Flames comeback falls short as the Rangers win at MSG

Calgary veteran Kris Versteeg got ejected after losing his jersey during a fight, and waved to jeering fans at Madison Square Garden as he skated off Sunday in the Flames’ 4-3 loss to the New York Rangers.

Chris Kreider and Jesper Fast scored 3:12 apart in the middle of the third period to help the Rangers win for the fifth time in seven games overall and improve to 5-0-1 in their last six against Calgary.

Versteeg, a two-time Stanley Cup champion with Chicago and not known as a brawler, tangled with Pavel Buchnevich in the third period. Versteeg’s jersey got pulled over his head during the scrap, and he adjusted it while heading to the penalty box.

But an official came over to talk with Versteeg and the 30-year-old forward was tossed because, by rule, his jersey hadn’t been properly tied down. He waved to the crowd as he left the ice.

Michael Grabner had a goal and an assist and Rick Nash also scored for the Rangers. J.T. Miller had two assists and Henrik Lundqvist stopped 29 shots.

The Flames, who practiced on an outdoor rink in Central Park on Saturday, had won three in a row.

Matthew Tkachuk had a goal and an assist, and Dougie Hamilton and Troy Brouwer also scored for the Flames. Brian Elliott finished with 28 saves and Mikael Backlund had two assists.

The Rangers outlasted Calgary in a furious third period that began with the score tied at 1.

Kreider put the Rangers ahead 3-2 as he brought the puck up the left side and sent a shot from outside the left circle that deflected off the skate of defenceman Dennis Wideman and past Elliott for his career high-tying 21st goal at 8:20.

Fast made it 4-2 with about 8 1/2 minutes left off a pass from Miller.

The Flames took advantage of a Rangers giveaway less than a minute later as Backlund fired a shot that deflected off Tkachuk past Lundqvist.

Grabner gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead at 1:54 of the third. Brady Skjei sent a cross-ice pass to Grabner in the right circle and he put it into the top right corner for his 23rd.

Brouwer tied it at 4:40. Johnny Gaudreau’s shot deflected off a defenceman’s skate to Brouwer driving on the right side, and he put it past Lundqvist for his ninth.

After a fast-paced opening period in which the Rangers outshot the Flames 15-13, the scoring chances were scarce in the second as Calgary had an 8-6 advantage on shots.

Nash appeared to give the Rangers the lead with his second of the game in the final second of the second period, but it was waved off after a review showed his deflection of a shot by captain Ryan McDonagh crossed the line after the clock had expired.

With New York’s Dan Girardi off for tripping, Hamilton gave the Flames a 1-0 lead when his shot from the point deflected off Rangers defenceman Nick Holden and past Lundqvist’s glove side for his eighth at 6:59 of the first.

The Rangers tied it on their own power play less than two minutes later. Nash got a pass in front from Derek Stepan and his first attempt was stopped by Elliott, but Nash put in the rebound for his 15th at 8:55. McDonagh also had an assist on the goal for his 200th career point.

New York scored on the man advantage for the second straight game after going 0 for 15 over their previous five.

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