Rangers cough up lead late in deflating OT loss to Avalanche

DENVER — An Avalanche goal late in the third period dulled the wind that finally started to blow through the Rangers’ sails.

Coming off two big wins against top-10 opponents in the Devils and the Golden Knights, the Rangers fell 3-2 in overtime to Colorado Tuesday night at Ball Arena after Devon Toews scored 4:23 into the extra period to secure the victory for the Avs.

The Avalanche managed to tie it up 2-2 with 1:13 left in regulation with the extra skater on to force the extra period, when Artturi Lehkonen buried a loose puck past Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin.

It had been the Rangers’ game up until that point, but the late score to deny them what would’ve been their first three-game win streak since mid-November was deflating.

The Rangers had limited a high-octane Colorado team to just five, eight and 10 shots in each respective period in regulation.

They kept the home team to the perimeter and matched their suffocating coverage.

Even when the Avs were controlling the pace, the Rangers found ways to insert themselves into the game effectively.

They banged bodies when they had to. They put pucks on net in all situations, including seven shots on goal during their one power play in the second period alone. They forced the Avalanche into 14 giveaways.

Sam Carrick notched his third goal in the past six games on a shorthanded breakaway in the first period, while Adam Edstrom buried a feed from the Rangers fourth-line center for the go-ahead goal in the second.

Back at full strength with the returns of Filip Chytil and Chris Kreider, the Rangers’ game was already starting to come along after what was described as an identity crisis earlier this season.

The Avalanche may have made it extremely difficult for the Rangers to enter their zone, but once there, the visitors fought for their space and finished with an 11-5 edge in shots at the end of a tied first period.

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Less than five minutes into the game, a failed chance off the rush between Kreider and Chytil led to a Colorado push the other way.

Parker Kelly was left all alone in the slot for a far-side snipe past Shesterkin and the 1-0 lead.

When the Avs got a chance to double their lead on their first power play, however, Carrick spun it in the Rangers’ favor.

Cale Makar lost the puck at the top of the zone, which allowed for Carrick to scoop it up, dart up the ice and score the fourth shorthanded goal of his career.