It’s been more than a month since the Rangers have won consecutive games, but after a much-needed feel-good win Friday night, the Blueshirts are looking at a chance to string a few wins together before the NHL’s Christmas break.
The Rangers have been through a tough week between the rumors swirling around discontent from the players with the front office and the trade of Kaapo Kakko.
The win Friday over the Stars couldn’t have come at a better time, and wins over Metropolitan Division foes would certainly feel like an early gift from Santa for the Rangers.
“Yeah, we need to win games,” Vincent Trocheck said following the victory. “I think we’re not thinking about yesterday at all. I think we’re just moving forward, taking it one game at a time, and [Friday] was a good step in the right direction.”
The Peter Laviolette-led squad has not won consecutive games since Nov. 14-19, when they toppled the Sharks, Kraken and Canucks back when the Rangers were 12-4-1.
The Rangers showed the right fight in their win over Dallas, overcoming an early deficit after giving up a goal less than a minute into the game.
It was a shorthanded goal by Reilly Smith that helped jump-start a five-minute span that saw the Blueshirts score twice to take the lead.
The Rangers agreed after the game that it was a gritty win.
That could have been what the team needed going into a tough stretch with the Hurricanes and Devils, two of the top teams in the Metro.
“I think it was good of us not to get demoralized, and we picked it up,” Adam Fox said. “Like I said, the energy, execution was there, and I think that’s really what paid off for us.”
The Rangers will need to keep that mentality going as they look to push forward out of the funk they recently found themselves in.
And facing Metro opponents has been a tall task for the Rangers early on this season.
The Rangers have gone 3-4 against their division, with wins over the Islanders and two against the Penguins, while they are still looking for their first win of the season against Carolina and New Jersey.
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But the win Friday and some glimmers of hope have shone through for the Blueshirts.
The Rangers are riding a streak of 17 straight penalties killed, and their PK unit was the standout in the win over the Stars.
Even Matt Rempe gave a solid effort in his first game back since he was called up from AHL Hartford earlier this week.
Unfortunately for the Rangers, Rempe is facing the potential of a lengthy suspension for his hit on Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen.
The NHL announced Saturday that it would offer Rempe an in-person hearing, which allows the league to hand a player a suspension of six games or more if they deem it appropriate.
Rempe was assessed a 5-minute major and a game misconduct in the third period after he drilled Heiskanen from behind into the boards and his elbow came up on the hit.
“I don’t want him to stop being who he is. You don’t want to see a guy get hurt, but [Rempe] is the kind of guy that’s a hard forechecking kind of guy,” Trocheck said about Rempe. “That’s kind of how he creates his energy for the team.”