• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Rangers looking to heat back up against Stars

Nov 25, 2007 - 2:27 PM Dallas (11-7-4) at Ny Rangers (13-8-2) 1:00 pm EST

NEW YORK (Ticker) - Coach Tom Renney wants more effort from his players when the New York Rangers host the Dallas Stars on Sunday afternoon.

The Rangers are coming off a 3-2 shootout loss to the Florida Panthers, but it could have been much worse if not for the play of goaltender Steve Valiquette, who made 33 saves.

Renney said there was just one reason why his team lost.

"I'm not real happy with our overall effort," he said. "I don't think we came out prepared to compete and be mentally and physically engaged to go up against a team (like Florida)."

New York will also hope to get more production from captain Jaromir Jagr, who has just four goals over the first 23 games after notching at least 30 goals in each of the previous 15 seasons.

Defenseman Michal Rozsival leads the Rangers in goals with seven, while Jagr has a team-leading 13 assists and 17 points this season.

The Rangers' effort will have to improve if they wish to defeat the Stars, who have won four straight games.

Antti Miettinen did not need any help to score the eventual game-winning goal on Friday night, a 3-1 triumph over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Miettinen stole the puck from defenseman Tomas Kaberle, skated in and beat goalie Vesa Toskala with 4:29 remaining in the second period.

Dallas has surrendered just three goals over its current winning streak.