17-5-3

Last night, the Colorado Avalanche stopped the Rangers 7 game winning streak. It’s been a crazy stretch since the middle of November that saw the Rangers come together as a team. This streak was the longest since the 2015 season and put them near the top of the entire league and right underneath the Capitals for first place in the Metro division (the Caps were losing in OT which meant they lost ground slower to the Rangers, who were constantly winning, by getting one point instead of none by losing in regulation).

There’s been great concern since Igor got hurt (groin) a week ago. Georgiev played the last 15 minutes of that game and stopped all 9 shots to maintain the shutout against San Jose. He started the next two games and won those games as well, boosting is meager stats. Last night was a back to back so Adam Huska took over the net for his first NHL game. It was a trial by fire.

A 7-3 loss, the worst game since the shutout under the heels of Calgary. Were the Rangers simply too tired from the late game in Chicago the night before? Probably. Whatever it was, the team defense was horrible after the first period (ending 2-1 Rangers). It’s the kind of game where a lot went wrong and Colorado is a fast team that can and will take advantage of any mistakes their opponent makes. That’s basically what happened. With such a long streak, one loss isn’t a big deal. Have to sweep this one under the rug and move on. At least Nils got his first NHL goal, which was fantastic. It’s a busy schedule all the way up to Christmas…Buffalo tomorrow which shouldn’t be a problem and Colorado again next week (first game against Arizona too, which has to be a blowout by the Rangers).

Onward and upward!