Streak Snapped | Calgary Flames

NEW YORK – Talk about hard sledding.

Nothing was going to be easy – even the MVP couldn't help preserve the win on this night.

Although he tried.

Jacob Markstrom – named the NHL's first star of the week earlier in the day – had another sensational night with 29 saves, but the Flames dropped a 2-0 decision to the Rangers at Madison Square Garden, snapping a four-game winning streak.

To make matters worse, the Flames lost a key player to injury.

Midway through the first period, spirited winger Jacob Pelletier buried himself in the boards next to Rangers captain Jacob Trouba's Flames bench. Returning four months after shoulder surgery earlier this trip, Pelletier slowly stood up and barely moved off the board without help from teammates.

The 22-year-old dominated his left shoulder for the next few minutes before being taken off during the first TV timeout.

He did not officially return with an upper body injury.

“It's brutal,” Rasmus Andersson said. “We all love the kid. He's a great guy and brings a lot of energy to our room. It's really bad. I hope he's going to be OK.”

Head coach Ryan Huska did not provide an update on Pelletier's condition after the game, but said from his perspective on the bench, “it doesn't look too serious,” but also noted that he had not yet spoken with Kent, the head athletic physical therapist. Kobelka.

Will Cuyle and Jimmy Vesey scored for the Blueshirts – the latter into an empty net with 18 seconds left in the game.

“We pushed – maybe the last five, 10 minutes,” Andersson said. “Other than that, a very poor game from our side. (Without Markstrom) maybe 5, 6-0.”

The Flames trailed early in the period, and while the shot clock was largely inconsistent (4-4 before the opening 4:25 p.m.), the Rangers had a distinct territorial advantage that forced Markstrom to make several runs. 10 calls to leave the clue of the game.

Vincent Trochek was at the heart of the action – first taking Artemi Panarin's pass down the wing and into the back of the net, but Markstrom stood tall to deny the winger.

Moments later, Panarin sent Trocek down for a moment on the edge of the net, but Markstrom produced one of his best stops of the year and snared it with his gloves as The Garden faithful were left on the halfway line. goal dance.

Somehow, Markstrom picked himself up seconds later, robbing Blake Wheeler one more time with his rapier-like glove hand, forcing the former 90-pointer to look up before slamming his stick into the ice in disgust.

Call it the Markstrom Effect.

It was the Flames' highest bid this year.

Shots on goal favored the Rangers 11-6, but the effectiveness of their time in the zone really stood out as the middle frame had a 9-1 edge in a high-danger display with all its strengths.

“How many A's did Marky save at first?” Andersson said. “The second period, maybe a little better, but still not good. Third, we pushed a little bit and got a few good looks to give them a one-goal lead, but we just couldn't get into it. .

“Just one of those nights where we had one good player on our team.”

Connor Zary called for one at the post as action for the Flames got underway at the start of the second day, but it remained an uphill climb.

All five skaters on the ice were frantic with 11:09 to play when they grabbed a dance partner after some bumping and hitting around the Flames net. Two Flares and three Rangers were fired, giving the visitors their first strong performance of the night.

However, the manipulation was quickly undone when Jonathan Huberdeau brought down Trouba to prevent a brief scoring opportunity.

At 12:31 p.m., the dam finally broke.

Kaapo Kakko showed great speed down the right flank before making a powerful cut across the net and slotting the ball into the box. With a faceoff and Markstrom's sideline threatened, Kuyle made a stop in the paint and cut in a loose puck to give the Rangers a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

The Flames died down late on and Blake Coleman in particular had a couple of great looks at Igor Shesterkin in the dying minutes, but they couldn't hold on.

“For whatever reason, it just wasn't our night,” Coleman said. “You go on this trip against good teams and if you say you're going to win 75% on the trip, I think you'll take it all day. But to lose this game means we have to pay. The ground is somewhere else, so it's time to wait it out at home.”