The last-place New York Rangers hit a humiliating new low on Saturday, when the Boston Bruins demonized them with a 10-2 drubbing up in Beantown. Trudging back home in the Charlie Brown Christmas pose, the team that played the best regular season in all of the NHL just two seasons ago badly needed a boost in Monday night's contest against the Kraken. The Eastern Conference is still a big tin of sardines, after all, so it's only going to take a medium-sized hot streak for a bad team to change the story of its season. (See also: the Toronto Maple Leafs.)

The Rangers had a dream start to their night—one where they could take heart in the belief that fortune was finally smiling upon them. After the boys in blue killed a quick penalty, Artemi Panarin sent a gorgeous pass to Mika Zibanejad in space as the team entered the offensive zone. The 10-year Ranger center took a shot that hit off goalie Philipp Grubauer and deflected way wide, but that wasn't the end of the chance. The biscuit ricocheted off the end glass and fell right back to Zibanejad as his momentum carried him around the side of the net....