Dallas Stars Continue Inconsistency, Lose To Brayden Schenn, Flyers
By Josh Clark
The Dallas Stars looked as though they were about to officially end the Philadelphia Flyers’ winning streak midway through the third period. But then they didn’t, and the Flyers walked away with the win.
The Philadelphia Flyers had won seven straight games going into this afternoon’s contest against the Stars. Dallas was coming off of the heels of a dominating victory and were searching for their second winning streak of the year.
Through the first 50 minutes, it looked as though Dallas would wipe the Flyers’ win slate clean. But then a meltdown in the last ten minutes happened, and the Stars ended up on the wrong side of a 4-2 game as time expired. Recap and thoughts can be found below.
Game recap
The Dallas Stars opened the scoring up in the first period when Devin Shore scored his third goal of the season on a backhand. As the first period dwindled, the Stars committed two costly penalties and Brayden Schenn scored on the second power play chance to tie the game at 1-1.
The second period consisted of no scoring but a lot of good chances. The only big news was Stephen Johns logging his first NHL fight and bloodying Schenn with a few solid uppercuts.
In the final frame, the Stars capitalized with a goal from Devin Shore to take the 2-1 lead midway through the third. With under four minutes left, the Stars found themselves on the penalty kill and Schenn found the back of the net to tie the game. Less than two minutes later, Schenn finished up the hat trick and gained the 3-2 lead for Philly while on the power play again. Jakub Voracek scored into an empty net with time winding down, and that was all she wrote in a 4-2 loss for Dallas.
Thoughts and Observations
Silly Stars. Penalties are for the losing team
To start things off, let’s just point out that the Dallas Stars did not play a bad game by any means. They matched the Flyers tit for tat and really gave a solid effort.
But, as it always seems to be with the Stars, there was one problem that ended up burying them: penalties. The Stars racked up a total of 12 minutes shorthanded today with six different penalties. Some of them were definitely questionable calls, but the fact of the matter is that Dallas didn’t get the job done while shorthanded.
The Stars went 3/6 on the penalty kill and gave Brayden Schenn three separate power play goals. There were some good shifts, but unless those good shifts span over the entire two minutes, you’re in trouble.
If Dallas had taken one less penalty, we could very well be celebrating a win right now. Six penalties is too much. The play must be cleaned up, or else this will be happening every night.
Schenn running the show
Brayden Schenn absolutely went off against the Stars today, registering a hat trick on four shots. All three of his goals came on the power play as well. He was just in the right place at the right time on multiple occasions and really made it difficult on the Stars this afternoon.
If you don’t hit the net, you can’t score
There were multiple occasions today where the Dallas Stars had a chance to score but did not get the puck on the net.
Jason Spezza missed on a wide open chance while breaking to the net. Radek Faksa had a shorthanded opportunity that went off the pipe late. The list goes on and on and the Stars desperately needed the goals because there weren’t many chances in this tight defensive game.
If you don’t hit the net, you can’t score. And if you can’t score, you can’t win. Even if you don’t have an open shot, put it on the net. You never know what will happen.
At least they are consistent in their inconsistency?
So here we go are with another loss following a win. This season, Dallas is 1-7-3 in games following a win. They are now 11-12-6 on the season. They remain outside of the playoff picture and continue to lose valuable games.
If the Stars have any hope of working their way back into playoff talk and regaining their reputation, they are going to have to find a way off of this rollercoaster. Whether that means producing consistency in scoring, defensive pressure, goaltending, or special teams (or all of it), it needs to be done soon.
“There’s a lot of hockey left to play” can only keep hopes alive for so long.
The final stat line
The Dallas Stars finished this afternoon’s game outshooting the Flyers 23-22 and outhitting them 38-26. The Flyers controlled the face-off dot with a 56.3% win percentage. They also blocked 16 shots to the Stars’ 12. Dallas ended the day 0/4 on the power play and 3/6 on the penalty kill.
Looking ahead
It was a solid effort for 50 minutes from the Dallas Stars this afternoon. But if the effort doesn’t hit the full 60 minutes, things are bound to go wrong. They experienced that firsthand today in Philly.
Next: Home For The Holidays: Stars Must Capitalize On Home Ice
The Stars will now hit the road for one final time to the Windy City for a matchup with the Chicago Blackhawks tomorrow night. The Hawks were staved off by the Rangers in overtime on Friday night, so they will be hungry for a win. Meanwhile, Dallas will be running on little rest and will be hunting for a way to get back in the win column.
Following the game in Chicago, the Stars will return home for a five-game home stand beginning on Tuesday and running through December 23.