Slumping Rangers return to Ottawa, where their long slide began

This is where all the trouble began.

The Rangers closed out the pre-All-Star portion of their schedule Saturday night in Ottawa. In a sense, it was like a return to the scene of the crime, given that the last time they played in Canada’s capital city, they suffered a 6-2 loss that started them crashing back to mediocrity after a red hot start to the season.

They had been 18-4-1 over their first 23 games and in a three-way tie for the top spot in the NHL’s overall standings with Boston and Vegas. And the way things were going for the Rangers at that point, it was easy to imagine they would cruise past the Senators, an underachieving team and one that would soon fire its coach.

But on Dec. 5, the Senators stunned the Rangers, beating them 6-2 on the strength of two goals each by Brady Tkachuk and old friend Vladimir Tarasenko, and a sparkling performance by goaltender Anton Forsberg, who made 33 saves.

Still, one loss didn’t seem like such a big deal at the time. The Rangers still held a share of first overall, and as Jacob Trouba said afterward, “Nobody's dog died. It's OK. We lost a game.’’

Except it was not OK. The Rangers have not been the same since that night. They went 11-12-2 over the next 25 games before Saturday’s return. They did still barely hold a lead in the Metropolitan Division – by two points over Carolina – entering Saturday. But they had slipped all the way down to eighth in the overall standings.

They entered Saturday having lost two straight games – they were spanked 5-2 by Vegas Friday at the Garden – and four of their last five. And as they have been forced to do so often lately, the Rangers were looking to start over, this time against Ottawa.

“Obviously, we're going to play a team that gave us a heck of a time the last time we played them in their building,’’ forward Blake Wheeler said Friday night. “It’s the last game before break and you can kind of flush this one [against Vegas] if you have a good performance [against Ottawa], and end on a good note.’’

The Rangers (29-16-3) have problems and they suffered two big blows on Friday. Injured center Filip Chytil, trying to come back from what is believed to be a concussion, suffered a setback during the optional morning skate. The other was when defenseman Ryan Lindgren left midway through the first period with an upper-body injury.

Chytil, 24, was injured in a game Nov. 2, and had been skating on his own since mid-November. But he had just begun to practice with the team again on Thursday, and was trying to ramp up the intensity of his workouts as he got ready to return to action. He might have filled the hole at center on the third line, but now, it’s possible – maybe even likely – that he won’t be back at all this season.

Lindgren is perhaps the team’s best defensive defenseman. Without him and his physical, rugged play in front of the goal crease, the Rangers allowed two tip-in goals Friday.

“The battles in front of the net, and giving up those tips, the rebounds, the loose pucks in front, those are where goals are scored,’’ Trouba said Friday night. “I think we’ve got to do a better job getting to [the opposition’s] net, and the defensemen have got to do a better job keeping guys out of the front of our net.’’

If the 6-foot, 193-pound Lindgren didn’t play Saturday, though, he’d be replaced by the 5-10, 176-pound Zac Jones, who is not known for an ability to clear opposing forwards from the goal crease area.

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.