New York Rangers search for answers after stunning collapse vs. Edmont…

NEW YORK – Passive.

That’s how multiple players described the New York Rangers after a third-period collapse Saturday that won’t be easy to shake from their collective psyche.

Head coach Gerard Gallant took it a step further, calling the Blueshirts’ late-game effort “embarrassing” and “unacceptable.”

They entered the final period at Madison Square Garden with a three-goal lead. But by the time those final 20 minutes had elapsed, they were on the wrong end of a stunning 4-3 loss at hands of the visiting Edmonton Oilers.

“We got put on our heels,” captain Jacob Trouba said. “I don’t think we really got off them.”

An all-too-common dropoff in the Rangers’ play had devastating repercussions.

They surrendered three goals in a span of 5:42, allowing Edmonton to tie the score and silence the home crowd. Then, with 2:02 to play, the Oilers capitalized on a power play that ended with the winning goal from Leon Draisaitl.

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“We were awful,” Gallant said after witnessing his team get booed on their way off the ice.

The third-period meltdown left the Rangers (10-8-4) searching for answers − a search that proved fruitless in the immediate aftermath of the jarring collapse.

“I don’t know what to say to you,” Gallant said. “We talked about it in between periods. We talked to the players. Sometimes it just happens. It’s disappointing. We had a couple of timeouts. We tried to reset and (say), ‘Let’s get going again.’ … But then they get four goals in the third period for no reason besides us giving them opportunities and two dumb penalties.”

A call to ‘bring it up a notch’

Before the game, Gallant called for a collective look in the mirror.

“I think everybody can bring it up a notch,” he said. “We’ve been okay a lot of games. We’ve played well, but…