Rangers look to get on track against President’s Trophy contender
2016 has barely started, but it feels like the calendar still hasn’t turned over for the New York Rangers. They win one, lose a few, win one and think they’re back on track, lose a few. Rinse, repeat.
Their opponents, the Dallas Stars, are as good as it gets in the NHL. Their 60 points not only lead the Central Division, it leads the entire league. They’ve been struggling a bit of late, though, going 5-3-2 over their last 10 games.
The Stars are led by the league’s most dynamic duo in Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. Benn leads the NHL in goals with 24 and is second in points with 52. Seguin is right behind him in both categories with 23 goals and 50 points. Since Seguin’s arrival in Dallas, the two have clicked on an incredible level, dominating the stat sheet ever since.
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Good as they are, it isn’t just the Seguin and Benn show in Big D. Defenseman John Klingberg is having himself a banner season, 13th in the NHL in scoring with 37 points on the strength of 32 assists. Newly-acquired winger Patrick Sharp isn’t much further behind that with 16 goals and 34 points of his own.
The scary part is, that’s not even covering the entirety of their offensive capabilities. Jason Spezza, Ales Hemsky and Valeri Nichushkin have all had streaks of quality productivity this season and can strike at any moment. To say that the Dallas Stars are loaded with offensive talent would be an understatement.
In net, it is a tale of two teams right now. Goaltending was a question for the Stars heading into the season despite the addition of Antti Niemi to the mix. Incumbent starter Kari Lehtonen has all the talent to be a very good starter, but is still a streaky performer. The Rangers, meanwhile, had The King in net. Henrik Lundqvist was about as good as it got for NHL netminders.
Benn leads the NHL in goals with 24 and is second in points with 52. Seguin is right behind him in both categories with 23 goals and 50 points.
But as the season has progressed, it is the Stars who have found the dependable goaltending while the Rangers are struggling to find answers. Niemi, who will get the start tonight, has allowed just 11 goals in his last seven appearances while Lundqvist has struggled mightily, allowing 27 in his last eight appearances.
Injuries
The Rangers will be without Chris Kreider tonight as he is day-to-day with a hand injury. He will be replaced in the lineup by Jayson Megna. Emerson Etem and Dylan McIlrath will be scratched.
Dallas will be without Hemsky (lower body) while scratching Jamie Oleksiak, Radek Faksa and Patrik Nemeth.
Keys
Hope, pray: This is one of the game’s elite offenses and just about everyone of significance is performing well. Even good teams with defenses that aren’t struggling the way the Rangers are have to hope for a little luck when dealing with this much fire power. You can’t really stop the Stars, you can only hope to contain them.
Brick wall: Part of keeping them contained falls on the goaltending. Lundqvist hasn’t been himself over the last month and needs to snap out of it if the Rangers have any hope of hanging int he playoff picture. Part of his struggles have been mixed in with the Rangers’ defensive issues, but he has the ability to steal games himself.
Stay out of the box: This goes without saying on most nights, but the last thing the Rangers want to do is to give this stars team the man advantage and allow that offense to get going. Playing smart, disciplined hockey will go a long way towards a big win tonight.