The Rangers battle the Stars tonight, riding a seven-game winning streak after a comeback win against the New York Islanders on Sunday.
The New York Rangers have won seven consecutive games.
On Sunday afternoon, they won before more than 79,000 fans at MetLife Stadium, the biggest crowd, by far, ever to watch a National Hockey League game in the New York-New Jersey Metropolitan Area.
The 6-5 sudden-death overtime win over the Islanders will be hashed, re-hashed, and triple-hashed for decades to come, but that's future stuff.
Tonight a classy Dallas Stars team visits The Garden with absolutely no interest in the Blueshirts recent histrionics.
Coached by former Devils' Ranger-killer coach Peter DeBoer, the Texans boast a first-rate goalie in Jake Oettinger and a formidable, well-balanced outfit built by bossman Jim Nill.
Really, though, it's not the Stars I'd be worrying about if I were New York coach Peter Laviolette. What I'd be concerned about is whether or not his Blueshirts still are dreaming about Breadman's ten-second overtime goal.
It was like Artemi couldn't wait to get back to his bakery because the challah was being overbaked. Or Igor Shesterkin still might be musing over his super stop against Brock Nelson, which evolved into what became the most important save of the tilt.
In other words, the Seventh Avenue Skaters might not be totally focused, and you know the result is when that happens: end of a seven-game winning streak and a few moments of sadness on West 33rd Street.
Happy Lavvy is well aware of that fac,t and no doubt will be preaching a "That Was The,n And This Is Now" homily to his skaters.
Truth be known -- for all the Rangers dazzling developments against the Islanders -- only two points were rewarded for one of the most extraordinary performances in the Rangers history.
If they wake up in time tonight and focus, it'll be eight straight wins and the same kind of two points. We'll find out soon enough; won't we?
Maven figures that Lavvy should have a vial of No-Doz in his pocket, just in case!