NEW YORK (AP) — Mika Zibanejad, Jimmy Vesey and Vincent Trocheck each scored in the second period and the New York Rangers beat the San Jose Sharks 3-2 on Thursday night.
Igor Shesterkin made 25 saves as the Rangers rebounded from Tuesday’s 6-3 loss to league-best Winnipeg and got their fourth win in six games.
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San Jose Sharks' Fabian Zetterlund (20), left, shoots on goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Rangers, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
San Jose Sharks' Macklin Celebrini, right, takes a shot on goal while New York Rangers' Will Cuylle looks on during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Rangers' Adam Edstrom, left, brings the puck up the ice as San Jose Sharks' Mario Ferraro follows during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
San Jose Sharks goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood, right, make a save during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Rangers, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin defends the goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the San Jose Sharks, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
San Jose Sharks' Timothy Liljegren, center, celebrates his goal with Cody Ceci, left, and Luke Kunin during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Rangers, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Rangers' Vincent Trocheck, right, and San Jose Sharks' William Eklund, left, compete for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Rangers' Mika Zibanejad, left, celebrates his goal with Adam Fox during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the San Jose Sharks, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Timothy Liljegren and Fabian Zetterlund scored for the Sharks, who have lost four of six (2-3-1). Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 32 shots.
Liljegren was credited with the game’s first goal at 2:51 of the opening period when the puck caromed off several players in front of Shesterkin and into the net.
Zibanejad tied it with 9:19 left in the middle period. Vesey put the Rangers ahead with 6:45 left in the period, and Trocheck made it 3-1 with 3:39 to go..
Zetterlund closed the gap with a power-play in the final minute.
Sharks: Barclay Goodrow, who played three seasons with the Rangers and scored six playoff goals last spring, received an ovation during a first-period stoppage when he was shown on the giant screen above center ice.
Rangers: Forward Filip Chytil left the game during the second period after colliding with teammate K’Andre Miller. Chytil, who has a history of suspected concussions, headed to the dressing room. He returned for one shift in the second but did not play in the third.
Shesterkin denied Goodrow at 9:04 of the second on a close-in shot from the faceoff circle to keep it a one-goal game. He stopped Goodrow again point-blank with seven minutes left in the third.
Rangers forward Artemi Panarin had an assist on Trocheck’s goal, giving him a team-leading 23 points (10 goals, 13 assists). He has a point in 14 of New York’s 15 games this season.
Sharks visit Pittsburgh on Saturday to complete a four-game trip, and Rangers visit Seattle on Sunday to begin a four-game trip.
AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
San Jose Sharks' Fabian Zetterlund (20), left, shoots on goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Rangers, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
San Jose Sharks' Macklin Celebrini, right, takes a shot on goal while New York Rangers' Will Cuylle looks on during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Rangers' Adam Edstrom, left, brings the puck up the ice as San Jose Sharks' Mario Ferraro follows during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
San Jose Sharks goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood, right, make a save during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Rangers, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin defends the goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the San Jose Sharks, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
San Jose Sharks' Timothy Liljegren, center, celebrates his goal with Cody Ceci, left, and Luke Kunin during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Rangers, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Rangers' Vincent Trocheck, right, and San Jose Sharks' William Eklund, left, compete for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Rangers' Mika Zibanejad, left, celebrates his goal with Adam Fox during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the San Jose Sharks, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The NFL's two Texas teams have just one victory between them over the past month.
That's not to say they're in similar situations heading into the seventh meeting of a series that started with Houston celebrating its inaugural game with a victory over Dallas 22 years ago. Not even close.
C.J. Stroud and the Texans are in much better shape than the Cowboys despite perhaps the roughest four-game stretch the reigning AP Offensive Rookie of the Year has seen as a pro.
Houston (6-4) still leads the AFC South despite its current 1-3 skid, while the Cowboys (3-6) are on a four-game losing streak and in serious danger of a three-year playoff run ending. They already have one more loss than in each of the past three 12-5 seasons.
