Stars rally, edge Rangers for third straight win

Stars center Martin Hanzal returned to the lineup Monday night, and he had an impact. Hanzal's power play goal early in the third period snapped a 1-1 tie, lifting the Stars to a 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers at American Airlines Center.
Hanzal, who had missed the previous five games with a muscle strain, set up in front of the New York net and tipped in a Julius Honka shot from the right point 4:05 into the third period as the Stars won their third straight game.

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"I felt okay. It's always hard when you get back when you miss a long time," Hanzal said. "It's hard to get in game tempo. It took me couple shifts but after that I felt pretty good. Scoring the goal, it was lucky on the tip and went in."
Along with the goal, Hanzal played 13:46, including 2:00 of penalty kill time, had three shots on goal and won 8 of 11 faceoffs, including 7 of 9 in the defensive zone.
"When we have Martin in the lineup we're really deep," said Stars forward Tyler Pitlick. "We roll the lines and he's so good on faceoffs and then the penalty kill. Like you saw on the power play, he's huge and the goalie can't see anything and he tips the puck and he gets a lot of goals that way. He's definitely a big, big part of our team and hopefully we can have him in the lineup."
Hanzal, one of the Stars' key offseason acquisitions, has battled injuries this season, missing a total of 20 games. The Stars are hoping he can stay healthy because of all the elements he brings to the team.

"Huge," Stars coach said Hanzal's impact. "He just manages the game so well, he's a real good player and we've missed him. We've missed his presence, he's a real good pro, and we're hoping that he stays healthy. He came through the game fine and that's a good sign.
"And a healthy Martin Hanzal makes us a lot different hockey club, and very difficult to play against."
Ben Bishop stopped 31 shots and Tyler Seguin also scored for the Stars, who improved to 31-19-4 and pulled to within one point of St. Louis for third place in the Central Division and increased their lead to six points over the ninth-place spot in the Western Conference playoff race.
The Rangers (25-23-5) got a superb 39-save effort from goaltender Henrik Lundqvist but lost for the sixth time in the last seven games (1-6-0) and ninth in the last 12 (3-9-0).
"Frustrating right now for sure, losing hockey games is tough on you," said Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello. "But, it is what it is. I think I have given the excuse too many times, and it's a loss and that's what it is."
The Stars had the better of play in the first period, outshooting the Rangers 21-9 but New York headed to the intermission with a 1-0 lead. Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was sharp in the first, making nice stops on Jamie Benn, Antoine Roussel and Benn again before his teammates scored to take the lead. Rangers forward Vinni Lettieri forced a turnover in the neutral zone, putting the New York on the rush and David Desharnais scored on a rebound at the 17:55 mark.

Lundqvist continued to shine early in the second, including a nice stop on Hanzal to keep the Stars off the board. Bishop answered with a couple of big stops to keep the Stars within one, making a great pad stop on Mats Zuccarello's point-blank bid with the Rangers on of their three power plays in the period, a nice glove a Paul Carey bid from the slot and a big stop on a quality look from Desharnais.
The Stars finally got on the board, taking advantage of a delayed on penalty call on the Rangers. With Bishop on the bench for the extra attacker, Seguin scored on a blast from the top of the left circle to tie the game 1-1 at 14:44 of the second.
Less than a minute later, the Stars were back on the penalty kill and thwarted the Rangers' third power play of the period to keep it a 1-1 game going into the final period.
The Stars took advantage of their fourth power play of the night to take a 2-1 lead. After Hanzal drew a hooking penalty on Rangers defenseman Tony DeAngelo, he scored on the power play by tipping in the Honka shot at 4:05 of the third.
Bishop and the Stars shut the door the rest of the way, and the Stars had their third straight win.
"I think it has to be one of the best games of the year. We played well in every facet of the game," said Bishop. "Way to close it out in the third. We just have to keep building. It is a big win and now we have a division opponent and a tough building (Thursday at Chicago) to play. Should be a fun time and we have to get ready for it."

Notes: Hamhuis honored for 1,000th game

What's Next

The Stars hit the road to take on the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday. The Stars are 3-0-0 against the Blackhawks this season, winning twice in Dallas and once in Chicago. Thursday's game will be the front end of a back-to-back for the Stars, who will host Pittsburgh on Friday night at American Airlines Center.

Stars Lineup

Jamie Benn - Tyler Seguin - Alexander Radulov
Mattias Janmark - Jason Spezza - Devin Shore
Antoine Roussel - Radek Faksa - Tyler Pitlick
Remi Elie - Martin Hanzal - Brett Ritchie
Esa Lindell - John Klingberg
Dan Hamhuis - Greg Pateryn
Stephen Johns - Julius Honka
Ben Bishop
Kari Lehtonen
Scratched:Jason Dickinson, Gemel Smith, Dillon Heatherington
Injured:Marc Methot (knee)

This story was not subject to approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club. Mark Stepneski is an independent writer whose posts on DallasStars.com reflect his own opinions and do not represent official statements from the Dallas Stars. You can follow Mark on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.