Stepan scores 2 in Rangers’ 6-2 win over Stars

The Dallas Stars know better than to have that, but it really is important for them to continue to get points, regardless of how they come.

Kevin Hayes logged 13:38 and was a plus-2 as he centered the third line after being a healthy scratch the previous two games – Vigneault questioned his work ethic and whether the organization had overestimated his potential. While he made some good saves, his confidence seems to be affecting his play still.

Less than 20 seconds later, Keith Yandle erased all the momentum when he scored on a point shot that a screened Niemi couldn’t track down.

Julie Jacobson/AP Stars goalie Antti Niemi allows six goals on 29 shots in goal. In addition, Dallas just played three games in four days, all on the road; no easy task, especially when your preferred style of play relies on speed, a strong transition game and more speed. The puck sifted through a mess of people in front and missed everyone to put the Rangers up 2-1. “What a great atmosphere out there to play a National Hockey League game in, it was a lot of fun”. That’s how the period would end, with the Rangers out in front.

Tuesday night though, the Rangers were the Stars’ daddies in the first period, to quote Pedro Martinez’s famous 2004 characterization of the Yankees dominating the Boston Red Sox pitcher that postseason.

The third would bring more offense. The Rangers are kicking off a three-game homestand after losing two of three on the road. He would add to that total on an assist on Antoine Roussel’s seventh goal of the season off a Jason Spezza cross crease pass that Antoine made no mistake on to bring the Stars as close as they would get. The game will be played following a precedent-setting occurrence in the Dallas Stars’ season – they recently lost back-to-backs for the first time all year. Nichushkin finished the play with a goal. Stepan retrieved a puck behind the net after a Nash shot, and got it back to Megna – making his Rangers debut after being called up from Hartford on Monday. Niemi stopped a Derick Brassard redirection early, then stopped Stepan on a short-handed breakaway created by Nash’s hustle. He didn’t score but he tallied three assists and did everything else right.

Dallas, which fell to 28-10-4, were swept in their three-game trip to the NY area.

To be fair, every game seems like a must-win for the Dallas Stars, simply due to their extreme competitiveness and effort.

The New York Jets sure appreciated, with Ryan Fitzpatrick, Willie Colon and a large group of the National Football League team sitting behind the Stars bench and going wild after Ranger goals.