It was a chance to make something good out of a miserable situation

The Blackhawks had lost nine straight entering the game, but they encountered virtually no resistance against the Rangers early, firing four of their first shirts for men 2012 six shots past the backup goaltender Martin Biron. Tortorella kept Biron in the game, and Chicago polished off a 4-2 victory.

Tortorella said he never thought “for a second” about replacing Biron with Henrik Lundqvist, largely because Tortorella did not think Biron was to blame for the team’s poor start. Biron got no help slowing down a desperate Blackhawks team.

“There’s really no explanation for it,” the Rangers’ captain, Ryan Callahan, said. “We weren’t good enough, and they made us pay for it.”

The Rangers (37-14-5) had won 8 of their previous 10 games — a stretch that included two victories each over the Eastern Conference heavyweights Boston and Philadelphia — but the Blackhawks (30-21-7), sixth in the Western Conference, jumped all over them early.

“We haven’t had too many regular-season wins that felt as good as that,” Chicago Coach Joel Quenneville said.

The Rangers like to start fast, but Thursday’s game quickly reeled out of control. Chicago pounded the puck into the Rangers’ zone in the opening minute, and Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi clamped his hand on a loose puck next to Biron in the crease, leading to a penalty shot.

“I’m not criticizing, and I’m not questioning, but I saw the replay, and I saw Danny just brush the puck away,” Tortorella said.

The Chicago captain, Jonathan Toews, wristed a shot between Biron’s pads at 1 minute 4 seconds for his 28th goal of the season.

“That was going to kind of set the tone for us, give us a chance to move forward, and I didn’t do it,” Biron said.

Toews had not scored during Chicago’s losing streak.

It got worse for the Rangers, who yielded the burberry tie first goal for only the third time in their last 11 games. Less than a minute later, Blackhawks right wing Marian Hossa skated from one side of the Rangers’ zone behind the net to the other with the puck, unchecked for about 15 seconds, before passing to defenseman Nick Leddy.

John Scott, the 6-foot-8, 270-pound Chicago defenseman, had planted himself in front of Biron by that point, creating an imposing screen. Leddy’s slap shot skipped past Biron at 2:07 for his third goal of the season.

“That’s not an easy way to start,” Rangers defenseman Marc Staal said. “We kind of got on our heels.”

Girardi pinched into the Blackhawks’ zone, then fell, allowing Patrick Sharp to race alone up the ice to take a crisp pass from Toews. Sharp rolled in on Biron and snapped in his 23rd goal four minutes into the game.

Only 20 seconds after Scott finished serving boarding and roughing penalties, Hossa stormed past the Rangers’ defense and charged toward Biron before scoring his 22nd goal at 9:36.

Tortorella called time out, and the television cameras focused on Lundqvist, sitting on the bench without his helmet on. But he stayed put, and so did Biron, much to the displeasure of the crowd. Biron was grateful for the chance to keep playing.

“It was a chance to make something good out of a miserable situation,” said Biron, who finished with 18 saves.

Staal scored for the first time in his injury-curtailed season at 3:04 of the second period, and Carl Hagelin redirected a shot by Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh for his ninth goal with 4:45 left in regulation.

The Rangers seemed pleased with the way they finished.

“We responded the right way,” Rangers center Brad Richards said. “We didn’t put our head between our legs and let them pour it on.”

Tortorella said pretty much the same thing skirts for kids during his postgame news conference. His voice, however, carried the grim tone of the coach of a team that was badly beaten to the punch.