Rangers Late Collapse Forces Overtime Loss to Stars
Back on home ice, the Rangers hosted the Dallas Stars, a team they beat just two and a half weeks ago. The Stars started strong, outshooting the Rangers 3-0 in the first five minutes. Jonathan Quick kept the game close with some key saves. Seven minutes in, Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller had a promising start, passing to Ryan Lindgren, who sent it to their top scorer Artemi Panarin. Panarin entered the Dallas zone and dropped the puck to Alexis Lafrenière, who fired a wrist shot past Jake Oettinger for a 1-0 lead. Despite building a lead in the first period, defensive mistakes let the Stars stay in the game.
The Rangers added to the lead three minutes later. Panarin fired a couple of shots on goal, and the puck came back to Will Borgen, whose shot deflected off Vincent Trocheck and into the net, making it 2-0. Shortly after, Panarin sent a perfect pass to Lafrenière for a breakaway. Lafrenière’s forehand-backhand move beat Oettinger, extending the lead to 3-0. Dallas answered with seven minutes left in the first. A Matt Duchene pass bounced off Urho Vaakanainen’s stick and into the net, cutting the lead to 3-1. Moments later, Braden Schneider took a holding penalty, and Dallas capitalized on the power play. Mavrik Bourque’s sharp-angle shot created a rebound that Evgenii Dadonov put in, making it 3-2. The Stars dominated the rest of the period, nearly tying the game multiple times. Despite the Rangers’ early scoring, defensive issues left them clinging to a 3-2 lead after one. Shots favored Dallas 18-8, with several high-danger chances.
Defensive breakdowns continued as Dallas’ Logan Stankoven hit the post, and shortly after, Jason Robertson capitalized on a scramble, sneaking a backhand shot past Quick to tie the game at 3-3. The Rangers had opportunities to respond, including a breakaway chance for Mika Zibanejad, but they failed to convert. Dallas dominated puck possession for most of the frame, while key player Filip Chytil exited the game with an upper-body injury, leaving the Rangers short-handed for the rest of the night. In the third, the Rangers got a power-play chance midway through the period. Zibanejad’s shot deflected off Trocheck in front, giving the Rangers a 4-3 lead with under nine minutes left. However, their defensive woes resurfaced in the final minutes. K’Andre Miller lost a puck battle in the defensive zone, leading to Sam Steel setting up Thomas Harley for the game-tying goal with under three minutes left in regulation.
In overtime, the Rangers lost the crucial opening faceoff and quickly went on the penalty kill after Panarin was called for hooking. Dallas scored the game-winner, with Jamie Benn tipping the puck in. Defensive mistakes and an inability to sustain momentum defined the Rangers’ frustrating loss. They will look to rebound Thursday night at Madison Square Garden against the New Jersey Devils, a critical matchup after their earlier defeat this season.
