The game was 11 minutes old and all the New York Rangers had to do was a glance up at the scoreboard to get a picture of what they were doing and why it was good for their confidence. Not only did the Rangers have a lead, but the Stars, the top scoring team in the NHL, didn't have a shot on goal. The Stars eventually would get one, and the tying goal soon after, but it was a mere blip in what was a dominating effort for the Rangers, who scored five more goals and coasted to a 6-2 win at Madison Square Garden.
New York's new line featuring Derek Stepan, Rick Nash and Jayson Megna, who made his season debut, combined for three goals and four assists. Stepan scored twice, including New York's first goal at 1:56 of the first period and its first shorthanded goal of the season at 4:55 of the third. Megna, who was recalled from the American Hockey on Monday, had a goal and an assist. Nash had three assists. Keith Yandle, Derick Brassard and Viktor Stalberg scored for the Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist allowed two goals on 23 shots in his ninth straight start. Lundqvist allowed 27 goals over his previous eight starts. Yandle's goal came at 14:08 of the first period, 18 seconds after John Klingberg tied the game. Brassard's goal gave New York a 3-1 lead going into the third. Stalberg scored less than three minutes after Stepan's shorthanded goal to give the Rangers a 5-1 lead.
Dallas got a goal back from Antoine Roussel at 8:40, but Megna made it 6-2 less than five minutes later. Dallas also had a goal overturned on a coach's challenge.
The Stars finished their three-game road trip 0-2-1, including back-to-back regulation losses. They hadn't lost consecutive games this season before this road trip that also featured games at the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders. Dallas has trailed by at least two goals entering the third period in three straight games and in four of the past five. The Stars are 0-3-1 in those games. Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn each went scoreless with a minus-5 rating on the road trip. They were minus-3 against the Rangers. Stars coach Lindy Ruff didn't excuse Seguin and Benn either, saying "they're going through a tough spot right now."
Megna was in the lineup because Chris Kreider (hand) couldn't play and Vigneault elected to scratch Emerson Etem. He contributed early by winning a puck battle that led to Stepan's first goal. He fed off of his linemates, hounded the puck, was around it, and got rewarded in the third period on his third shot of the game.
Stars Quotes
Jamie Benn: "It's myself, not leading the way. I didn't do a good job of that tonight. I played a terrible game. [We played] played stupid hockey and it's not good enough. It's pretty plain and simple. We're here to do a job and we didn't do it tonight."
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