Rangers' Igor Shesterkin pulled in second period of blowout loss to Lightning

TAMPA, Fla. — The Rangers surely were hoping that the three-day Christmas break had come at a good time for them and that they would be refreshed and could turn things around when they returned to play on Saturday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena.

But the hole they have fallen into is so deep that even when they do things well, it still ends up being not good enough.

The Rangers outshot the Lightning 44-25, possessed the puck, created scoring chances and won the physical battle. And they still lost, 6-2, falling for the 14th time in their last 18 games and dropping into last place in the Metropolitan Division.

Goaltender Igor Shesterkin was pulled for the second time in his last five starts after allowing five goals on 13 shots. The home fans taunted Shesterkin by chanting “Vasi’s better!’’ That was a reference to Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, who made 42 saves.

This time special-teams play proved to be the Blueshirts’ downfall. Tampa Bay (20-11-2) had two power-play goals and two shorthanded goals against the Rangers (16-18-1).

“Yeah, we lost the special-teams battle, badly,’’ said Chris Kreider, who returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch for the last game before the break, a 5-0 loss in New Jersey. “Two shorthanded goals against. They scored two power-play goals. So that’s supposed to be a strength of our team. That’s the difference, I think.’’

“Right now, it’s just frustrating,’’ coach Peter Laviolette said. “We’re in the business of winning hockey games, and we’re not getting that done right now. So it’s tough to sit here and tell you good things. We’re losing games. We need to win hockey games, and we’re not getting that done.’’

The thing is, the Rangers looked as if they would get it done in the first period. They outshot the Lightning 17-6 and dominated play.

Fourth-line center Sam Carrick’s first of three minor penalties had given the Lightning an early power play, and Nikita Kucherov scored at 2:27 to give Tampa Bay the lead. But the Rangers shrugged that off and tied it at 9:23 on Artemi Panarin’s first goal in eight games.

They were buzzing after that and seemed to have a golden opportunity to take the lead when Tampa Bay’s Erik Cernak was sent off for hooking with 2:55 remaining in the first period. But as Kreider tried to get to the rebound of a shot by Mika Zibanejad, Anthony Cirelli lifted his stick and Tampa Bay defenseman Ryan McDonagh — the former Rangers captain — scooped up the puck and drove up the ice, leading a three-on-one break.

Adam Fox cut off the passing lane, so McDonagh shot the puck from the wing. It seemed to handcuff Shesterkin, somehow slithering between his side and his stick arm. The soft goal gave Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead with 1:49 remaining in the period.

Defenseman K’Andre Miller, who returned to the lineup after missing six games with an upper-body injury, was asked how the Rangers can avoid hanging their heads and how they can shake the “here we go again’’ feeling after a goal like McDonagh’s.

“I think we’ve all been in games where we’re losing,’’ Miller said. “Just because we’re losing in a game doesn’t mean we’ve lost the game. I think that’s something this group, maybe, has lost a little bit . . . that pushback. But I mean, I liked our game, I liked what we did overall. I think it’s just, we can bring a little bit more.’’

Second-period goals by Brayden Point (at 3:35), Cirelli (shorthanded at 5:02) and Jake Guentzel (on the power play at 8:08) put the Lightning in firm control heading into the third period.

Vincent Trocheck’s shorthanded goal 13 seconds into the third pulled the Rangers within 5-2. They threw 19 shots at Vasilevskiy in the period, but Trocheck’s was the only one that got through. That was offset by Nick Paul’s goal against Jonathan Quick at 14:12.

Notes & quotes: Kreider, who had the first shot on goal of the game, had six shots overall, which was tied with Panarin for the team lead. But Kreider finished the game a team-worst minus-3 . . . With Miller back in the lineup, Zac Jones was the odd man out in the defense corps. He was scratched along with forward Jonny Brodzinski . . . Fox played a game-high 25 minutes, 31 seconds. Trocheck played 24:31 . . . Tampa Bay captain Victor Hedman was honored for becoming the franchise’s all-time leader in games played with 1,083 (passing Steven Stamkos).

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.