Dallas Stars Pick Up Much Needed Win, Dominate Avs 3-0
By Josh Clark
The Dallas Stars entered the Pepsi Center on Saturday night in desperate need of a victory. They walked out with two points after a dominant effort and proved that they aren’t going anywhere just yet.
After Patrick Sharp was placed on injured reserve this morning, it was as if yet another nail had been put into the Dallas Stars’ coffin.
But that wasn’t the case out on the ice Saturday night. Dallas went all out in an assault against the Colorado Avalanche and knocked the Avs off with a 3-0 victory. The win now bumps their record up to 10-10-6 with 26 points and they are back in contention for one of the top spots in the Central.
Game recap
The Stars opened up the first period with a furious assault, and it paid off when Curtis McKenzie scored while rushing to the net. Though both teams traded quality chances through the rest of the period, Dallas carried the 1-0 lead into the locker room after the first frame.
The second period was much of the same as in the first, only Dallas managed to play a more disciplined game and earned some more chances out of it. Tyler Seguin scored with a screaming slap shot on the power play to increase the Dallas lead to 2-0. It remained there to end the period.
The third period saw a strong push by the Avalanche, but it was met by an even stronger stand by the Dallas Stars. They were precise on defense and feisty on offense, and their goal remained clean. Patrick Eaves tallied an empty netter late in the game and helped lift the Stars to a 3-0 win.
Thoughts and Observations
Is Seguin back?
Tyler Seguin has had a decent start to the 2016-17 season, but for the first 20 or so games, it seemed as though something was missing. His point production was on pace, but something just wasn’t there.
Whatever it was, it’s back now. Maybe it was his energy, maybe it was his finesse, maybe it was his moves. Whatever the case may be, it’s back. Over the past four games, Seguin has two goals and three assists (including one of each in tonight’s game).
We don’t want to jump to conclusions, but #91 may finally have found his stride. If he indeed has, the rest of the NHL better look out.
Lehtonen holding Colorado’s leash right now
For as long as many Dallas Stars fans can remember, the Colorado Avalanche have owned Kari Lehtonen. Prior to this season, Lehtonen had only won one game (April 7, 2016) over the Avs since the lockout season of 2012-13. But this year, he is 2-1-0 with his only loss coming in a relief effort after Antti Niemi surrendered five goals in the second game of the year.
His first win came on November 17th when Lehtonen stopped 34 of 36. Nathan MacKinnon set himself up for multiple golden chances during the game and became Lehtonen’s challenger, but the Big Finn stood tall in a 3-2 victory for Dallas.
Tonight was more of the same. Lehtonen saw a couple of really good looks from Colorado, but turned aside a perfect 23-23 for his first shutout of the season. It was a superb turnaround for Lehtonen after dropping his last three decisions.
How about we break an eight year streak?
The Stars also shattered an eight-year streak previously owned by the Avs with the win. The last time the Dallas Stars shut out Colorado was on March 9, 2008. That’s a rather long time ago. What a way to break the streak.
Penalty kill perfection
Though the Stars did many things right tonight, avoiding penalties was not one of them. The Stars committed four different penalties tonight and spent a total of eight minutes on the penalty kill.
But for the first time on this road trip, the penalties did not cause the Stars any grief. Coming into tonight’s game, Dallas was 9/13 (69.2%) on the penalty kill through the first three games of the road trip. Tonight, they were a perfect 4/4. The penalty killers held their ground, Lehtonen denied some good chances, and the Stars kept the Avs at bay with their quick clears and shutdown defense.
The final stat line
The Stars outshot the Avalanche 33-23 in tonight’s contest. Colorado owned the face-off dot with a 58.5% success rate, outhit the Stars 9-6, and blocked 15 shots to the Stars’ nine. Dallas finished the night 1/4 on the power play and 4/4 on the PK.
Next: Stars Could Really Use Oduya Back On Defense
Looking ahead
The Dallas Stars played an effectively sound game tonight and earned the win on all fronts. Sure the Avs are struggling, but the Stars had to fight off a furious attack and played a great game.
With tonight’s victory, the Stars are now tied for third place in the Central Division, though they have three games out of hand. But still, a win is a win and moves them up. It’s nice to be back in the win column.
They will now take two days off before meeting up with the Calgary Flames on home ice. Check back to Blackout Dallas for complete coverage on the game.