Dallas Stars Hang On, Beat Flames 2-1 For 3rd Straight Win

The Dallas Stars waltzed into Calgary, Alberta with a win on their mind. It may not have been the prettiest performance against a team that prior to Friday night’s matchup had lost six straight, but it was enough and the Dallas Stars walked away with a 2-1 win over the Calgary Flames Friday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome. The Stars have now won three straight, thus improving their record back to .500 at 13-13-5. They are currently sixth in the Central Division, but are now a mere three points away from fifth. The Flames have now lost seven straight, dropping them to 17-15-2. They remain fifth in the Pacific Division.

Game recap

The first period was about as boring as a period can be in hockey. Both teams had some good chances, including a Calgary centering feed that Kari Lehtonen had to suppress with the glove. The Flames also found a shot that ringed off of the post early, but besides that, they mainly spent their time icing it down the rink. The Dallas Stars found one decent opportunity as Tyler Seguin found the puck in front of the net and sent a laser at Jonas Hiller who got just enough of it with the body to keep the score knotted. No penalties were called, no fights were started or provoked, and the Stars and Flames ended the first period tied 0-0 with the Flames holding the 9-6 shot advantage.

The second period was a bit different. After four minutes of lazing around and icing back and forth, Jamie Benn found a pass from Cody Eakin after Tyler Seguin won the faceoff and dangled around Hiller’s crease, notching Benn’s ninth goal of the year and giving the Dallas Stars the early 1-0 lead with 16:00 left in the second period. With 13:34 left, Lance Bouma attempted to send Jyrki Jokipakka into the Dallas Stars bench, but ended up sending himself in instead. Once he found a way out, he went for a cheap shot on Trevor Daley and was called for interference. The Stars did not capitalize on the power play and with 10:12 remaining, Ales Hemsky took a hooking call after the Flames had a great setup, sending Calgary to their first power play. They were unsuccessful, and six seconds after Hemsky escaped the box, Jamie Benn and Cody Eakin found Trevor Daley for the top-shelf snipe, increasing the Stars lead to 2-0. John Klingberg and Markus Granlund took offsetting minors with 4:46 left in the period, but nothing came of either. With 1:15 left in the period, the Stars were caught in their own zone, and Mark Giordano found a seeing eye shot through the mass of people and broke Kari Lehtonen’s shutout streak at 99:52. The Flames held the momentum at the end of the second period, along with the 17-14 shot advantage.

But it would not prove to be enough momentum. Throughout the last twenty minutes of the period, the Stars killed off three penalties and held on to beat the Calgary Flames, 2-1. Tyler Seguin had a chance to seal his 24th goal of the season to further his lead in the NHL, but was called for a tripping penalty before the puck crossed the empty goal line. The Dallas Stars have now won three straight games, tying their longest win streak of the year.

Thoughts and Observations

The Dallas Stars have now won three straight, which means they are one win away from setting a new consecutive win record for their 2014-2015 campaign. That’s pretty good for a team that has seen so many ups and downs in just 31 games so far this year. If the Stars can make a push before the Christmas holiday, and then come out storming after the break against a gauntlet of Central Division teams, they could easily pull themselves back in the playoff race by the second week of January. But that all relies on how consistent and determined they play between now and then.

The Stars penalty kill has been beautiful over the past few games. Since the third period of the game on Saturday against the New Jersey Devils, the Stars are 9-for-9 on the kill. These numbers are an exceptional improvement from the previous ones that had the Stars giving up a power play goal about every other penalty they committed.

The defense has also hit a major upgrade. The new defensive pairs seem to be working, and the Dallas Stars may have finally found their matches after an early season struggle with finding a spark. They gave away 31 shots to New Jersey, 27 to Vancouver, and just 22 to Calgary. So, things are looking up for this youthful and somewhat inexperienced blue line.

The goaltending has also taken a major turn on the upside. Kari Lehtonen is giving up one goal per 20 shots over his last three games. He is also giving up an average of 1.33 goals per game over the past three contests. With one shutout and two mentions in the “Three Stars,” things are looking up for the Big Finn.

The Stars now head to Edmonton to take on a sunken and struggling Oilers team on Sunday who has yet to find their eighth win of the season. If the Stars can take advantage once again, they will snatch up four straight and head home for one more matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs before Christmas.

Make sure to check back to Blackout Dallas for previews and updates regarding the matchup!

Leave your comments and questions below, and as always, thanks for reading! Go Stars.