Henrik Lundqvist has a few words to describe his play as of late.

The New York Rangers goalie was pulled from a high-scoring affair against Dallas, and openly shared his feelings after the game.

Related: King Henrik putting up peasant-like numbers in 2017

"It’s tough. I feel like it’s embarrassing, frustrating, and disappointing, at the same time," he said. "The bottom line is I need to find another level; it’s not good enough."

To be fair, the Rangers' defense let him down, allowing the Stars to score several of their goals in close and untouched. That certainly didn't help Lundqvist in his attempt to turn things around.

"Obviously when you’re looking for confidence and a good feeling you’re hoping for a game where there’s a lot of structure and shots are more to the outside, but that’s not the case right now. There are a lot of opportunities right in front and I just need to find a way to get going. But it’s hard when you’re trying to do all the right things and it’s not paying off right now."

As for what's ahead, Lundqvist will be right back between the pipes when the Rangers visit Toronto on Thursday.

Alain Vigneault added hopefully the goalie will get a bit more support.

"He’s doing what a professional is supposed to do. He’s trying to work on his game, he’s trying to work on the areas where he needs to get better. And we as a team in front of him, there are areas that are obvious to everybody (to improve on). We are in front of our net, but we’re not taking the passes. We need to work on that."

On the season, Lundqvist has posted a save percentage of .907, well below his career average of .920.

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You can only pick one.

A pair of Maple Leafs snipers put on a show Tuesday night in Toronto at the Air Canada Centre, and we want to know which goal you think was of the finer variety.

Auston's world

Up first, the kid, Auston Matthews. Who else?

Check out this release from the slot, upstairs blocker side.

Oof.

The puck was on the rookie's stick for about a second, and Buffalo Sabres goalie Robin Lehner's still looking for it (from the bench).

JvR's office

In the third period, with Toronto up 3-2 and on its first power play of the evening, James van Riemsdyk went to work where he does most of his damage: at the edge of the crease.

In tight quarters, JvR made no mistake. Check out this roof job from No. 25's place of enterprise:

Yeah. In and out.

The goal gave Van Riemsdyk points in eight straight games - the longest streak of his career.

Case your vote

You tell us, which goal did you prefer?

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The Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals inspired the Dallas Stars and New York Rangers.

A night after the Pens and Caps combined for 15 goals in a bananas 8-7 overtime win for Pittsburgh, the Stars and Rangers put on an offensive show - or lack of defensive show - at Madison Square Garden.

A 1-0 Rangers lead turned into a 3-1 Stars lead after 20 minutes. New York cut a 4-1 deficit to 4-3 with half the game to play, before Dallas scored three goals to close out the second period, chasing Henrik Lundqvist in the process.

The Blueshirts made it close in the third, Dallas' 7-3 lead evaporating into a 7-6 advantage, and that's how the game ended.

Lundqvist left after stopping only 20 of 27 shots, while Stars starter Antti Niemi was pulled in the third period; he made only 22 saves on 28 shots.

Naturally, the replacements, Kari Lehtonen and Magnus Hellberg, were perfect, the former stopping all 12 shots he faced and the latter four.

Mika Zibanejad scored twice in his return to the lineup from a broken leg, while Mats Zuccarello and Pavel Buchnevich each finished with three points.

For Dallas, Patrick Sharp scored twice, while Patrick Eaves and Jamie Benn each finished with a goal and two assists.

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Henrik Lundqvist has to be the only person who misses 2016.

The new year hasn't been kind to the New York Rangers goaltender, and "The King" was rocked again Tuesday, this time by the Dallas Stars. Lundqvist was pulled after 40 minutes, with only 20 saves to show for the 27 shots he faced.

It was the fifth time in six games since the calendar turned that Lundqvist allowed four or more goals. Witness:

Save for his win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Jan. 4, those are very un-Lundqvist-like numbers. In fact, the usually stellar 'tender now sports an .841 save percentage in January.

Lundqvist went into action Tuesday with a .907 save percentage on the season. That's notable because it was 2009 when No. 30 last finished with a save percentage below .920.

Could age - Lundqvist will be 35 on March 2 - be finally catching up to one of the best (and one of the most handsome) goaltenders to ever play the game?

It ain't easy being royalty.

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The New York Islanders aren't wasting any time in their search for a new head coach.

Hours after relieving Jack Capuano of his duties, the club has reportedly been granted permission to speak to former Florida Panthers bench boss Gerard Gallant, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

Related: Could Gerard Gallant be on Islanders' radar?

Gallant served as head coach of the Panthers for two full and successful seasons prior to being fired in light of Florida's 11-10-1 record to kick off 2016-17.

He was a finalist for the Jack Adams Trophy and coached an All-Star team in in 2016 after guiding the team to a first-place finish in the Atlantic Division, only to be ousted from the playoffs in the first round by the Islanders.

As mentioned by Friedman, he also has a history working with the Islanders.

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Robin Lehner wanted to keep playing.

The Buffalo Sabres goalie let it be known that he was not happy about being pulled after allowing three goals on 16 shots against Toronto. Lehner appeared to yell something at head coach Dan Bylsma as he skated past the bench, and slammed his equipment after taking a seat for good measure.

Note the fan to his right, who Lehner allowed to take a picture during the game, possibly letting Bylsma know he wasn't completely focused.

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Holy #@&%!

Jared Spurgeon's sixth goal of the season may go down as the prettiest of his career.

The Minnesota Wild defender settled a bouncing puck - in midair, mind you - before showing off some silly hand-eye coordination and batting it past Cory Schneider.

That's the kind of season its been for the Wild. And let's face it, that one should count as two.

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Chris Kreider may be in some hot water of his own after taking Cody Eakin to task for his transgression.

In the first meeting between the New York Rangers and Dallas Stars since Eakin ran Henrik Lundqvist and earned a subsequent suspension, Kreider challenged Eakin to a fight, and appeared to use his opponent's helmet as a weapon in the skirmish.

Here's a better look:

Both players were assessed fighting majors, but the NHL's Department of Player Safety might want to take a closer look at the helmet incident.

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Uh oh.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have enjoyed almost perfect health this season. That may soon change in a big way.

The club lost one of its most important players Tuesday, as Morgan Rielly was ruled out prior to the start of the second period against the Buffalo Sabres with a lower-body injury. He hurt his right leg on a collision in the first frame, William Carrier's weight coming down on it before the Toronto defender went awkwardly into the boards.

It doesn't look good.

Rielly leads the Maple Leafs in ice time, averaging 22:51 per game, and is second on the team in scoring among defensemen with 17 points. He's one half of the top pair on the blue line with Nikita Zaitsev.

Only 22, Rielly's taken on a leadership role in addition to his exploits on the ice with the young Toronto squad, and wears an "A" on his sweater. His loss, for any period of time, will be a massive one for Toronto to overcome.

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Christmas came late for Kyle Okposo.

The Buffalo Sabres winger was able to easily score his 13th goal of the season after Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen tried to clear the puck away from the net and turned it right over.

The goal was challenged based on suspicion of goalie interference, but to no avail.

- Video courtesy: NHL.com

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