NEW YORK _ For all their speed and finesse on offense, the re-tooled Rangers need to do some more work on their defense.
Coach Alain Vigneault knew the Blueshirts would be a little unsettled, mentioning on Wednesday that it would take "10 to 20 games" to sort out roles and the roster.
That was evident for the first two periods on Thursday.
Despite Mika Zibanejad's two first-period, power-play goals that tied it at 2 in the first at Madison Square Garden in the regular-season opener, the Rangers lost to the Colorado Avalanche, 4-2, as Semyon Varlamov, with 37 saves, outplayed Henrik Lundqvist in the nets.
It should be noted that the Avalanche were the worst team in the NHL last season, and were beaten twice by the Rangers. And it doesn't get any easier: The Blueshirts visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, who scored seven in their home opener.
Lundqvist, who is 20 pounds lighter than the heaviest he has been in his career, was beaten on two of seven shots in the first period. He made his 12th consecutive start in an opener.
The Blueshirts fell behind 3-2 on a late second-period goal by Tyson Barrie with Pavel Buchnevich chasing him and firing through Lundqvist stick side. The chasing was a familiar sight through two periods as the Rangers continually had forwards trapped in the offensive zone. The Rangers did tighten in the third, but were unable to solve Varlamov.
"I think we did a great job of sustaining pressure, but when we turned puck over, the problem we had was when our guy tried to force a play," Shattenkirk said. "Sometimes we (the defense) has to stay back and be more patient."
The Rangers, who had 101 third-period goals last season, had three more shots on Varlamov, who stopped all but two shots. With 7:48 left, Brendan Smith was slashed on the hands and the Blueshirts had their sixth man-advantage of the game, but Varlamov shut the door.
Zibanejad, who admits to having confidence problems when he battles a scoring slump, was the best Ranger on the ice. He finished with eight shots on goal, one miss and one shot blocked and won 18 of 24 faceoffs. With the Rangers trailing 3-2 late in the third, he had a chance in the slot but was denied by Varlamov.
When Derek Stepan was traded to Arizona on the eve of the NHL draft in June, the immediate question was whether Zibanejad, the 24-year-old who had his first Rangers season undermined by a broken leg, could handle being a No. 1 pivot. So far, so good.
On Thursday, Zibanejad _ who missed some time in the preseason with a flu bug, looked healthy and determined, scoring twice in 2:30 with the man advantage, one on a wrister from in front and the other a sizzling one-timer from the left circle.
The Rangers, with a lot of energy, nonetheless fell behind in the first. Matt Duchene, the subject of trade rumors, knocked an even-strength rebound past Lundqvist at 5:29, and the Avalanche followed that up at 10:53 when Mikka Rantanen beat Lundqvist high glove side off a cross-ice pass from Nathan MacKinnon through Jimmy Vesey.
Lundqvist was pulled with 1:30 to play, providing another man-advantage. Although the Blueshirts worked on the 6-on-5 format during recent practices, it didn't click. Gabriel Landeskog finished the scoring with an empty netter in the final seconds.
