Three times, three times the New York Rangers (42-18-7) have fallen on this extremely long road trip, three times the Blueshirts have squandered a lead, and three times the guys have allowed three goals in the third period of play.

This was not the trip the Blueshirts wanted as the lead in the league is slowly shrinking, as the Pittsburgh Penguins are creeping up on the Rangers. More important for fans of New York, is the fact that the guys have not been able to hold on to a lead for three-straight games, which has been unusual for a team that has been so discipline throughout the year.

Artem Anisimov (14) had a pretty move resulting in a good wrist shot, at the 19:13 mark, as the Rangers had scored first in back-to-back games against both the Senators and the Blackhawks.  Andrew Shaw (7) responded with a tip-in at 14:28 of the second period, to have the squads tied at one

It had seemed on this night, things were going to be different for New York, as in the third period they were able to regain the lead on a gritty effort by the team. Brandon Prust (5) put-in a wrister for the 2-1 lead, which was assisted by Ryan McDonagh (19) and Brian Boyle (13).

For the third time though, the Blueshirts allowed the gates to open, allowing three goals in a very short span in the third period. Chicago had goals by Patrick Sharp (26), Johnny Oduya (2) and Patrick Kane (17) for the 4-2 lead in the game.

New York did have one last spark of offense as Brad Richards (19) rifled home the third Rangers goal at the 19:19 mark to cut the Chicago lead to 4-3, sadly time ran out on the Blueshirts comeback. For Richards the center now has 14 points (three goals, 10 assists) in the last 16 games.

The Rangers will return home for a seven-game stretch at Madison Square Garden, starting with the conclusion of the Battle of the Big Apple against the New York Islanders on Sunday. The Rangers/Islanders game is set to air on the MSG network with face-off scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

Written on March 10, 2012

1495 Sports scoring summary:

http://1495sports.com/2012/05/09/1495-sports-live-scoring-update-final-blackhawks-4-rangers-3/