Head coach Gerard Gallant did say he expected close games going forward, and the Rangers have certainly delivered on those expectations. 

The Rangers forced overtime with a goal in the third period and needed a shootout to decide a second straight game, but they came out on the wrong end of this one as the Red Wings took a 3-2 win Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. 

Mika Zibanejad was the lone Ranger to capitalize in the skills competition, while Lucas Raymond and Pius Suter scored to win it for Detroit. 

“It’s tough not getting the extra point,” Adam Fox said after the loss, which snapped the Rangers’ three-game win streak. “But we played hard. Got some key saves as always from [goalie Igor Shesterkin], a big goal from the power play there, too. 

“You always want to come away with two points, but getting one point is better than none.” 

Down 2-1 at the start of the third period, the Rangers’ shots seemed to hit every surface but the twine in the back of the net. It was their second game in row in which they went the first two periods without a single power play, forcing the Rangers to rely on their five-on-five game. 

After Fox drew a tripping penalty on Detroit winger Robby Fabbri, however, the Rangers’ power play was automatic. Zibanejad wired one from his sweet spot in the left faceoff circle to knot the game 2-2 at 11:51 of the final frame to force overtime. 

Shesterkin, who finished with 31 saves, made four stops in the extra period to keep the Rangers alive. 

The Rangers did everything but score in the first period and much of the second, hitting the post on multiple occasions and missing the net entirely on a couple odd-man rushes that featured too many passes. 

Despite putting in the work to create quality chances, the Rangers were hard-pressed for puck luck. It was K’Andre Miller, fresh off his game-winning shootout goal on Tuesday, who evened the score for the Rangers at 12:18 of the middle frame after cashing in on a wraparound for his fourth goal of the season and second in the last four games. 

The Red Wings then regained the lead a minute and a half later on Dylan Larkin’s goal at 13:48. 

“It’s just one of those games,” Fox said. “We battled hard, we played hard and got a point out of it.” 

Slow starts continue to plague the Rangers, as they have for a good portion of the season. The Rangers were outshot 12-8 in the first period, but the ice certainly felt tiled in the Red Wings’ favor at the start. Gallant said he thought the Rangers could’ve trailed by more than just a goal after the opening 20 minutes, but the coach lauded Shesterkin — who made 30 or more saves for a sixth straight game — for keeping the team in it. 

“I think we still need to work on starting games better,” Barclay Goodrow said. “Right from the beginning, we’re chasing from behind and it’s hard to play like that. If we played the first 20 like we played the last 40, we would have put ourselves in a better spot.”