The Dallas Stars will look to close out a short homestand on an undefeated note tonight against the New York Rangers. There’s a couple different storylines, but the biggest one revolves around the Rangers getting caught up in their own troubles.
At 7:30 p.m. tonight, the Dallas Stars will look to win their third game in a row. In addition, they will also look to close out a two-game homestand on an undefeated note.
The challenger standing in their way? The New York Rangers.
The Stars (30-19-4) and the Rangers (25-22-5) have already met once this season back in early December. The Stars defeated the Rangers 2-1 in the shootout, but the game was a lot more unbalanced than the score would make it seem. Dallas outshot New York 45-25, controlled possession for a majority of the game, and dominated the Rangers in just about every aspect.
But behind a stellar performance by Ondrej Pavelec, who stopped 44 of 45 (.978), the Rangers were able to scrap out a point. It was Pavelec’s third best non-shutout performance in his career and gave NY something to lean on.
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Unfortunately for the Rangers, that seems to be where the wheels fell off the bus. Since that game, New York has posted a record of 8-10-2. They fell out of their once-held wild card spot and are now sitting in the thick of the playoff race. Though they sit dead last in the Metropolitan Division, they are still a mere two points out of the playoff picture.
Still, the team is struggling to trudge along. All-Star goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who is the projected starter tonight, has not posted a save percentage above .900 in his last four games played. On top of that, the Rangers have not won a game since the All-Star Break and have been outscored 9-2 over the span.
And in addition to their recent struggles, another outlying factor has popped up. Earlier this morning, it was announced by Bob McKenzie that the Rangers had requested a “no trade list” from forward Rick Nash. The 33-year-old forward has been a staple in the New York offense for the past six seasons and is a determined and capable leader.
NYR have requested Rick Nash’s No-Trade list and Nash gave it to the club yesterday. The list is 18 teams Nash cannot be traded to (unless he were to waive his NTC). Conversely, NYR now have the green light to trade Nash to the 12 teams not on the list.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) February 5, 2018
But the reality is starting to sink in for Rangerstown. They have spent the past six or seven seasons playing with a roster that was deemed a “Cup contender.” They have one of the best starting goaltenders the game of hockey has seen, a balanced and aggressive blue line, and powerful tools and depth on offense. It seems like they have all of the pieces needed to contend, and they came close to winning it all in 2014 when they were Eastern Conference champions.
However, they didn’t win. And since then, it’s been a slow regression for NYR. As their superstar talent gets older and things begin to look bleaker, there comes a point where reality hits. That point seems to be now for the Rangers.
Dallas Stars
With reports swirling that the team is looking to basically clean house and begin rebuilding this offseason, there is a lot of uncertainty in the New York locker room right now. Who will be around after the trade deadline? Can they get out of this rut? Is this the end? Will this team still have a realistic shot at the Stanley Cup Playoffs?
There’s a lot of questions floating around and a lot of confusion as to where the team will go from here. The Dallas Stars must find a way to capitalize on that confusion.
The Western Conference playoff race is tightening by the day, and the Stars have no time to relax or even really breathe. As multiple teams continue to challenge them for the first wild card spot with only 29 games to go, Dallas must continually answer the bell.
That comes into play tonight. With all of the uncertainty and confusion encircling the Rangers franchise, it can often cause the team to lose focus. We saw it last year when trade deadline talks sparked with the Stars. Dallas started the month of February with a record of 2-7-0 before making the first of many trades.
But now the Dallas Stars are on the other side of things. In their final meeting of the season with New York tonight, the Stars have to access that uncertainty and use it to their advantage. It’s the final game of their short two-game homestand and the Stars are trying to string together three straight wins which would help negate the two losses they turned in to close out January.
It seems like an easy task, but the Rangers are also still very much involved in the playoff hunt. NY could potentially be in a wild card spot tonight with a win over the Stars, so they won’t be going easily.
The Stars will have some reinforcements in tonight’s game with the return of Martin Hanzal and Ben Bishop. Both are healthy (or in Hanzal’s case, healthy enough) and will slot into the lineup.
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All in all, tonight’s game poses an interesting test for the Dallas Stars. Can they find a way to outdo a Rangers team that is struggling to find their identity and figure out their future? If the Stars can continue to play at the consistent level like they did on Saturday night against the Wild, they should have no problems in finding two points yet again.
But sometimes the most successful teams are the most desperate ones. Who wants it more?