The final road trip of the 2025-26 season commences for the New York Rangers when they visit the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on Saturday. It’s their first game on the road in 17 days, following a season-long homestand when they won five of seven games.
New York’s most recent road game was memorable, but not for good reasons. The Rangers (33-37-9) were officially eliminated from playoff contention on March 25 after a 4-3 loss to the Maple Leafs in Toronto.
But there’s been more good than bad for the Rangers on the road this season. They’re 19-17-2 away from Madison Square Garden, and started the season with points in 10 of their first 11 on the road (9-1-1).
After the tilt in Dallas, the Rangers head to South Florida to face-off against the Panthers on Monday, and then conclude the season with a game Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“It’s a good challenge for us. We’ve talked about how good I think we’ve been playing since the break really, other than a week or so we really didn’t like. Especially lately. We want to carry the momentum on to the road, and we’ve been a good road team all season,” captain J.T. Miller said Friday after practice. “I think we take a lot of pride playing there. I think we have good camaraderie on the road, the team’s close, and it’s going to be a good challenge for us. Some really good hockey teams that we’re playing, we’re going to have be on our A game. And I think we’d rather have it that way.”
Though they come off a 5-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday, the Rangers scored three or more goals for the seventh time in their past eight games; and their power play is red hot, scoring in six of eight games, and is 5-for-9 in their past three contests.
They face another stiff test in Dallas. The Stars (47-20-12) are second in the Central Division, and their 106 points are tied for second most in the NHL. They’ll face the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and come off an exciting 5-4 come-from-behind win over the Wild on Thursday.
This is the fifth straight season Dallas qualified for the playoffs, and it reached the Western Conference Final each of the past three years without advancing to the Stanley Cup Final.
The Rangers defeated the Stars 3-2 on Vladislav Gavrikov’s overtime goal Dec. 2 at MSG. In the past 10 meetings, the Rangers earned at least one point nine times against the Stars (7-1-2).
Adam Fox brings an eight-game point streak into Dallas, including multi-point efforts six times in that stretch. he had a goal and an assist against the Sabres on Wednesday, and three points (one goal, two assists) the game before, an 8-1 rout over the Washington Capitals.
Off the ice, Fox was nominated for the King Clancy Award, presented “to the [NHL] player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.” Adam Graves is the only Rangers player to ever win the award, doing so in 1993-94.
Mika Zibanejad is also streaking for the Rangers, riding a five-game point streak (one goals, six assists). And Vincent Trocheck has a point in eight straight games against the Stars, scoring eight goals and adding five assists in that stretch.
The Rangers took all three goalies on the road trip. With three games remaining, the Rangers could give one final start apiece to Igor Shesterkin, Jonathan Quick, and rookie Dylan Garand. But if that’s the plan, coach Mike Sullivan isn’t saying.
In fact, whatever the plan is, Sullivan’s not sharing any information. That includes which goalie starts in Dallas against the Stars. All Sullivan let reporters know Friday is that there is a plan in place, and all three goalies are on the trip.
Shesterkin started five of the past six games. Quick was in net Saturday for the 4-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings. And Garand made his second career start, and picked up his first win, against the Chicago Blackhawks on March 27.
With the Stanley Cup Playoffs starting in a week, the Stars have a slew of concerning injuries to key players. The latest is to go down is stud defenseman Miro Heiskanen, who won’t play Saturday due to a lower-body injury he sustained against the Wild. Heiskanen and the Stars await results from imaging taken Friday to see how long he could be out of the lineup.
Stars coach Glen Gulutzan told reporters Friday that injured forward Roope Hintz won’t play again in the regular season, and could miss the start of the playoffs. He’s already missed 17 games with a lower-body injury. Then there’s Tyler Seguin, who’s on season-ending LTIR and only played 27 games this season.
And it’s not just the Stars’ stars. Former Rangers defenseman Nils Lundkvist has an illness and may not play Saturday; forwards Nate Bastian and Sam Steel likely remain out; and Radek Faksa expects to miss his 23rd straight game, but should be good to go for the playoffs after an upper-body injury.
Alexis Lafreniere — Mika Zibanejad — Gabe Perreault
Will Cuylle — Vincent Trocheck — Jonny Brodzinski