Rangers hand over victory to NHL-worst Flames for third straight loss

CALGARY, Alberta — Another desperate opponent, another disappointing defeat.

For the second straight game, the Rangers handed over a victory their challengers badly needed. After falling in overtime to the previously winless Sharks earlier this week, the Blueshirts lost 5-1 to a Flames team that hadn’t won since their first game of the season entering Sunday night’s contest at Scotiabank Saddledome.

With the win, the Flames snapped a losing skid of eight consecutive games.

The Rangers, on the other hand, dropped their third contest in a row for the second time this season.

The worst reputation an NHL team can have is an easy game on the schedule. Twice now, the Rangers have allowed teams struggling even more than they are to come in and get what they need against them.

San Jose and the Flames — both ranked 32nd in the NHL at one point this week — looked confident coming into a matchup with the Rangers. Each game played out accordingly.

Calgary carried a league-worst average of 1.67 goals per game into Sunday’s meeting, but within the first 10 minutes of the game, they had posted two goals on the Rangers. The Flames eventually set a new season high of five goals in regulation.

The defensive discipline the Rangers played with the first handful of games has all but evaporated.

The offensive struggles have only continued, with the team registering only one goal or zero for the sixth time through their first 10 games.

The Rangers gave up the first goal of the game inside the two-minute mark for the second time in as many games, when Nazem Kadri sniped one past Blueshirts goalie Igor Shesterkin from the slot for the early 1-0 lead.

Controlling the puck for a good portion of the opening frame, the Flames made it a 2-0 game after Kevin Bahl connected on a shot from the top of the zone. Calgary dumped 12 shots on Shesterkin through the first 20 minutes, but the Rangers managed to get on the board before the end of the period.

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Noah Laba registered his first career NHL goal to cut the Flames lead in half, driving to the net and burying the puck on Calgary netminder Dustin Wolf.

Despite outshooting the home team 13-11 in the middle frame, the Rangers couldn’t break through. Yegor Sharangovich gave the Flames a 3-1 lead with a goal off the rush, which Shesterkin only got a piece of before it found twine.

The Flames’ shorthanded goal in the third period only twisted the knife into this already suffering Rangers team.

After Mika Zibanejad whiffed on a shot on the power play, Calgary jumped out on a two-on-one rush that ended with a Blake Coleman goal.