Dallas Stars Proving They Can Tango With Canadiens
By Josh Clark
The Dallas Stars turned in a gritty 5-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night. This win helped prove that they are ready to take on and potentially take down the Montreal Canadiens.
The NHL is known for being different among the professional sports leagues in North America. Primarily, hockey is the only professional sport with three periods. While football and basketball have four quarters, baseball has nine innings, and soccer has two halves, hockey stands alone.
The Dallas Stars proved that hockey is a three period game on Tuesday night when they took on the Columbus Blue Jackets. They also proved that anything can happen in each period.
In front of a supportive and energetic home crowd, the Stars looked discombobulated and lacking energy in the first period. After starting the game with a 5-1 shot advantage, the Stars handed control over to the Blue Jackets. Columbus went on a 14-0 shot run and did not allow the Stars to take another shot for around 11 minutes in the midst of the first period.
Johnny Oduya still found a way to score a goal on one of the Stars final three shots of the period, and Dallas held the 1-0 advantage after 20 minutes. It was clear that Columbus, the worst team in the league, ran the speed of the game and held all the motivation still. The shot advantage was 16-8 in favor of the Jackets.
But the Dallas Stars had something happen during the first intermission that changed them for the better. As a result, the Stars picked up their play in the second period and the goals followed. After an early goal for Scott Hartnell on the power play that tied it at one, Alex Goligoski found a rebound on the doorstep to score his third of the season. Tyler Seguin followed it up with two more goals in 30 seconds to make it a 4-1 lead.
The Stars controlled the tempo throughout the second period and only trailed the shot totals 28-27 by the end.
The third period began, and Mattias Janmark connected early for his seventh goal of his rookie year. After that, nothing but physicality and fighting remained. The game ended with the Stars holding a 5-1 lead.
Now with a record of 23-6-2 with 48 points, the Dallas Stars increased their hold on first place in the NHL to four points. After battling the Calgary Flames on Thursday night, the Stars will welcome the Montreal Canadiens to the American Airlines Center for their first meet-up of the season.
The Canadiens held the first place spot in the NHL for the beginning of the year, but fell back about a month ago when the Stars took over. Montreal still trails close behind, even with the absence of their star goaltender Carey Price.
So what does this have to do with anything? What tonight proves is that the Dallas Stars are ready to take on a powerhouse Eastern Conference team like the Canadiens.
But why would beating the worst team in the NHL prove anything? If anything, this was supposed to be a guaranteed win.
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The fact that the Stars came out and turned the tide is the main point. They put their noses to the grindstone and picked up the pace. They ended up getting rewarded for it. Their offense saw some of its quickest and most efficient production this season, while the defense played an exceptional final 40 minutes. Meanwhile, Kari Lehtonen kept a stern watch in the crease and stopped 34 of 35.
This Dallas Stars team united when the chips were down and strung together a win. Maybe it wasn’t the prettiest win or the most efficient win, but they got the two points and put on a scoring clinic in the process.
Montreal sports a strong defensive core with impressive goaltending, along with a quick and lethal offense. They are the all-around complete package. But so are the Stars, and then some. Or else why would Dallas be in first still?
Even though it was a victory, Stars head coach Lindy Ruff was not happy about the “lack of mental focus” and did not believe that the Stars would be able to win if they continued to play sloppy like they did tonight. So there is always room for improvement.
Next: Stars Obliterate Blue Jackets, 5-1
It will be an entertaining game to say the least on Saturday night. But until then, the Stars need to focus on their next matchup against the second worst team in the NHL, the Calgary Flames. The Flames completed a monumental comeback against the Stars earlier this month and rallied in one period to come back from a 3-0 deficit. They tied it up and eventually won in the shootout.