Postgame: Ugly Start Costs Rangers in Loss to Hawks

Well, as the saying goes, "you can't win 'em all", and that's obviously how the Rangers should be looking at just their first loss in five games tonight. This was their fourth game in six days, and three of those games were wins over key Eastern Conference opponents, so there surely isn't much shame after this loss. The Blueshirts are still in first place, so not very much changed as a result. The fact that the Rangers had won four straight games prior to tonight does not disguise the fact that the team played its worst 20 minutes of hockey this season in the first period of this game, though. The defense was bad, Marty Biron was even worse in goal and the offense only managed to generate five shots despite getting three powerplays (one was a double minor). I urged in my pregame that the Blueshirts would have to come out of the gate ready to match the intensity of the Blackhawks, who would be extremely hungry after losing nine consecutive games. The Ra...