3 least impressive players from Vancouver Canucks' 5-3 loss to the New York Rangers feat. Kevin Lankinen

The Vancouver Canucks lost 5-3 to the New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden. The Canucks fall to 32-26-12 (76 points) in defeat, while the Rangers improve to 34-31-6 (74 points) with the win.

Vancouver entered Saturday's action having picked up points in four of its last five games, a 4-1-0 stretch as they chase down the final wildcard spot in the Western Conference. They carried that momentum into New York but were stoned by their superstar goalie, losing in heartbreaking fashion.

The Canucks came out with a very strong start on the road, taking it to the Rangers. Igor Shesterkin kept the game scoreless for as long as he could until Dakota Joshua banged home a rebound to open the scoring.

Vancouver continued to push the play for the rest of the period though the score remained 1-0. They outshot New York 10-1 en route to boos from the home crowd as the horn sounded to end the first.

Things got chippy to start the second period as the Rangers superstar goaltender was getting frustrated with his team's terrible start. Vancouver continued to dominate, holding New York to just three shots halfway through the game.

However, Adam Fox eventually tied the game at one on just their fourth shot of the afternoon with a rare deflection goal from a defenseman. That was all of the scoring in the middle frame and the game was even at one after forty minutes of play.

The third period was wild. It took just 1:39 for the tie to be broken, courtesy of Rangers forward Jonny Brodzinski. But that didn't stop the Canucks from fighting back.

After a strong shift, Drew O'Connor buried his own rebound to knock the game back up at two with 8:36 left in regulation. Unfortunately, just 1:18 later, K'Andre Miller's centering pass went off Quinn Hughes' skate and into the net as New York scored their third goal while having just 10 shots in the game.

The wild back-and-forth action was not done yet as Brock Boeser snuck a shot under Shesterkin's pad, making it 3-3 late in the third. But just when Vancouver had gotten comfortable, Jonny Brodzinski scored his second of the game, 37 seconds after Boeser tied it.

They made another late-game push, but J.T. Miller iced it with a long-range empty net goal. Despite a valiant effort and winning the shots-on-goal battle by a whopping 40-12, Vancouver lost 5-3 in New York.

NHL: Igor Shesterkin stops Brock Boeser - Source: Imagn

The Vancouver Canucks will continue their six-game road trip on Monday night in New Jersey against the Devils. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. EST at the Prudential Center.

3 least impressive players from the Vancouver Canucks' 5-3 loss to the New York Rangers

#1. Kevin Lankinen

Vancouver needed better from their netminder on Saturday in New York. Kevin Lankinen allowed four goals on just 11 shots in a losing effort. He was barely tested and perhaps that's what caused the poor showing.

The Canucks dominated the Rangers all afternoon but simply got out-goaltended by Igor Shesterkin. Lankinen has had a great year handling the bulk of starts with Thatcher Demko's injury issues and they'll need him to shake this performance off.

#2. Marcus Pettersson

It was a tough game for Marcus Pettersson. The Canucks trade deadline acquisition was pointless, had three giveaways, and was a -1 rating in 20:10 of ice time.

Pettersson is usually very solid but was a tad off on Saturday. He committed several turnovers and was beaten in a net-front battle on Adam Fox's goal. He should bounce back moving forward.

#3. Kiefer Sherwood

Kiefer Sherwood worked extremely hard, but Saturday just wasn't his day. The physical forward was pointless and had a -3 rating in 15:19 of action.

Sherwood lost his coverage of Jonny Brodzinski in the slot leading to the game-winning goal late in the third period. On the bright side, he delivered a lumbering 12 hits and his work ethic could not be questioned.