishop shoulder save.
 
Miller, the rookie center, made several glaring miscues, including a defensive zone turnover that Eminger cancelled out and a poor flail at the puck in the third period when he was tired at the end of a shift. However, Miller created more offense seemingly than anyone on the Rangers’ roster, determined and not allowing the miscues to get in his way.
 
The statisticians at Scotiabank Place credited Miller for two shots on goal, which is laughable. He had about five or six and was all over the offensive zone. I’m guessing their argument is that a couple of his shots saved by Bishop already were going wide, but if that’s the case, it wouldn’t have been by much.
 
Rookie Chris Kreider, meanwhile, led all players with a game-high four shots on goal.
 
For a second straight game (not counting most of Tuesday’s first period), Tortorella played Del Zotto and Girardi together on one defensive pair and Eminger and McDonagh together on another.
 
Again, defense wasn’t the Rangers’ issue. They are the second-lowest scoring team in the league, averaging 2.27 goals per game. Only Columbus, Nash’s former team, is averaging fewer goals per outing (2.21).
 
The 0-for-4 power play with two shots on goal in eight minutes was just abysmal. The first unit had Del Zotto and Stepan at the points, with Nash, Richards and Callahan up front. The second unit had McDonagh and Girardi at the points, with Gaborik, Miller and Kreider up top. Miller and Kreider created something and Gaborik had a scoring chance on a third-period power play, streaking up ice but stopped by Bishop. Otherwise, not much to discuss there.
 
Benoit’s power-play goal for Ottawa, by the way, went off Derek Stepan’s stick and deflected past Lundqvist. Callahan told me that and was frustrated about losing his own stick on that shift.

The Rangers have surrendered a power-play goal in five consecutive games, in seven of their last eight and in a stunning 19 of 33 games this season.
 
Before traveling to Montreal, the Rangers will practice at noon Friday at the Ice House at Carleton University.
 
THE QUOTE SHEET
 
Tortorella on whether special teams was the difference: “Well it didn’t help. Our power play had some looks in the third period. Cally has a chance to one-time into the net, it goes wide. I thought it was better in the third period. We break a stick second period, can’t get to the bench with the penalty killing. You could just see it coming there.”
 
Nash on the loss:“We couldn’t finish. We had the chances. We just couldn’t seem to put it in.”
 
Nash on how the Senators beat the Rangers: “Just plain and simple we weren’t good enough. They come out, they keep it simple. They don’t make too many defensive mistakes. They score on their opportunities. And we didn’t.”
 
Nash on the power play: “We weren’t good enough to get job done. Games like that on the road you need your special teams to come through and you need to win the special teams battle and we didn’t.”
 
Girardi on whether Rangers responded at least a little better to a 1-0 deficit: “Well it’s a late goal in the second but we come in, it was right by intermission, so we’re clearing our heads, we’re trying to get a good start. We didn’t play bad in the third but we didn’t play great, get a goal or create pressure all the time … I don’t know.”
 
Callahan on the offense:“There wasn’t enough, and then in the third me personally I had chances and I don’t score. I look at myself as a guy who has to contribute and put the puck in the net, and there are some key opportunities and I don’t score.”
 
Callahan on where the Rangers stand: “We’re still right in the playoff picture, so there’s time. There’s time left and we have to figure out how to put a couple together. I think that’s our biggest thing is consistency. We have a good win in Philadelphia and we don’t play well for two periods. That’s our biggest concern: Our consistency through our game.”
 
Callahan on the penalty kill: “When you’re struggling to put the puck in the net, your penalty kill has to be almost perfect, and when it’s not, it shows, especially when the power play isn’t putting the puck in every night.”
 
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