Rangers’ hard work ruined by 1 Islanders’ shot in crushing loss

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Mats Zuccarello was trying not to curse. He really was.

But the way his Rangers lost Thursday night, the game-winning goal in a 4-3 defeat to the Islanders at the Garden coming on the only shot allowed in all of the third period, well, that’s a tough one to swallow. And considering Josh Bailey’s tally with 1:26 left in regulation handed the Rangers their fifth loss in a row doesn’t make it any easier.

“We played two really good games,” Zuccarello said, referring to the 4-2 loss at Vegas on Tuesday that ended a pointless three-game western swing, “but at the end of the day, I’d rather play a sh–ty game and get two points. But right now, we can’t seem to find a way to win. When you’re in a tough stretch, that’s how it goes. I wish I had the answer.”

There is no real answer for these Rangers (17-19-7), who continue to work hard, but continue to make crucial, backbreaking mistakes. Their woeful penalty kill continues to be no help. The Islanders (24-14-4) scored two power-play goals on three chances to give them their seventh win in the past eight games, also their 10th victory in the last 12.

“We’re peaking at the right time and playing our best hockey,” Bailey said. “You’re going to have those moments when you’re not at your best, but in those moments, you find good teams around the league find a way to win.”

This hardly felt like a big rivalry game as in years past, with tempers rather cool despite an early dustup from Matt Martin and Cody McLeod. It was more a back-and-forth affair — until the Rangers pinned the Islanders for all of the third period, outshooting them 17-1. But that lonely number on the right side of the ledger was the one that mattered, with Bailey able to finish a nice cross-ice feed from Cal Clutterbuck that goalie Henrik Lundqvist wasn’t able to read in time.

“I just didn’t pick it up,” said Lundqvist, who returned from being pulled in each of his previous two starts to give up four goals on 20 shots. “Maybe I can read it better, come across with my body. But I felt like I was late coming across. I wish I could sit here and have the answers. It’s too bad.”

The first time the Garden crowd woke up was when Jesper Fast tied the score, 3-3, at 8:40 of the third, batting a flying puck out of the air and past goalie Robin Lehner.

The Blueshirts kept coming, too, but Lehner ended up putting aside 16 shots in the final 20 minutes and registering 27 saves total to earn his seventh straight win.

He was also a big part of the Islanders’ penalty kill, which negated the Rangers’ 55-second five-on-three man-advantage and the following 65-second five-on-four early in the third period.

“To me, we won the game on special teams,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said.

The Rangers actually opened the game with a power-play goal from Ryan Strome at 1:38 of the first, but the lead was short-lived, as Mathew Barzal scored on a breakaway just 53 seconds later to make it 1-1.

Kevin Shattenkirk collected his second goal of the season in the second period, but it was sandwiched by power-play goals from Jordan Eberle and Anders Lee to give the Isles a 3-2 lead going into the third.

That’s when the Rangers began to dominate — until they lost.

And that’s the feeling they’ll be taking into the second game of this home-and-home on Saturday afternoon at Barclays Center, where the Rangers have never won.

“We can’t seem to find a way to win. We find a way to lose instead,” Zuccarello said. “It’s tough to swallow. I don’t know what to say, it’s not fun.”