Mark Cannizzaro

Mark Cannizzaro

NHL

It’s back to the drawing board for Vigneault, Rangers

LOS ANGELES — The message was delivered in the usual way in which Alain Vigneault operates, which is to say in an understated way.

The words from the Rangers coach came Friday at the swanky beachfront hotel in Santa Monica, Calif., where the team was staying, one day after they lost a two-goal first-period lead to the Kings and then Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals in overtime.

The Rangers were disgusted, because they believed they let the Kings off the hook, and, as their mantra has gone for these playoffs, they knew they had “more to give.’’

“We’re not going to beat [the Kings] if we do not all bring our A-game,” Vigneault said Friday. “Our ‘B’ game won’t do it. They’re one of the best teams I’ve seen in a long time.’’

Vigneault’s words were quietly powerful.

And effective.

The Rangers gave A-game effort, and at times, A-game execution in Saturday night’s Game 2, but it still wasn’t enough in a crushing 5-4 double-overtime loss at Staples Center to fall behind 2-0 in the best-of-seven series.

The question for the Rangers and Vigneault is this: Now what?

“If we play like that, nine times out of 10 we come away with a win,’’ Rangers wing Chris Kreider said. “I think we were happier with how we played. Obviously, we needed to talk about some things after Game 1.’’

Kreider was beating himself up for two big-time scoring chances in overtime he failed to finish on.

“I had two Grade A opportunities to put it away and didn’t finish, so I’ve got to excite better,’’ he said.

“It’s unfortunate,’’ said Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who scored a goal and had an assist, but was on the ice for the Dustin Brown’s game-winning tip-in of a Willie Mitchell shot at 10:26 of the second OT. “It was a good start, we were feeling good … but you’ve got to maintain your focus all the time out there.’’

The Rangers weren’t perfect, not by any means, but they were a hell of a lot better start to finish than they were in Game 1.

“I thought we worked real hard,’’ defenseman Anton Stralman said. “It’s tough when you work that hard for that long and were just on the verge of winning and … ’’

His voice trailed off, but his message was clear: This one hurt a lot more than Game 1.

That makes Vigneault’s job even harder now, because he is faced with having to convince his players they can still win this thing.

“We played a good game and had a good third period,’’ Vigneault said, his reference to the third about the Rangers abysmal performance in Game 1, when they were outshot 20-3. “We played well, gave ourselves a chance. We had some looks in overtime. Just couldn’t score. We’ve played close to nine periods [in two games] and for most part I’ve liked a lot of things about our game. The guys have tried really hard.’’

Asked how the players get past what happened Saturday night, McDonagh said: “You realize what’s at stake. The series isn’t over yet. They’ve got a 2-0 lead, but we’re going home. We’re excited.

“We’ve got to use our crowd. They won two at home, and we’ve got to start with Game 3 at home having a good approach, keep staying with it keep believing.’’

There were many positives for the Rangers on this night, but after the result, it seems like none of them really mattered in the end.

McDonagh’s goal and assist were huge. The Derick Brassard-Mats Zuccarello-Benoit Pouliot line was relentless and productive, with two goals (one each from Zuccarello and Brassard) and two assists and a combined plus-6.

Rick Nash played a strong game, though he did not score a goal (again), putting team-high seven shots on goal and producing five hits.

So many positives and nothing to show for it.

Even the Rangers’ uncanny bounce-back resilience in these playoffs, something that had become a weapon of theirs, was erased Saturday night. They Rangers entered the night with a 6-1 record in games after a loss. They were 3-0 against the Flyers, 1-1 against the Penguins and 2-0 against the Canadiens. Now they’re 0-1 against the Kings.

Now they go back Madison Square Garden a team in crisis, and Vigneault is left to figure out if he has a motivational ploy that can dig his team out of this deep hole.