Postgame takeaways: Rangers squander two-goal lead, lose to NHL-worst Sharks

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Led Zeppelin went to California with an aching in their heart, but it's the Rangers who are heading back east with one.

With a chance to salvage an underwhelming four-game road trip, the stumbling Blueshirts came up painfully short.

They entered Tuesday's third period against the Sharks with a two-goal lead, then left the SAP Center as victims of a deflating 3-2 overtime loss.

It dropped them to 1-2-1 on this west-coast swing, with wins in just four of their last 12 games to start the new year.

"It’s disappointing," defenseman Adam Fox said. "You want to build off a resilient win (Sunday) night. It looked like we were doing that, and it kind of slipped. We took our foot off the gas a little there with a 2-0 lead. That just can’t happen."

After dropping the first two games of the trip in Vegas and L.A., the Rangers (29-15-3) rallied for a critical 5-2 comeback win Sunday in Anaheim. Their hope was that might serve as a jumping point, with head coach Peter Laviolette stressing the need to bring that same "urgency" to San Jose.

The NHL-worst Sharks (13-31-4) seemed like an ideal opponent to stack another win against, particularly following their grueling shootout win the night prior in L.A. The rest factor added to the Blueshirts' distinct advantage, and after building a 2-0 lead, they seemed destined to pack a pair of wins in their carry-on bag.

Instead, they may have started looking ahead to the long flight home too soon.

"I thought we played well for two periods, and that third period just kind of happens," Fox said. "It’s a team effort. It’s not one guy here or there. They just wanted it more in the third, and we lost a point because of that."

Not enough push

For the first time on this four-game excursion, the Rangers didn't have to play from behind.

They opened the scoring 7:55 into the first period by getting multiple bodies around the Sharks' net, with Vincent Trocheck swinging a pass into Alexis Lafrenière and Fox collecting the rebound for his eighth goal of the season.

Fox added his second point of the night by assisting on New York's next goal, a long-distance wrister from Artemi Panarin that found the top left-hand corner of the San Jose net thanks to a screen from Trocheck.

Panarin’s team-leading 29th goal gave the Rangers what felt like a comfortable 2-0 lead entering the third period, but there wasn't enough push to add to it.

"I do think we could have pressed more in the offensive zone," Laviolette said. "I thought that we were a little bit too much east-west all night – power play and five-on-five. We needed more straight to the net, more pucks to the net, more people to the net and looking to make something happen. We’re being too selective. Just put the puck towards the net and we’ll get some bodies in there. Oftentimes, that's how goals are scored."

The Blueshirts were credited with 10 shots on goal in the final period of regulation, but only two high-danger scoring chances, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Making matters worse, their usually potent power play continues to slide. The PP went 0-for-3 on Tuesday, including one that came with 5:54 to play and resulted in zero shots on goal.

"We expect to make a difference in every game," Trocheck said of the power play. "That was our opportunity tonight, and we weren’t able to put the puck in the net. We had some opportunities, but we needed to keep it a little more simple. I think we were getting a little too cute at times. Tie game, five minutes left, you really want to make that difference and be the guys to score."

A third-period letdown

The game began to slip away when the Rangers gifted the weary Sharks a goal to begin the third period.

Defenseman Erik Gustafsson attempted to bang a pass off the back boards behind the New York net, but it ended up right in Nico Sturm's lap. The giveaway happened before Igor Shesterkin could react, leaving Sturm with an open look that cut San Jose's deficit to 2-1 just 2:19 into the period.

"It’s a good play that has to be executed," Laviolette said. "Gus is a good player, somebody we count on. Just a tough bounce for him."

Just over two minutes later, a long slap shot from Jan Rutta was tipped by former Ranger Ryan Carpenter to knot the score at 2-2 with 15:33 to play, sending the ample Rangers' fans in attendance into stunned silence.

"You have to be able to close it out," Fox said. "We didn’t do that."

The final blow was dealt in OT when Rutta found Tomas Hertl with a backdoor pass that ended up screaming past Shesterkin's outstretched glove. Moments before the goal, Rutta seemed to purposely bump Mika Zibanejad and take him out of the play, which Laviolette took issue with.

"There were two picks out there that should have been called – both of them," the coach said. "But we shouldn’t be in that position. We should have been better in the third period."

Indeed, the Rangers should have been better.

That goes for this trip, as well as about half their games in the past two months. They're now 11-11-2 in their last 24 games dating back to Dec. 5. It can no longer be classified as a tough stretch, given that those 24 contests represent more than half of their total games played.

They have two games remaining to change the narrative before what could be a long all-star break.

"We’re going through it a little bit right now," Trocheck said. "I thought we played well in Anaheim – one of our better games in the year. I thought tonight, we came in, we were playing well. It just didn't go our way."

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 squander lead, lose to NHL-worst Sharks