{"id":550057,"date":"2026-04-11T05:03:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T05:03:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/550057\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T05:03:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T05:03:55","slug":"lineups-storylines-for-first-road-game-in-17-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/550057\/","title":{"rendered":"Lineups, storylines for first road game in 17 days"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"categories\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foreverblueshirts.com\/category\/new-york-rangers-news\" rel=\"tag nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">New York Rangers News<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<img alt=\"avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774621276_173_jim-cerny.jpeg\"  class=\"avatar avatar-30 photo\" height=\"30\" width=\"30\" loading=\"eager\" decoding=\"async\"\/>\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>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\u2019s their first game on the road in 17 days, following a season-long homestand when they won five of seven games.<\/p>\n<p>New York\u2019s 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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foreverblueshirts.com\/new-york-rangers-news\/recap-eliminated-playoff-contention-lose-maple-leafs\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">4-3 loss to the Maple Leafs<\/a> in Toronto.<\/p>\n<p>But there\u2019s been more good than bad for the Rangers on the road this season. They\u2019re 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).<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a good challenge for us. We\u2019ve talked about how good I think we\u2019ve been playing since the break really, other than a week or so we really didn\u2019t like. Especially lately. We want to carry the momentum on to the road, and we\u2019ve been a good road team all season,\u201d captain J.T. Miller <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=YpWLqo6pcsI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">said Friday<\/a> after practice. \u201cI think we take a lot of pride playing there. I think we have good camaraderie on the road, the team\u2019s close, and it\u2019s going to be a good challenge for us. Some really good hockey teams that we\u2019re playing, we\u2019re going to have be on our A game. And I think we\u2019d rather have it that way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Though they come off a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foreverblueshirts.com\/new-york-rangers-news\/recap-blow-third-period-lead-lose-5-3-sabres-final-home-game\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">5-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n<p>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\u2019ll face the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and come off an exciting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhl.com\/news\/minnesota-wild-dallas-stars-game-recap-april-9-2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">5-4 come-from-behind win<\/a> over the Wild on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>The Rangers defeated the Stars 3-2 on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foreverblueshirts.com\/new-york-rangers-news\/rangers-overtime-win-dallas-stars\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Vladislav Gavrikov\u2019s overtime goal<\/a> Dec. 2 at MSG. In the past 10 meetings, the Rangers earned at least one point nine times against the Stars (7-1-2).<\/p>\n<p>3\u00a0storylines when Rangers visit Stars<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"788\" height=\"525\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/NHL-New-York-Rangers-at-Dallas-Stars-25036660.jpg\" alt=\"NHL: New York Rangers at Dallas Stars\" class=\"wp-image-480161\"  \/>Jerome Miron-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p>1. Streaking<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Off the ice, Fox was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhl.com\/news\/2025-2026-king-clancy-trophy-nominees-announced-by-nhl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">nominated for the King Clancy Award<\/a>, presented \u201cto the [NHL] player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.\u201d Adam Graves is the only Rangers player to ever win the award, doing so in 1993-94.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foreverblueshirts.com\/tag\/mika-zibanejad\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"878\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Mika Zibanejad<\/a> is also streaking for the Rangers, riding a five-game point streak (one goals, six assists). And <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foreverblueshirts.com\/tag\/vincent-trocheck\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"1035\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Vincent Trocheck<\/a> has a point in eight straight games against the Stars, scoring eight goals and adding five assists in that stretch.<\/p>\n<p>2. Who\u2019s net?<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"788\" height=\"525\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/NHL-New-York-Rangers-at-Dallas-Stars-25037083.jpg\" alt=\"NHL: New York Rangers at Dallas Stars\" class=\"wp-image-480175\"  \/>Jerome Miron-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p>The Rangers took all three goalies on the road trip. With three games remaining, the Rangers could give one final start apiece to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foreverblueshirts.com\/tag\/igor-shesterkin\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"1672\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Igor Shesterkin<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foreverblueshirts.com\/tag\/jonathan-quick\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"77\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jonathan Quick,<\/a> and rookie <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foreverblueshirts.com\/tag\/dylan-garand\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"6614\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Dylan Garand<\/a>. But if that\u2019s the plan, coach Mike Sullivan isn\u2019t saying.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, whatever the plan is, Sullivan\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>3. Dallas\u2019 stars banged up<\/p>\n<p>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\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n<p>Stars coach Glen Gulutzan told reporters Friday that injured forward Roope Hintz won\u2019t play again in the regular season, and could miss the start of the playoffs. He\u2019s already missed 17 games with a lower-body injury. Then there\u2019s Tyler Seguin, who\u2019s on season-ending LTIR and only played 27 games this season.<\/p>\n<p>And it\u2019s not just the Stars\u2019 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.<\/p>\n<p>New York Rangers projected lineup<\/p>\n<p>Alexis Lafreniere \u2014 Mika Zibanejad \u2014 Gabe Perreault<\/p>\n<p>Will Cuylle \u2014 \u00a0Vincent Trocheck \u2014 Jonny Brodzinski<\/p>\n<p>Tye Kartye \u2014 J.T. Miller \u2014 Conor Sheary<\/p>\n<p>Jaroslav Chmelar \u2014 Noah Laba \u2014 Adam Sykota<\/p>\n<p>Vladislav Gavrikov \u2014 Adam Fox<\/p>\n<p>Matthew Robertson \u2014 Will Borgen<\/p>\n<p>Drew Fortescue \u2014 Braden Schneider<\/p>\n<p>Igor Shesterkin<\/p>\n<p>Jonathan Quick<\/p>\n<p>Rangers vs. Stars: When, where, what time, how to watch<\/p>\n<p>Who:\u00a0New York Rangers vs. Dallas Stars<\/p>\n<p>When: Saturday April 11 at 5 p.m. ET<\/p>\n<p>Where: American Airlines Center<\/p>\n<p>How to watch:\u00a0MSG<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<img alt=\"avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770415644_68_jim-cerny.jpeg\"  class=\"avatar avatar-70 photo\" height=\"70\" width=\"70\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"low\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\tJim  Cerny  is  Executive  Editor  at  Forever  Blueshirts  and  Managing  Editor  at  Sportsnaut,  with  more  than  30  years  of  &#8230; More about <a class=\"more-bio\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foreverblueshirts.com\/author\/jcerlonenyr212\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jim Cerny<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 1rem auto; padding: 1rem 0; border-top: 1px solid #e4e4e4; border-bottom: 1px solid #e4e4e4;\"><a class=\"google-preferred-source\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.foreverblueshirts.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" aria-label=\"Add Forever Blueshirts as a Preferred Source on Google.\">Add Forever Blueshirts as a Preferred Source on Google.<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/google_preferred_source_badge.png\" alt=\"Add Forever Blueshirts as a Preferred Source on Google.\" width=\"90\" height=\"28\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"margin: 0 0 0 10px;\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New York Rangers News The final road trip of the 2025-26 season commences for the New York Rangers&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":550058,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5117],"tags":[196,147,5278,5,4,197],"class_list":{"0":"post-550057","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas-stars","8":"tag-dallas","9":"tag-dallas-stars","10":"tag-dallasstars","11":"tag-hockey","12":"tag-nhl","13":"tag-stars"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116384333067074485","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=550057"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550057\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/550058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=550057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=550057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=550057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}