Detroit Red Wings Dominate Dallas Stars, Win 5-2 – Postgame

The Dallas Stars just cannot seem to put a complete game together.  The Detroit Red Wings dominated most of the game and were absolutely relentless in all zones of the ice.  This led to a 5-2 Red Wing victory over the Stars and left Dallas looking for answers once again.  Full game recap is below.

Recap

The Stars once again entered a game looking for a reset button and once again it blew up in their faces.  Jussi Rynnas gave up a pretty bad goal to Darren Helm less than three minutes into the game and he is definitely going to want that one back.  However, immediately following that goal the Stars went on the attack and Jordie Benn found Colton Sceviour for a tap-in goal and his first of the season.  Unfortunately, that is where the positives of this period ended.  A little over halfway through the period, Jordie Benn turned the puck over in his own zone and the Red Wings put on a passing clinic that led to a Stephen Weiss goal.  The two teams then traded power play chances and Pavel Datsyuk connected towards the end of the Red Wings’ power play to put Detroit up 3-1 and that score would stand for the rest of the first period.

The second period was significantly better for Dallas and the defense.  They limited their chances against, Rynnas stood tall when he faced trouble and the Stars played a better overall team game. Cody Eakin was stoned by Jimmy Howard on a breakaway early in the frame.  Then a little over halfway through the period, there was a mad scramble in front of Howard and Trevor Daley appeared to score in the madness.  After review, it was determined that Daley batted the puck in with his arm so it was waved off.  The Stars went on the powerplay soon after but gave up a shorthanded breakaway to the speedy Darren Helm.  Helm was denied by Rynnas and was tripped after the play and he slid hard into the Stars goaltender.  Rynnas was back up and ok soon after the collision.  On the same powerplay, Tyler Seguin would throw a puck towards the net from the point and it deflected off a Red Wing defender and past Howard to cut the Detroit lead to 1.  Eakin would take a penalty for delay of game with about 30 seconds left and the penalty would carry over to the third period.

Rynnas would start the period strong as he made a couple of big saves on the Red Wings.  The third period struggles would rear their ugly heads once again for the Stars however as they were unable to limit their own mistakes.  Kyle Quincey sent a slapper from the point past Rynnas with about 12 minutes left in the game.  Five minutes later, Darren Helm would score his second of the game as he was left all alone in front of the Stars goal.  The Red Wings would win the game, 5-2.

Thoughts and Observations

-Essentially there are two bright spots on this team right now and they are Tyler Seguin and John Klingberg.  Klingberg was the best defensemen on the ice once again and Seguin had yet another goal as he continues to lead the league in that category.

-The Stars have given up five goals in four straight games now with three different goaltenders.  To me, that is a defensive system/player issue.  Ed Belfour could be between the pipes and the Stars would still be piling up the losses.  Something has to change if the Stars are going to claw their way into a playoff spot like they did last year.

-I’m not an NHL coach nor do I claim to know more than Lindy Ruff, but one has to wonder if the constant line shuffling is doing this team any good.  They are searching for consistency but they have different linemates each game and practice that they have.  Unfortunately, injuries and poor play have led to a lot of the shuffling.

-The Red Wings are really good.  I’m not making excuses for Dallas, but Detroit played a solid game and they look ready to contend for a Cup once again.

The Stars head back to Dallas and will host the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, keep up with Blackout Dallas for more Dallas Stars coverage!