Plus, Dallas is coming off a woeful offensive showing in the first game without Dak Prescott, the franchise QB who just had season-ending surgery on a torn hamstring.
It's not much consolation that the Cowboys are at home Monday night. The defending NFC East champions are 0-4 at AT&T Stadium. They had won 16 consecutive games there before a blowout loss to Green Bay in a wild-card playoff last January.
Three of the home losses this season have been blowouts, including division rival Philadelphia's 34-6 victory last week. The other defeat wasn't nearly as close as the three-point margin.
“I think this is an incredible opportunity for this football team, what’s in front of us, to be into this valley of adversity,” said Mike McCarthy, whose future as Dallas coach is in doubt in the final year of his contract. “And I think to come out of this would be a great story. There’s a ton of work. And the only work we’re really focused on is beating the Houston Texans.”
The Texans are coming off consecutive losses for just the second time in Stroud's two seasons. The other was the 0-2 start to his rookie year. Houston lost to Detroit 26-23 last week despite intercepting Jared Goff five times.
“We’re going through a tough patch right now,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “But, as I told our team, we need that. We need to toughen up. We need to be mentally tougher. We need to figure out ways to finish games and the only way to learn sometimes is through failure.”
Stroud has gone four consecutive games with a passer rating below 100, with just two touchdowns with two interceptions in that stretch. The longest sub-100 passer rating streak of his rookie season was three.
“I am not only a game-manager, but I can also be a game-changer,” Stroud said. “Sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it doesn’t. For me, I am going to keep the swag and kind of like what I told you all last year, Steph Curry can go 0 for whatever, but he is going to keep shooting. That’s me. I am going to keep shooting.”
Cooper Rush played poorly from the start after entering the game against the Eagles with a 5-1 record filling in for Prescott. He dropped a snap to give Philadelphia the ball inside the Dallas 20-yard line, leading to a 7-0 deficit.
Rush had 45 yards passing, the fewest for a Dallas starter since 37 late in 2015, another lost season for the Cowboys. The four-game losing streak is the longest since 2020, when Prescott was out after Week 5 with a broken ankle.
“You’re going to get your (rear end) smacked sometimes,” Rush said. “The beauty is that it’s right back to it the next week. It’s right here right in front of you and it doesn’t really allow you to really dwell on the last game as much.”
Houston has led at halftime each of the past four games, only to lose three. The problems start with an offense that has scored just 15 points with no touchdowns in that stretch. The Texans were shut out in the second half against Detroit after leading by 16 at halftime.
“With the inefficiencies, not only offensively, but defensively, it’s just a matter of us focusing in and being on the details of our job,” Ryans said.
The Cowboys had trouble pressuring quarterbacks when star pass rusher Micah Parsons was out four games with a high ankle sprain. He sacked Philadelphia's Jalen Hurts twice in his return, as did DeMarvion Overshown. The second-year linebacker leads Dallas with four sacks.
“When Micah is on the field, he’s going to create more one-on-ones for others,” McCarthy said. “That was definitely the case.”
Houston should get a boost with the expected return of star receiver Nico Collins, who has missed the past five games with a hamstring injury. Collins was activated from injured reserve last week and should play if he practices all week, as Ryans indicated he would.
Despite the lengthy absence, Collins leads the team with 567 yards receiving. His return will help improve a passing game that has struggled without him and Stefon Diggs, out for the season with a knee injury.
“Any time you get him back, it’s going to help everybody,” Ryans said.
AP Sports Writer Kristie Rieken contributed from Houston.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Dallas Cowboys' Dak Prescott watches play against the Philadelphia Eagles in the second half of an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)
Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy watches play against the Philadelphia Eagles in the second half of an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)
Houston Texans wide receiver John Metchie III, left, celebrates with head coach DeMeco Ryans after catching a 15-yard touchdown pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush sits on the bench late in the second half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)
Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud is sacked by Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alim McNeill, left, during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)
