Rangers blow four separate leads in wasteful OT loss to Canadiens-quang

MONTREAL — The Rangers are in no position to be whiffing on winnable games. 

A season-best point streak that reached eight games Sunday night, after a 5-4 overtime loss to the Canadiens, is not nearly enough to erase the damage of the Blueshirts’ awful stretch from the end of November through December. 

It is a start to a much-needed turnaround, but the Rangers know that every point matters. 

“We’re playing a lot better hockey and points are good, I think it’s more frustrating when you have the ability to get the two and kind of let that slip away,” said Adam Fox, who assisted on Chris Kreider’s 4-3 score at the end of the second period. “That’s where the frustration is. It’s always good to get points, I think that’s important, but down the road those extra points are going to be big.” 

Patrik Laine scores during the Canadiens-Rangers game on Jan. 19, 2025.

Patrik Laine was the OT hero for the Canadiens, scoring 3:20 into the extra session after the Rangers led by a goal on four separate occasions throughout a physical matchup in front of an always passionate Bell Center crowd. 

Montreal never let the visitors get too far out of reach, and the Rangers failed to capitalize on their opportunities to pad their lead. 

Goalie Jonathan Quick, who made 33 saves in the loss, was denied win No. 400 for a third time. 

Chris Kreider reacts during the Rangers-Canadiens game on Jan. 19, 2025.

“He’s been great all year,” Mika Zibanejad said of Quick, after the Swedish center notched his first power-play goal since Dec. 11 to make it a 3-2 game in the second period. “He gives us a chance to win.” 

Careless play in the Rangers’ own zone in the middle frame — a trend during the ugly 4-15 stretch the team is trying to separate itself from — was costly. 

A Will Borgen turnover led to a Nick Suzuki goal that made it a 3-3 game at the 15:05 mark. 

Even though Chris Kreider banged home a laser feed from Fox to give his team a one-goal lead heading into the third period, the Canadiens got the better of the Blueshirts in the third. 

Juraj Slafkovsky buried a rebound at the 12:52 mark to tie the game up for a fourth time, as Montreal outshot the Rangers, 16-6, through the final 20 minutes of regulation. 

Both teams were playing on the second night of a back-to-back slate, with the Rangers coming off a 1-0 shootout win over the Blue Jackets at the Garden on Saturday night. The Canadiens, on the other hand, blew a 3-0 lead and gave up seven unanswered goals in a loss to the Maple Leafs at home. 

Jonathan Quick makes a save during the Rangers-Canadiens game on Jan. 19, 2025.

Montreal counted as the second of four straight teams on the Rangers schedule who are ahead of them in the Eastern Conference wild-card race. 

With the victory, the Canadiens leapfrogged the Bruins to pull within one point of a playoff spot. 

The Rangers can only hope they’re not thinking “what if” when looking back on this one in April. 

Canadiens players celebrate during their win over the Rangers on Jan. 19, 2025.

“It’s frustrating,” head coach Peter Laviolette said. “We’re going into the third period, we’re up a goal, they’re playing well also. Two teams I think that have been through a little bit with regard to travel and games played, both teams played hard. I thought our guys played hard. If I had to pull back a little bit, I wish it could’ve been a little bit better probably at the start of the third period. The first seven or eight minutes, 10 minutes of the third period. In saying that, we hit the post twice in the third, we could’ve put the game away then, as well. It didn’t bounce our way. Two point-blank chances in overtime, that didn’t go our way, either. 

“It’s tough to leave the points on the table when we’re looking for points, but I thought the guys gave everything especially under the circumstances.”