Recap: Rangers Shutout for 10th Time This Season, Fall 2-0 to Dallas

In their final outing of the season against a team in the playoff picture, the New York Rangers visited the Dallas Stars. Despite missing two key players with injury in Roope Hintz and Miro Heiskanen, the Stars are a star studded team viewed as a contender in the West, looking to head into the postseason feeling good about their performance.

On the Rangers side of things, there would be two changes to the lineup. Dylan Garand would back up Igor Shesterkin and Urho Vaakanainen would slot in for Drew Fortescue. The Vaakanainen swap came as an asinine decision for a number of reasons, but among all of them is the fact that this will cost Fortescue $80,000 in a salary bonus. 

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First Period

There was good pace to the game right from the start but neither team would register a shot on goal for the first seven minutes of play. The Rangers would get a great chance to start generating offense as around that point in time, they were given the game’s first power play. Thomas Harley was the one sent off for high sticking Adam Fox. Exactly eight minutes into the opening period, the Rangers registered the first shot on goal. 

The Rangers would come up empty handed on the man advantage but it wasn’t long before they were back on the power play. Jake Oettinger stopped a J.T. Miller one timer from the slot just prior to a scrum breaking out in front of his net. The Stars were awarded the extra roughing penalty for their second advantage of the night. 

Going 0-for-2 on the power play, the Rangers remained tied at zero with the Stars heading into the first intermission. Shots were only 5-3 in the Rangers favor after the opening twenty. 

Second Period

It was much of the same through the early parts of the middle period as the Rangers were getting some chances and skating right alongside the Stars, but neither team was generating a surplus of offense. With the score still tied nearing the midway point of the game, the Rangers got a third power play chance as Mavrik Bourque was called for holding Mika Zibanejad. 

The third power play came and went as the Rangers couldn’t capitalize. The Stars had their best chance of the game with nine and a half to go in the second as Matt Duchene had a quick breakaway that Shesterkin was able to turn away. 

With six minutes to go, the Rangers took their first penalty of the afternoon as Vincent Trocheck was called for tripping. While the power play side of the Rangers' special teams wasn't getting it done, the penalty kill came up clutch as they held the Stars off for the entirety of the two minutes.

With 100 seconds to go in the second, Vladislav Gavrikov was taken down hard from behind by Jamie Benn. The Stars captain was called for the initial penalty and the Rangers' captain went right after him, dropping the gloves to stand up for his teammate. The officials reviewed the hit for a potential major but it would stand as a minor for boarding.

36 seconds into the Rangers' fourth man advantage of the game, Trocheck took a stick up high from former friend Colin Blackwell which turned their advantage into a 5-on-3. Of course that would be interrupted with eight seconds left in the period as Trocheck somehow managed to get his stick up high on 6-8 defenseman Tyler Myers. You could make an argument against the call, Mike Sullivan certainly tried to, but nonetheless, the Rangers would be shorthanded as Trocheck would sit for four minutes.

And that did it for the second as the teams were still scoreless forty minutes through. Shots heading into the third period were 13-9 in New York's favor.

Third Period

Within the first minute and a half of play, the Rangers went from a 5-on-4 to a 4-no-4 to being shorthanded as a result of all the penalties towards the end of the second. The Rangers, who have been a very strong penalty killing team as of late, continued to find success against Dallas with Shesterkin making some big saves to keep the game scoreless.

With eight and a half to go in regulation, the Rangers were called for another penalty as Matthew Robertson was sent off for holding. The Stars would finally break through and put a number up on the scoreboard. A shot from Duchene was stopped by Shesterkin but Jason Robertson was right there to pick up the rebound, pulled off a calm and skilled forehand-backhand move to find the back of the net, 1-0 game.

Worth noting, Alexis Lafrenière took a hard hit from Oscar Back in the corner. Lafrenière was a bit shaken up on the play but would return to the ice for his next shift.

With about a minute and a half to go, the Rangers pulled Shesterkin for the extra attacker but with 57 seconds to go, Robertson picked up his second of the night on a pretty wild play. Robertson missed the net initially, Duchene ended up hitting the post on the empty net, to set Robertson up for his 44th goal of the season. The Rangers would fall 2-0, getting shutout for the tenth time this season.

The Rangers are back at it Monday night as they'll finish the season out in Florida, taking on the Panthers before their season finale with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday.