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Dallas Stars Show Lingering ’14-’15 Play, Drop 6-3 To Avs

By Josh Clark

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3. 119. Final. 6. 103

The Dallas Stars looked like they would be powering through to a 2-0-0 start midway through the second period on Saturday night against Colorado. Instead, the Stars fell behind and completely dismantled, and the Avalanche took complete advantage. The Avs walked away with a 6-3 victory. Antti Niemi fell apart, saving 22 of 28 and the Avalanche scored five unanswered goals.

Game recap

First period

The Stars opened up play about as good as any team could hope for. Just 20 seconds in, rookie center Mattias Janmark contributed to his legacy by scoring his second career NHL goal in his second career NHL game. Jason Demers and Antoine Roussel were credited with the assists. Janmark has opened up the scoring for the Stars in two straight games now and both have come on the Stars first shot. With 14:08 to go, Antoine Roussel and Cody McLeod dropped the gloves for the Stars first fight of the season.

The Stars held the 1-0 lead until 10:54 when Nathan MacKinnon would break Antti Niemi for the first time this season. Alex Tanguay and Gabriel Landeskog were credited with the assists. The score was tied at one for just 1:05 until Cody Eakin finished off a charge by the first line and made it a 2-1 game, with Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn on the assists. The Stars would get one more power play chance, but would be unsuccessful and it remained 2-1 at the end of the first period.

Second period

The second period may have been the first period this season that the Stars have not controlled the momentum. After a quiet 8:50 to open it up, Cody Eakin scored his second of the game and season on the power play. Assists were given to Demers and Ales Hemsky. But after that, it was all Avalanche. Two power play goals tallied by both Erik Johnson and Jarome Iginla knotted the game up at 3-3. The second period would end quietly at a 3-3 tie.

Third period

The Dallas Stars spoon-fed the victory to the Avalanche in the third period. They were dysfunctional, unmotivated, and overall slow. John Mitchell scored with 11:49 remaining, and it progressively got worse from there. Two goals from Gabriel Landeskog at the 8:58 and 17:34 marks helped bury the Stars. A scrum at the end of the game left Antoine Roussel down. Three penalties were handed out, but it meant little as the horn sounded and the Stars lost 6-3.

Thoughts and Observations

The Dallas Stars owned the first 30 minutes of this game, as they did so many times last season. But they surrendered the final 30 and the Avalanche took control. Let’s just hope this was a tiny slip and not a look at things to come.

More from Dallas Stars News

The Stars are now 3/9 on the power play this year. So at least there is something encouraging coming out of the offseason.

The penalty kill on the other hand was pathetic tonight at 50 percent. That needs to be addressed at the next practice.

Mattias Janmark continues to shine in his early NHL days. We’ll see how much longer it keeps up, but he could potentially be pulling an “Alex Chiasson.” There is no telling at how long it will last though. All you can really say is that Janmark continues to shine.

Antti Niemi on the other hand may not be all the Stars were hoping he would be. After a 37 save shutout Thursday night, Niemi struggled and finished 22 for 28 on Saturday. While not all of the goals were his fault but instead just pathetic attempts by the defense or bad penalty kills, he will need to prove himself once again after having six pinned on him tonight.

The Dallas Stars are now 0-7-0 in their last seven trips to the Pepsi Center in Colorado. They are also 1-7-3 against the Avs since the beginning of the 2013-2014 season. There is no known reason for why this is, but it is important to get it fixed soon considering the Avs are a Central Division rival and a common opponent.

The Stars will head home and look to regroup before Tuesday night’s game against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Make sure to check back to Blackout Dallas for game coverage! It’s only a hiccup tonight. Let’s hope it stays that way.

Next: Is Antti Niemi What The Dallas Stars Need?

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