The thud you heard this week was the window closing on the New York Rangers’ chances of a playoff berth this season or for the foreseeable future.
Rumors of players being asked about no-trade clauses and who is being moved off the roster have been floating. And none of that helps a team in the midst of a losing streak.
On Monday night, the Rangers lost their third straight and six of their last seven, 2-1, to the Dallas Stars.
Ben Bishop made 31 saves to stop the Rangers’ anemic offense and get the win.
Tyler Seguin had a goal and Martin Hanzal struck for the game-winner.
“I think it has to be one of the best games of the year,” Bishop said. “We played well in every facet of the game. The guys did a great job.”
David Desharnais scored the lone goal for the Rangers giving them a 1-0 first period lead.
“There’s no doubt that they came at us pretty hard in the first period,” Vigneault said. “They got some momentum off their power plays, they got some pretty good zone time there and a few looks that missed the net, but they got a little bit of momentum off of that. But I thought after that, we buckled down and tightened up our game, got some looks. Their goaltender made a couple big saves.”
Dallas improved to 31-19-4.
[WATCH: All Rangers vs. Stars highlights]
Henrik Lundqvist made 39 saves in taking the loss.
“[Lundqvist] gave us a chance to win, and that’s what you want from your goaltender,” coach Alain Vigneault said.
The Rangers dropped to 25-23-5.
“In the end, I think the difference was special teams. We take too many penalties. It’s hard for us right now to get wins,” Lundqvist said after yet another loss. “We can’t take too many penalties. That’s a fact. Getting their best players on the ice, that leaves them with an opportunity to take chances but also to keep our top guys off the ice. We just need to be better in that department, and we’ll have a chance.”
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