Rangers Head into Break With Loss to Leafs

The Rangers pushed in the third period but could not overcome a two-goal deficit in a 3-2 loss to Toronto that sends them into the three-day Christmas break winless in their last two games.
"Whenever you have a little stretch like [this break], you always want to go into it on a positive note," said Rick Nash. "The last few games haven't been our best, but there's been a lot of hockey."
New York trailed by two goals heading into the third period before J.T. Miller scored at 11:25 off a no-look pass from Pavel Buchnevich.

Michael Grabner appeared to tie the game just seconds later but Toronto successfully challenged for offside, which coach Alain Vigneault said the call "took that rhythm away" from New York and they never recovered despite ample time in the offensive zone.

Toronto opened the scoring 17:14 into the game when William Nylander beat Henrik Lundqvist for his seventh of the year, and doubled the lead just 50 seconds into the second on a power play goal by Ron Hainsey.
New York cut the deficit in half 1:47 later when Jimmy Vesey scooped up a misplayed puck by goaltender Frederik Andersen behind the net. Vesey quickly turned towards the front of the cage and sent a backhand shot on goal that banked in off Andersen and into the net.
The Maple Leafs regained its two-goal lead when it capitalized on a Rangers defensive lapse that left Auston Matthews alone in front. Matthews, who returned to the lineup after missing six games to injury, waited out Lundqvist and tucked a backhand shot into the net at 11:22 of the middle frame.
Vigneault shuffled his lines to start the third, going down to three forward lines and new defensive pairs. The move did not include Mika Zibanejad, who was replaced on his line with Chris Kreider and Buchnevich by Miller, which paid off for New York with a goal.
"At that time, with the power play time, Boo [Nieves] and Paul [Carey] hadn't seen a lot of ice time. I was going to go down to three lines after that first shift in the third. Just went in another direction."
When asked about Zibanejad's play, Vigneault said he "definitely thought the other nine guys were better."
Henrik Lundqvist was again brilliant in a losing effort. He made 34 saves, including breakaway stops on Matthews, James van Riemsdyk and Patrick Marleau in the third period.

These last two games, according to Lundqvist, show he and his teammates must bring their A-game on a nightly basis, especially against the best teams in the NHL.
"We were playing a really good team. We needed a really strong game to win this one," he said. "I felt like at times we played well, but the last two games are kind of a reminder for us of how hard we have to work and how well we have to play to get points. We are not one of the top teams. We are one of those teams that are going to battle really hard to get in, so we need the best effort every night to have a chance."
New York now heads into the three-day recess winless in two straight games. Despite the disappointing results, Vigneault said he wants his players to enjoy the time away from the game and come back energized for Wednesday's meeting with Washington.
"We wanted to win. We didn't win, so we get three days," he said. "It's Christmas for everybody. I want the guys to relax and enjoy it and we'll get ready for the game on the 27th."