Rangers Watch: NYR 0, VAN 3

I'm always excited when I get a chance to see the Rangers in person. Vancouver is the closest the team travels to Seattle and there was no way I was going to miss it. I pulled my Gretzky jersey out of mothballs and headed up the I-5.

Losses feel much worse live than on TV. They put a real damper on your night. "I paid $160 to watch that?!?" Well, at least I got one night without the annoyance of Joe Micheletti.

In the cold light of morning, it didn't seem as bad as many of this season's earlier losses. New York outplayed Vancouver the first two periods, holding the Canucks to only nine shots on goal through two periods. The hosts sensed they were lucky to have a one-goal lead through the first 40 minutes - thanks to a bad goal by Stephen Valliquette - and came out firing in the third.

The final frame, the Rangers began to show their fatigue, taking four penalties and allowing the Canucks to double their shot count. As a goaltender's duel, Valiquette is no Robert Luongo, and sure enough the Vancouver netminder got the shutout.

Recaps: Y!/AP