NEW YORK – Though the final score may give the impression that Monday night’s tilt between the Dallas Stars and New York Rangers was even, it wasn’t close. Dallas finished with 45 total shots on net including 16 in the first and 17 in the second.
Ondrej Pavelec finished the game with a season high 44 saves. He now has a 2.16 GAA and a .945 SV% in his last three games.
New York head coach Alain Vigneault commented on the teams overall performance and outcome, saying “Pavelec was able to get us a point there. Other than that, we weren’t good”.
The Rangers started the night flat footed and needed the first 40 minutes to find any sort of sustained pressure. After only mustering up five shots in each of the first two periods, New York found themselves in a 1-0 hole going into the third. Julius Honka opened up the scoring for Dallas with a cannon from the left circle at 6:30 of the second period. The puck caught the right post and bounced the right way for his first goal of the year.
The Rangers finally got on board with just 3:41 remaining in the game, ending Kari Lehtonen’s shutout bid, when solid forechecking resulted in a Rick Nash deflection. After Pavel Buchnevich was able to find Brady Skjei at the top of the zone, Skjei threw the puck on net as Nash was cutting across the top of the crease. Nash made contact with Lehtonen’s glove, resulting in a coach’s challenge. Nash was determined to be far out enough from the crease and the call on the ice stood.
After an exhilarating overtime between the two clubs, it needed a shootout to determine the winner. Mats Zuccarello was the only Ranger who scored, while Alexander Radulov and Jason Spezza both tallied for the Stars.
The final scoring chances were 98-45 in favor of the Stars.
The Rangers had no business earning a point Monday night, but Pavelec’s outstanding performance put them in a position to almost steal two. In a tight Metropolitan division that only had five points separate the first place Columbus Blue Jackets and the sixth place Rangers coming into Monday night, every point is crucial.
With the win, the Rangers move into the second wild card spot and are only four points behind first place.
The win for Dallas snapped a three game losing streak and put them in the first wild card in the Western Conference.
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