OTTAWA — The Rangers’ power play continued to struggle during Thursday night’s 4-1 loss to the Senators, going 0-for-4 during 7:27 of total time. That makes it 8-for-46 of the past 15 games.
“I think as the power play progressed through the game it got better because we were shooting the puck,” Tortorella said. “We just don’t shot the puck enough.
“We don’t’ have a big shot from the point, first of all,” Tortorella added. “I thought it got better as we were banging away.”
What is normally a boost to a team’s momentum, the power play has become a burden for the Rangers. Look no further than when they started the second period on the man-advantage, down 2-1, and over 1:29 they couldn’t generate a single shot.
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Ottawa Senators' goalie Ben Bishop stops a shot on net by Brian Boyle.
“It doesn’t help us tonight when we need something for us to work for us to get into the game,” Tortorella said.
The first unit was made up of Michael Del Zotto, Derek Stepan, Brad Richards, Marian Gaborik and Ryan Callahan.
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In his second game back from injuring his foot, captain Callahan played 17:59 and scored his 26th goal of the season on a diving tip-in of a cross-ice pass from Brad Richards. He has tallied 12 points (nine goals, three assists) in his last 12 games, including three goals in his last four games.
Callahan did not participate in the morning skate — which is not unusual — but was seen leaving Scotiabank Place Thursday afternoon with his right foot in a walking boot. He injured the right foot blocking a shot by Ilya Kovalchuk on Feb. 27 and missed three games.
This was just the second time this season the Rangers have lost after scoring the first goal, their record an astounding 30-2-3.
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It was a one-game swap on defense, as Anton Stralman re-entered the lineup in place of rookie Steve Eminger. Though Stralman has gone through his fair share of troubles this season — all acutely recognized by Tortorella — he played a solid 13:53 and recorded an assist on Callahan’s goal.
Though Eminger came out for warm-ups, he was scratched for the seventh time in his past eight games.
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Martin Biron’s start snapped Henrik Lundqvist’s 26-game appearance streak against the Senators, dating back to Dec. 26, 2005. ... With Friday night’s game in Chicago, the Rangers will complete their 12th of 14 back-to-backs this season. Thursday night’s loss took their season record in the first game to 8-1-3 (3-0-0 at home, 5-1-3 on the road). In the second game, they are 8-1-2 (6-0-0 at home, 2-1-2 on the road). Since 2009-10, the team is 29-9-4 in the second game of back-to-backs, with a 15-3-1 mark at the Garden and 14-6-3 on the road over that span.
bcyraglis@nypost.com
Brad Richards, Tortorella, Rangers, Senators, Senators, Michael Del Zotto, Marian Gaborik, Derek Stepan, Anton Stralman, power play, Steve Eminger, Ilya Kovalchuk
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