NEW YORK _ With a fully healthy set of forwards for the first time in months, an optimistic Rangers coach Alain Vigneault had said before Tuesday night's game with the Dallas Stars: "It's almost like starting over."
But for two periods, the backsliding Blueshirts continued their dreadful play, leaving wide-open space in front of their net and Henrik Lundqvist often looked lost, sinking deeper into his slump, appearing to have issues with confidence and tracking the puck.
Those forwards managed just 15 shots on goaltender Antti Niemi through two periods, and the Rangers _ despite scoring three goals in the third _ lost their season-high third straight game in a 7-6 decision at Madison Square Garden.
The first concerted push, driven by desperation and perhaps embarrassment, came in the second period when the out-of-sync, passionless Rangers scored twice on goals by Mika Zibanejad, returning after missing 26 games with a broken fibula, and the first goal by Pavel Buchnevich since his return three games ago, to trim the Dallas lead to 4-3 at 12:06.
But Lundqvist, who has allowed four or more goals in six of his last eight starts, couldn't stand his ground. He blundered, turning the wrong way while looking for a puck behind the net and Patrick Sharp stuffed in his second goal of the game, short-circuiting any chance of a tie. Adam Cracknell, who had just four goals on the season, beat Lundqvist glove-side three minutes later and Cody Eakin, who fought with Chris Kreider at 1:52 of the second, scored to make it 7-3 at 17:40.
Backup Magnus Hellberg relieved Lundqvist at the start of the third. But all the action was at the other end as the Rangers stormed back for three goals in 4:15.
Derek Stepan, who scored the first goal of the game just 27 seconds in, fed Kreider at 3:11 of the third on the Blueshirts' first power play of the game, and scored his second of the game at 5:31. And stunningly, Zibanejad's pass in front deflected past Niemi to trim the lead with the third goal of the period at 7:26, chasing Niemi, who was replaced by Kari Lehtonen, who shut the Rangers out from there.
Hellberg didn't give up a goal either and made several glove saves, including one on Sharp with 8:20 to play.
The Rangers, who allowed seven goals for the third time in a game since Dec. 20, fell behind 3-1 in the first, with Patrick Eaves' rebound at 12:34 and Sharp's first coming 12 seconds later after Nick Holden's turnover. Dallas was outshooting the Blueshirts 9-2 and Lundqvist had looked steady at that point.
But the Rangers veteran also couldn't stop Jamie Benn's slider at 17:40.
In the second, Kreider tussled with Eakin, who had been suspended for four games for charging Lundqvist in the teams' last meeting on Dec. 15, but former Ranbger Lauri Korpikoski found the unguarded Antoine Roussel in front at 4:22. The Stars had scored four times on 13 shots and the Garden crowd began derisive cheering for routine saves by Lundqvist.
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