This is kind of the way the Rangers wanted it — playing tough, hanging with a more talented team, and giving themselves a chance.
What they couldn’t count for was a bad non-call.
And so it was a high stick hitting Rangers defenseman Adam McQuaid that is going to be remembered in this season-opener, the result being a 3-2 loss to the Predators on Thursday night at the Garden.
McQuaid was blatantly hit in the mouth with the stick of Kevin Fiala early in the third period, sending McQuaid to the ice in pain.