DALLAS — It’s getting gloomy around the Rangers, and they know it.
The Blueshirts dropped their sixth game in the past seven with a 2-1 loss to the Stars on Monday night at American Airlines Center. They have now lost nine of their past 12 and are 6-11-2 over their past 19, having won just three games in regulation since Dec. 19.
This one was a sloppy performance that goalie Henrik Lundqvist had to keep them in early, stopping all 21 shots he faced in the first period. But Lundqvist couldn’t keep the Stars from scoring two goals on the man-advantage — one from Tyler Sequin during a 6-on-5 as the result of a delayed penalty, and another 5-on-4 from Martin Hanzal at 4:05 of the third that stood as the game-winner.
“We’re a team right now, it’s hard for us to get wins. We can’t take too many penalties. That’s a fact,” said Lundqvist, who finished with 39 saves. “We’re getting their best players on the ice, and they’re getting an opportunity to create chances. And also, we’re keeping our top guys off the ice. So we just need to be better in that department if we want to turn this around.”
It’s hard to think the Rangers (25-23-5) have too much time to turn this around before general manager Jeff Gorton makes essential decisions leading up to the Feb. 26 trade deadline. This team has not shown much reason to keep the players together, not as the Stars (31-19-4) ended up out-attempting them, 85-55.
“Obviously it’s hard. When you go through stretches like this, you start doubting yourself and what you can give to the team,” said forward Mats Zuccarello. “I think it’s important for everyone that we’re not going to get out of this by being negative. We have to stay positive, believe in each other, and go from there.”
Coach Alain Vigneault has been adamant during this awful downturn that his team is playing better than the results. On Saturday in Nashville, the Rangers were pushed around and bloodied while losing 5-2 to the Predators — also while losing Marc Staal (cervical strain) and Jimmy Vesey (concussion) to unpenalized headshots. Add them to the list of injured regulars that already includes Pavel Buchnevich (concussion), Chris Kreider (rib resection) and Kevin Shattenkirk (knee surgery).
All of that, and this team has looked wounded and weary. They did what they could to push back against the Stars, but there wasn’t all that much to give. At least, not enough to beat goalie Ben Bishop after the only goal had come by David Desharnais fighting his way for his own rebound at 17:55 of the first period.
“It’s frustrating right now, for sure,” Zuccarello said. “Losing hockey games is tough on you. But it is what it is. I think I’m giving the excuses too many times now. It’s a loss, and that’s what it is.”