DALLAS — When a team comes behind once or twice when trailing after two periods, well, that could be the luck of the draw.
But when a team rallies repeatedly after trailing going into the third, as the Rangers have this season, that becomes part of its identity.
“It’s not a position we want to find ourselves in every night, but the success we’ve had does give us a certain amount of confidence that if we stick with our plan, we’ll be able to succeed,” Marc Staal said after the Blueshirts came back from down 2-1 after two to defeat the Stars 3-2 last night on Mats Zuccarello’s shootout goal.
“If you don’t have previous success, then you have a tendency to become impatient and try to get it done individually and force plays,” said Staal, who turned in yet another imposing performance in 33:06 of ice. “But we’ve stayed with what we do and have squeaked some out.”
The victory, achieved when anti-hero Sean Avery’s return was overshadowed by one-time hero Jamie Langenbrunner’s return to Dallas, leaves the Rangers with a 5-9-3 record, good for 13 points in the 17 games they’ve trailed after two periods. It’s the best mark in the NHL, both in terms of points and percentage.
“When you do that for quite a while, as we have, it becomes part of your personality,” coach John Tortorella said. “We’re not going to be able to do that all the time, but there’s no panic.
“That’s a good sign for a pretty young team.”
While Marian Gaborik’s inability to get himself going — No. 10 was simply dreadful last night — is blooming into a notable issue, the best sign last night for the Rangers was their ability to recover from negligence in their own end in the first, during which the Stars generated a handful of glorious chances in front of an outstanding Henrik Lundqvist.
“We weren’t aggressive enough or busy enough taking away their time and space on the walls,” Tortorella said. “We needed to be more physical in taking that away from them.
“They’re so skilled. We talked about it after the first and did a much better job after that of closing them off.”
Trailing 2-1 entering the third after Ruslan Fedotenko scored the club’s league-leading ninth short-handed goal in the second, the Blueshirts tied it on Artem Anisimov’s power play drive from the inner rim of the right circle at 8:04.
The score ended an 0-for-13 power play skid, and it came on what has become the sophomore center’s signature shot on which he drags the puck in tight to his left skate before launching it. Dallas netminder Kari Lehtonen had no chance as the puck whizzed by him.
“I change the angle on the shot,” said Anisimov. “Instead of having it out from my body, I bring it close so I can shoot quick and hard.”
Dallas coach Marc Crawford threw the estimable Brad Richards-Loui Eriksson-James Neal unit on as often as possible, forcing Tortorella and the Blueshirts into a defensive posture much of the night. But varied lines did the job in front of Lundqvist, who pitched his third shootout shutout in four competitions to win when Zuccarello scored in the bottom of the second.
“When you know you can come back, it’s so good for your confidence,” Lundqvist said. “We know that sooner or later we will create the chance the we need.”