Rangers Snap Losing Skid

The New York Rangers snapped their losing streak in a crucial game.

Dec 20, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; New York Rangers left wing Will Cuylle (50) and left wing Chris Kreider (20) and defenseman Will Borgen (17) celebrates an empty net goal scored by Kreider against the Dallas Stars during the third period at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The New York Rangers were free falling through the month of December. Losers of 12 of their last 15 games, the team fell from a top spot in the Metropolitan Division to outside of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Two trades later and the Rangers that began the season are a drastically different team.

But the Rangers are hoping they can salvage their season still. They took an excellent first step with a victory over a very good Dallas Stars team. One of the. top squads in the Western Conference, the Rangers took the fight to them and came away with a 3-1 victory.

The difference maker for the Rangers was their penalty killing and goaltending. The team's discipline was lacking, taking seven minor penalties during the game against the Stars. Thankfully their penalty killing unit and starting goalie Igor Shesterkin were excellent. The PK group stopped all seven Dallas power play opportunities, extending the team's streak to six straight games without allowing a power play goal. They were even dangerous when down a man, as forward Reilly Smith netted a short-handed goal in the game.

And the penalty killing would be futile without their superstar goalie standing on his head and making countless important saves. Shesterkin looked every bit like the $92.5 million goaltender the Rangers believe him to be in this matchup. He stopped 41 of 42 Dallas shots. He's allowed two goals or less in four of five starts since signing his huge extension.

The Rangers now must use this victory as a springboard to improving. They've been a god-awful team over the last few weeks, but there's still plenty of season left. They have 50 games left in their regular season and are only a few points out of a playoff spot, so they don't have to pack up and end the season right now. But this has to be a turning point in order to make something out of this season, otherwise this will go down as one of the most disappointing campaigns in Rangers' history.

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