Despite racing into an impressive two-goal lead against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the New York Rangers gave up five unanswered goals as another tally was added to the loss column.
It all seemed a far cry from Saturday night when the Blueshirts mustered up a titanic effort to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 in overtime, a victory that came courtesy of Ryan Strome‘s winner and yet another colossal showing from Alexandar Georgiev between the pipes.
There was jubilation on the Rangers bench after snapping a five-game losing streak, with the celebrations masking the fact that a second consecutive season without playoff hockey had officially been sealed.