By the time the puck dropped on Tuesday night’s game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Vancouver Canucks, Martin St-louis’s men were four points out of the playoffs and desperately needed a win.

Here are three takeaways from the loss. The Canucks were, once again, outscored at the top of the lineup. The Canadiens took a quick 1-0 lead on a Nick Suzuki breakaway opportunity that he finished expertly. The game was 66 seconds old, and Vancouver found itself in a hole.

The Rangers (31-28-6, 68 points) did play better against Winnipeg than they did in Sunday’s 7-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Garden, but well-played losses aren’t helping them right now. They did get a little help from their rivals across the Hudson River,