Postgame takeaways: Rangers get goalied in Montreal

The Rangers got goalied in Montreal.

Sure, they made their share of mistakes in Saturday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Canadiens. But they also created ample scoring chances − 19 of the high-danger variety, compared to only six for the host Habs, according to Natural Stat Trick − and were the better team for much of the night.

The difference was Sam Montembeault, who put on show in his home province of Quebec.

The Rangers peppered him with 49 shots (on 88 attempts), with the Montreal netminder stopping 46 of them. He also stymied all three attempts he faced in the shootout, including a brilliant reaching stick save to recover after it appeared Mika Zibanejad had him beat.

Turnovers come back to bite Rangers

The Rangers (26-10-2) didn't make it easy on themselves by falling into a 3-0 hole.

The Habs took advantage of a few defensive hiccups, beginning with a failed clear attempt from Vincent Trocheck that ended up right back in Montreal hands. The end result was a top-shelf wrister from Brendan Gallagher 11:37 into the game.

That 1-0 lead turned into 3-0 early in the second period, with Sean Monahan and Joel Armia each scoring just 1:20 apart. The Monahan tally stemmed from another botched breakout, this one from Barclay Goodrow, while Armia capitalized on tired legs after a few Rangers got caught on the ice for a long defensive-zone shift.

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Jonathan Quick shut it down from there, overcoming the shaky start to finish with 28 saves. But New York's trouble getting out of their own zone and 17 giveaways proved costly.

Sean Monahan interest?

Monahan is an interesting name to monitor as the March 8 trade deadline approaches.

The expectation around the NHL is that the 29-year-old center, who's in the final year of a contract that pays an average annual value of $1.9 million, will be dealt. And with Filip Chytil missing 28 games and counting due to lingering effects from a Nov. 2 concussion, it's increasingly likely that the Rangers will be in the market for an upgrade at third-line center.

Monahan is having a productive season, with 23 points (10 goals and 13 assists) compared to five for the Blueshirts' current 3C, veteran Nick Bonino. That offensive upside would be appealing, as would Monahan's 57.4% faceoff win rate. But his 43.1% xGF ranks last among Montreal centers who have played at least 20 games this season, according to Evolving Hockey, with no early indications that he's high on New York's wish list.

Panarin, Trocheck and Lafrenière at it again

While the Canadiens made the Rangers pay for their miscues, Montembeault bailed his team out on many of their own.

His tally of backbreaking saves is too long to list here.

Despite that frustration, the Blueshirts kept pushing and eventually broke through at the 10:28 mark in the second period. Trocheck got it done, raising his stick to tip a high wrist shot from Erik Gustafsson past Montembeault and cut the deficit to 3-1.

Trocheck's line was responsible for the next goal, as well, which should come as no surprise. The combination featuring him, Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafrenière has been the Rangers' only consistent threat at five-on-five all season, with all three on pace for career highs in points.

Panarin is the leader of the pack, with his team-leading 25th goal coming with 5:31 to play in the second period. It came directly off a set faceoff play, with Trocheck forehanding the puck toward the Montreal net and Panarin getting off a quick shot from the slot to make it 3-2.

The 32-year-old winger finished with two points and a game-high eight shots on 13 attempts in 24:09 time on ice. He's up to 55 points and quickly creeping up on his career high of 32 goals. The crazy part is the Rangers are still three games away from the halfway point of the season.

Panarin, Trocheck and Lafrenière combined to register 18 shots on 30 attempts, with their line outshooting the Habs, 12-1, while all three were on the ice together.

Adam Fox ends goal drought

Adam Fox netted the equalizer 9:30 into the third period, which would go down as the final goal of regulation.

It came on a long wrist shot, with Will Cuylle earning an assist on a play in which he probably deserved two. Not only did the rookie make a key pass, but he followed it by getting to the net, battling for position and causing needed traffic in front of Montembeault.

The goal snapped a 19-game drought for Fox, who hadn't scored since Oct. 28.

The Rangers kept the pressure on and nearly put the game away a few times in overtime, but Montembeault finished the extra period with a stirring series of saves on Lafrenière, Zibanejad and Jacob Trouba.

Montreal had a few close calls, as well. In the final minutes of regulation, Jake Evans hit the post and Mike Matheson hit the crossbar.

Up-and-down night for the rookies

Cuylle is fitting like a glove since being moved onto the Rangers' checking line with Goodrow and Jimmy Vesey.

He has assists in both games since taking the spot of injured forward Tyler Pitlick and has stood out with his physical presence, straight-ahead style and sound defense. That trio consistently got pucks deep in Canadiens' territory, hammered them on the forecheck and won their shots-on-goal battle by a 7-2 margin. Cuylle was right in the middle of it with eight shot attempts and three hits in 12:27 TOI.

It was a much different story for the other rookie in the Rangers' lineup, Brennan Othmann.

His NHL debut in Thursday's 4-1 win over Chicago Blackhawks was a memorable one, but Saturday was forgettable. The 21-year-old was limited to a game-low 7:16 TOI, including only two shifts in the third period and nothing in the final 17:03 of play (regulation plus overtime).

Othmann did not register a shot attempt and got cut out of the rotation when head coach Peter Laviolette shortened the bench in the comeback effort.

Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Postgame takeaways: Rangers get goalied in Montreal