NHL

Rangers blow three-goal lead in brutal overtime loss to Stars

By
Andrew Crane
Published Jan. 7, 2025
Updated Jan. 8, 2025, 12:16 a.m. ET

In a season full of disappointments, this one became j🐼ust the latest.

This one might sting the most.

This one — with the Rangers starting to trend in the right direction after their horrifi𓃲c slide — teased growth and ended with déjà vu. 

The Blueshirts erupted♑ for three goals across the opening 10 minutes.

Then they watched that lead evaporat🎀e as the S🦩tars controlled possession, kept generating chances and pulled even before the second-period horn sounded.

New York Rangers goaltender Jonathan Quick (32) sits on the ice after Quick allows the game winning goal by Dallas Stars left wing Jamie Benn
New York Rangers goaltender Jonathan Quick (32) sits on the ice after allowing the game-winning goal by Dallas Stars left wing Jamie Benn on Tuesday night. Robert Sabo for NY Post

They couldn’t keep another advan🎉tage in the final minutes, either.

And the Rangers failed to escape in overtime when Jamie Benn scored the power-play winner at the 2:17 mark and sent the Blueshirts to a 5-4 loss.&൲nbsp;

New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafrenière (13) scores a goal during the first period
New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafrenière (13) scores a goal during the first period on Tuesday night. Robert Sabo for NY Post

This d𓂃efeat might’ve come at an extra cost for a Rangers team (18-20-2) that’s already banged up, too.

Filip Chytil, who has an extensive history of injuries, exited with an꧒ upper-body injury and di♒dn’t return.

His final shift enܫded with around four minute💎s left in the second period and he wasn’t on the bench during the third.

H♛ead coach Peter Laviolette didn’t have any update postgame beyond ⛄that the center was being evaluated. 

“This one sucks,” said Alexis Lafreniere, who snapped a 13-game drought with two goals. “Especially after our start. Feel like we were playing well. [Jonathan Quick] made some big saves again, but we can’t just keep giving up g♈ood chances after good chances. Eventually, it’s gonna go in.” 

Vincent Trocheck gave the Rangers a 4-3 lead with just over seven minutes remaining when he tipped in a Mika Zibanejad shot from in f🃏ront of the net — occupying the power-play spot that usually belongs to an injured Chris Kreider — for his second goal of the game to snap a brutal 1-for-31 ༺stretch from the unit.

New York Rangers center Filip Chytil (72) and Dallas Stars center Sam Steel (18) battle for a loose puck during the second period at Madison Square Garden.
New York Rangers center Filip Chytil (72) and Dallas Stars center Sam Steel (18) battle for a loose puck during the second period at Madison Square Garden. Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images

But K’Andre Miller committed a costly turnover in the cor🐷ner of the Blueshirts end, and Thomas Harley ওcapitalized on his shooting lane with 2:39 remaining to force overtime. 

Be🧜fore the Rangers blew their pair of leads, plenty of promising signs emerged to suggest that strides in recent games weren’t flukes.

When they made their playoff run last year, this was the version of Lafreniere♋ that carried them.

And when ⛦they earned points in six of their opening seven matches to start the 2024-25 campaign, that rendition of Lafreniere ignited their offense with four goals and seven points. 

For most of the 32 games that followed, which coincided with the stretch following his massive seven-year extension, Lafreniere’s numbers had plummete♑d.

He’d collected just two since Nov. 21.

Alexis Lafreniere scores the first of his two goals during the Rangers' OT loss.
Alexis Lafreniere scores the first of his two goals during the Rangers’ OT loss. Robert Sabo for New York Post

But that changed just seven minutes into the first period, when Artemi Panarin dropped a pass back to Lafreniere on a rush and💦 the winger snapped a shot past Jake Oettinger.

Less than five minutes later, Lafreniere secured his first m💯ulti-goal game since May 26 on a breakaway.

In between, Trocheck tipped in a Will Bඣorgen shot, and the Rangers, despit⭕e some early chances for the Stars, snagged a commanding lead. 

“We had a good start, but you play like 10 good minutes, it’s not gonna be enough꧒,” Lafreniere said. “You gotta pl♑ay 60, especially against a good team like that. If we don’t defend, they’re gonna score for sure.”

The col൲lapse started with Urho Vaakanainen deflecti⛦ng a puck into the Rangers’ net.

Jonathan Quick makes a save during the Rangers' OT loss.
Jonathan Quick makes a save during the Rangers’ OT loss. Robert Sabo for New York Post

Evgenii Dadonov knocked in a rebound.

And Jason Robertson curled around the net, collected possession and backhand🌜ed the tying goal past Quick — who failed again to become the first United States-born goaltender to win 400 NHL games.

Then, afte꧂r Harley’s late equalizer, the Stars took their only lead when it mattered after Panarin was whistled for hooking in the extra frame. 

Dallas out-attempted the Rangers 68-48, according to Naturalღ Stat Trick, and 13 of those qualified as high-danger opportunities. 

New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox (23) dives in front of the puck
New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox (23) dives in front of the puck in Tuesday’s loss to the Stars. Robert Sabo for NY Post
Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen (4) checks New York Rangers center Adam Edstrom (84) as Edstrom chases the puck during the first period when the New York Rangers played the Dallas Stars Tuesday, January 7, 2025
Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen (4) checks New York Rangers center Adam Edstrom (84) as Edstrom chases the puck during the first period when the New York Rangers played the Dallas Stars on January 7, 2025. Robert Sabo for NY Post

The Rangers’ attempt to claw back into the wild-card hunt — they ended the night four points behind the Blue Jackets after earning a point — won’t get any easier, either. ♌Kreider hit injured reserve Monday with an upper-body injury.

Goaltender Igor S✤hesterkin remains on IR with the🔯 same label.

And then there’s Chytil, whose career had previously been jeopardized by co🎀ncussions and who already missed seven games with an upper-body injury earlier this season.

More lineup shuffling, given the Arthur Kaliyev waiver claim and Matt Rempe’s 🐽return from suspension, will certainly follow. 

“I mean, you come out of the gates, you’re up 3-0 at home, you don’t win a hockeyജ game, then you did enough wrong defensively to not be happy with it,” Laviolette said. 

At some point, if they’re going to save thei🧔r season, the Range🍃rs will need to go on runs, to win multiple games, to make sure leads as large as the three-goal one they had against the Stars don’t disappear and result in losses. Tuesday marked another missed chance.