NEW YORK — Six games into the season, it is starting to become harder to write off these performances by the Rangers as aberrations.
They lost for the second straight time and third time in four games Sunday, falling behind early and going down, 5-1, Sunday at Madison Square Garden to a Columbus Blue Jackets team that was playing the second of a back-to-back, after losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 6-3, on Saturday.
Rangers coach Gerard Gallant made the decision to start backup goaltender Jaroslav Halak, rather than Igor Shesterkin, and that didn’t go well. Halak allowed five goals on 22 shots. Daniil Tarasov made 30 saves for Columbus.
