Stars Fall to Rangers at Madison Square Garden

The Dallas Stars had to quickly regroup after the overtime loss to the Boston Bruins but came up just short against the New York Rangers on the second game of a back-to-back. 

The last few games have been full of adversity for the Stars. Against the Bruins, they were forced to play without Nils Lundkvist and Jani Hakanpaa due to injuries, and they were also missing Miro Heiskanen while he tended to the birth of his first child. This required the Stars to call up Alexander Petrovic and Derrick Pouliot from the Texas Stars, but the hits didn't stop there. Forward Matt Duchene was also out due to injury last minute, causing Dallas to play one forward short.

The adversity lessened against the Rangers, as they got Heiskanen back from new parent duties, allowing them to send Petrovic back to Cedar Park. The Stars called Logan Stankoven up to have as an option for Duchene, who was a game-time decision. Stars fans were ecstatic at the possibility of seeing the AHL's leading point scorer in action, but ultimately, Duchene was able to play. Stankoven was quickly loaned back to the Texas Stars. 

In the words of Stars broadcaster, Daryl "Razor" Reaugh, the Stars should be "proudly disappointed" about their loss to the Bruins. However, the loss to the Rangers feels more like a missed opportunity for two points. While the Stars blue-line might be the thinnest it has been all season, Heiskanen and Thomas Harley have both shown the ability to step up and log a lot of ice time. And although it's only been two games, Pouliot has been about as solid as the Stars could ask.

The final score of the game against the Rangers was 3-1, but that does not tell the whole story. The Stars out-shot the Rangers 42-26 and dominated for several parts of the game. They went into the third period down 2-1 and they poured on the shots despite the back-to-back scenario, outshooting New York 17-6 before Vincent Trocheck put the dagger in the game with less than two minutes left in the third. 

The Stars tallest task did not end up being injuries or jumbled lines and defensive pairings, but rather trying to find a hole in Igor Shesterkin. After giving up five goals against the New York Islanders in the outdoor game at Metlife Stadium, Shesterkin had a vintage outing and a bit of a redemption game. The Stars were unfortunate collateral. 

But it wasn't for a lack of trying - after an expected goals of 4.0 against Boston the day prior, the Stars had 3.2 xG to the Rangers 2.7. Roope Hintz, Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn appear to have the most contribution to the expected goals, according to the Hockeyviz chart.

There are a couple moments that stick out where the Stars could have capitalized but didn't. The first came while the Stars were on the man advantage and Ryan Lindgren lost his skate blade in a collision with the boards. Benn had the puck right in front of Lindgren while he was down on the ice was unable to find the back of the net.

The other was when Seguin found himself scrambling and battling against Shesterkin for a loose puck in the crease and was just unable to jam it across the line. 

Either of those chances would have evened up the game and potentially given the Stars one or even two points. Dropping both points when the Stars played well enough to win is frustrating, but one has to give credit to Shesterkin for stealing the game for the Rangers. 

The Stars head to Ottawa next to take on the Senators, marking the halfway point of this long road trip for the Stars. 

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