Rangers allow late goal in loss to Red Wings at the Garden as three-game winning streak comes to an end

If the Rangers thought their nightmares at Madison Square Garden had come to an end after they beat Nashville last Monday for their first home win of the season, they were mistaken.

The Detroit Red Wings visited the Garden on Sunday and bombarded goaltender Jonathan Quick, outshooting the Rangers 42-19. Quick did all he could, but Lucas Raymond’s goal with 3:47 left in regulation was the difference as the Red Wings snapped the Rangers’ winning streak at three games with a 2-1 victory, dropping them to 1-7-1 at home.

After the game, a brawl nearly broke out. Both benches emptied and the teams exchanged shoves after Detroit’s Mason Appleton shot the puck into the Rangers’ empty net after the horn sounded.

The Rangers — Quick in particular — didn’t appreciate that, and the goalie came off the bench and got in Appleton’s face. He needed to be held back by linesman David Brisebois while the teams paired up.

“When the horn goes, a couple seconds [goes by] and they shoot it into the net,’’ Quick said when asked why he got so hot. “I don’t know why they were surprised. It’s usually the response when something like that happens. The boys jumped in, so [they] did the right thing.’’

The Rangers were without coach Mike Sullivan, who missed the game for personal reasons.

The Blueshirts (10-8-2), who are 9-1-1 on the road, will begin a three-game road trip on Tuesday night against Vegas. Whether they’ll have Sullivan with them remains to be seen.

Assistant coach David Quinn, who ran the bench along with fellow assistant Joe Sacco, spoke to the media after the game and offered no details about why Sullivan missed the game or how long he might be gone.

“I don’t have an update right now,’’ said Quinn, who was the Rangers’ coach from 2018-21 and who returned to the organization this season as part of Sullivan’s coaching staff. “Obviously, from the coaches to the players of the organization, we certainly are thinking about Mike and his family. It’s never an easy situation when you’ve got to tend to your family. That’s all I can give you right now.’’

Defenseman Adam Fox said it was “different’’ not having Sullivan on the bench but didn’t want to blame the loss on that.

“I don’t think we’re gonna use that as an excuse,’’ he said. “Obviously, we’re hoping for the best with him, but [not having him], it’s just an excuse that we could use. But obviously doesn’t help when you’re missing your head coach.’’

With both teams having entered the NHL in 1926 and celebrating their centennial seasons, each squad wore its centennial jerseys, meaning the Red Wings (11-7-1) were in red and the Rangers were in their old-school blue tops.

Each team scored on a power play in the second period, with Detroit taking the lead on a goal by Alex DeBrincat at 9:30. Raymond’s shot from the right point squeezed through Quick’s pads and DeBrincat swept in the loose puck.

Mika Zibanejad tied it at 11:59, popping in the rebound of a shot by Artemi Panarin that hit Will Cuylle in the shin pads and dropped to a wide-open Zibanejad off the left post.

Zibanejad’s goal marked the fourth straight game in which the Rangers scored on the power play. It was the first time this season that he has scored in consecutive games. It also gave him the team lead in goals with seven.

Notes & quotes: Before the game, the Rangers returned prospect Gabe Perreault to AHL Hartford and called up defenseman Scott Morrow. With defenseman Will Borgen missing his second straight game with an upper-body injury, Morrow entered the lineup and made his Rangers debut. “I thought Scotty did a good job,’’ Quinn said. “I thought he kept it simple. He moves the puck well, got us out of our end when we needed to get out of our end, and I thought he defended well.’’ Quinn said of Perreault: “He’s got an awful lot of talent and he’s got a bright future in this league. But this is a man’s league and we just felt like this was part of the growing process and the development process for him. I’m sure this experience will be beneficial to his development.’’

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.