The Dallas Stars lost to the New York Rangers 3-1 on Friday night, losing their second straight game. The team now stands 19-13 on the season and seventh in the Western Conference standings.
The Rangers took an early 2-1 lead following the first period and never looked back. They held the Stars scoreless for the remainder of the game and scored one more goal in the final period.
Dallas continued its year-long struggles during power plays at home, finishing this matchup against the Rangers going 0-for-7 on power plays.
The Stars rank amongst the worst teams in the league at converting power plays into goals, with Dallas ranking as the 25th-best team in the NHL at converting these opportunities at just 16.3%.
After the game, Stars Coach Pete DeBoer said that the team has “got to be better” to compete with other top teams in the league.
“You look at where we’re at, we’re right in the middle of things and we’re going to have to work our way out,” he added, per NHL.com.
This loss to the Rangers marked the second straight game that the Stars have dropped as the team fights to stay in the playoff hunt, sitting in seventh in the Western Conference but just one point ahead of the Utah Hockey Club and Calgary Flames.
Dallas previously lost 5-3 in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs in which the Stars went 0-for-4 on power play opportunities, further highlighting the issues this team has had with converting in those moments.
DeBoer said the Stars must be prepared to fight through these struggles with power plays and that the issues should not be something that looms large for this team entering every important matchup.
“It’s one thing if the power play doesn’t score, but it can’t take momentum from your group, and that’s what it did tonight,” he said, per NHL.com.
Stars forward Jason Robertson presented similar thoughts on the issues with power plays and said the team has had “plenty of chances” this season and things will improve.
“I think it was a mixture of everything. We had a lot of minutes, so every detail could have been better,” he added, according to NHL.com.
The Stars will have an opportunity to get back into the win column with a matchup against the Hockey Club on Monday at 8 p.m. in a game that will have important playoff consequences for both teams.