Another Reason To Hate Dallas - Ranger Win Streak Busted in 3-2 Loss

Well, it was close.

Realistically – we weren’t going to win the rest of our games this year – the streak had to end sometime.  And the Rangers made a game of it – fighting back to a 2-2 tie before losing the lead in the first minute of the 2^nd period.  But then – they just couldn’t score over the last 40 minutes and the 8 game winning streak came to a sad end in Texas tonight.  (Why do they even play hockey in Texas by the way?)

The Rangers looked a bit sluggish and Dallas was hustling all over the ice.  Still, we had our chances – but a bounce here and a post there and we only got 2 goals when we needed 3.

Along the way we wasted a nice goal by J.T. Miller – who wristed the puck past Kari Letonen for the Rangers only lead of the night.  And in the second – Kevin Hayes made a big time deflection off a Marc Staal shot to give the Rangers their final tie of the evening.

But Hank let up three.  The 2^nd had some extenuating circumstances (Editor – that means it wasn’t Hank’s fault).  Ales Hemsky (And that is a great first name by the way) backhanded the puck at an impossible angle from behind the Ranger Goal line – but Marc Staal inadvertently tipped the puck on (and actually in) net and it got by Lundqvist. 

The game winner – 54 seconds into the 2^nd period – was also a backhanded shot – and I don’t really want to talk about it.  For the Rangers - assist for Zuccarello and three defensemen:  McDonagh, Staal, and Boyle

The game did have a few interesting moments.  The Stars managed to miss 4 or 5 shots at an empty net in the final two minutes – in one case with Mats Zuccarello making a very professional looking save.  And Dallas goaltender Kari Letonen made a save in the final minute – dropped the puck deliberately on his stick and took a good look down the ice – clearly thinking about scoring an empty netter of his own.  But he reconsidered and fell on the puck for a faceoff.  In the end the Rangers outshot Dallas 30-26 but it just wasn’t enough.

Did Special Teams Determine The Outcome Of This Game?  Not exactly.  The Ranger were 1 for 2 with the extra skater and killed 3 of 4 shorthanded.  In fact – at times the Dallas powerplay looked like event strength because the Rangers were getting more rushes and chances than the Stars were with the extra man.

Where We Stand:  Well, the damn Capitals more or less kept pace with us through the winning streak.  And tonight they fought back from 3-0 to tie the Islanders before falling in OT.  So the extra point moves Washington into 3^rd place in the Metro, one point up on the Blueshirts, who still hold two games at hand.  We tumble into the last wild card slot – one point above the line-of-death.

Now What?  One day off and then the Rangers will close out the year on New Year’s Eve in Florida taking on a Panther team that is just 2 points behind us for the last playoff spot.  We’ve got to reach down deep and stop the bleeding at just one loss.  If the win streak is dead – let’s close out 2014 by starting a new one.  Thanks for reading - Dave Pucks out.