The Dallas Stars’ winning streak ended Tuesday night after a 3-2 loss to the New Yorkers at the American Airlines Center. This was a game of two halves. The first half was sleepy, to say the least. The first period ended with the gun tied at 10-10, but almost all came to the final half of the opening 20 minutes. Entering the third period, the gun was tied at 15-15.
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The first goal of the night was near the inside mark of the contest, at 10:31 of the second period, and the second goal came two minutes later. After that, the floodgates opened, and the second half of the game opened up a lot, leading to the final period, full of goals and the final period.
There’s a lot to come, so let’s dive in.
Too little, too late from the stars
The Stars entered the third period tied 1-1 in a game that held the proverbial horns. Bo Horvat scored the go-ahead goal at 3:12 on a seemingly innocent enough play. No matter, with more than half time left, the stars had more than enough time to get back into the race. We now know that they will never come out of the game.
Halfy then, a great opportunity presented itself when horvat received a staggering four penalties and a 10 minute misconduct. Any team with an extended power play is dangerous, but the Stars are, with an NHL-leading power play percentage of 31.9%.
So, that quickly went out the window as did the Islanders who have done it four times now: Score shorthanded and zap any momentum the opposition had generated. Not only that, but Jamie Benn got his stickiest penalty on Phantom Drive moments later.
However, the illegal stars were also cut down, as Jason Robertson brought his team within one at 18: 01, putting the stars in position, at least, holding a point from a match that seemed unattainable.
In a surprising display, the stars were on the same page, after Mikko Rantanen was called for a ride (more on that later), but they pulled Goaltender Jake Oettinger to keep the game 5-on-5. With 0.1.1 seconds to go, Wyatt Johnston tied the game, sending the acc’s into a frenzy. However, on further review, the goal was called back due to goaltender interference by Robertson.
Coupled with goalie interference, this one seemed to be trending and controversial, especially with 0.1 left on the clock. Robertson’s path was clearly clear to the goal, but it was clear that he was directed at Netminder Davinder Davinder Faving towards the end of the game.
Rittich sold that performance hard, as the Deflectors did evidently throughout the night. Of course, I’m against the honest dallas a little bit, but if you watch the game, it’s obvious. At the same time, I’m not crazy. You do what you have to do to get the call, and let the refs ultimately make their decisions.
No matter, it was too little, too late for the stars. They made a habit of going big and letting the game plan or falling behind and crawling back. It hasn’t been too bad yet, but it’s calling for them on Tuesday night.
Thermal power skiing is cool when the stars need it most
As we touched on earlier, the Stars’ Power Play has been strong this season, ranking second in the NHL at 31.9%, and 35.5% in November. So, even with the game on the line, a four-minute power workout is just what the doctor ordered. Unfortunately, the puck ended up in their net instead.
At 13:08 of the third, about five minutes after the aforementioned incident, Matthew Schaefer beat Robertson with a high stick to put the stars back with a man advantage. Yes, 81 seconds later, Robertson took a very sticky penalty of his own to negate Dallas’ Power Play. Even without a strong goal and exhaust their energy – they play their energy and penalties, their energy play does not seem to work well or aim for this game on the line.
Robertson does Robertson stuff
Last week, we talked about Robertson’s rough start, which he has been doing very well. After opening the season with just three goals, he has come out of his shell with seven goals in his last four games, including two yesterday evening.
Not much to add here. When Robertson clicks, the team’s offense becomes so dimensional that it’s hard to stop. Unfortunately, that was not the case in the last two games. Robertson has hit 5 in the last seven innings, and his two on Tuesday weren’t enough to get the job done.
Rantanen does not understand
The news this morning is that Rantanen will not be directed to further discipline for his penalty for the encounter against Issenders Defension Alexander Romanov. Rantanen received a five-minute major and a game misconduct, and the league felt enough was enough.
There is a debate swirling about whether or not it was molded, and historically, Rantanen is not that player. However, there is no disputing how Selrick Roy’s coach felt about it.
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“I hope (Ramanov) will be good this time,” Roy said after the match. “I don’t know exactly what it is. All I’m going to say is, when you see the number, everybody knows it.
What’s next for the stars
The Stars begin the West Coast Road Trip Thursday night in British Columbia against the Vanucks in Vancouver. They will play the Calgary Flames on Saturday, followed by the Edmonton Oilers and the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday and Wednesday next week.
