Dallas Stars Defeat Arizona Coyotes: Some Final Thoughts
The Dallas Stars (24-27-10) hosted the Arizona Coyotes (21-32-7) Friday at the American Airlines Center and found the right amount of luck to pull off a 5-3 victory.
The Dallas Stars felt Patrick Eaves’ absence, whose trade to the Anaheim Ducks came as a bit of a shock. Eaves was a leader on and off the ice, so nobody in Dallas is quite ready to accept the trade just yet.
Stars forward Devin Shore said that the team was going to have their work cut out for them in order to fill the void.
"“It’s a lot of goal scoring and that’s a leader in the locker room, not only for the entire team but especially for us young guys,” Shore said. “So [we’re] looking to step up. There’s going be some turnover. You always have to be ready for whatever opportunity is going to come your way, and if it doesn’t come your way you have to roll with what you have and try to make the most of it.”"
Dallas traded Eaves on Friday in return for Anaheim’s conditional second-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. We all knew something like this was coming, but were shocked at the trade announcement. Patrick Eaves will be missed.
In post-game interviews, players accepted the blame for the situation that caused the Jim Nill to make a trade of Eaves’ caliber. Take it from the captain himself, Jamie Benn:
"“We put ourselves in the situation, and I wish we weren’t in the situation, but that’s sometimes just how things go.”"
There are a lot of things to be mad at and even more to find blame, but here’s the bottom line:
Yes, the Stars had a hard time staying afloat this season. No administration or coaching staff can control when injuries occur. There are ways to prevent them, but no way to reverse them. Injuries are adversity that any sports team has to deal with. Last season, a lot of things went right for Dallas, and unfortunately, this season there were many things that went wrong. There’s no one person to blame for this season.
Dallas Stars
On Friday’s game:
Tensions ran high from the second the puck dropped.
The captain was seemingly off of his game. He lacked his usual spark to complete passes and seek opportunities to make key plays. Perhaps No. 18’s absence in his line threw off Benn’s game.
This did not change much through the first forty minutes, but Benn turned his luck around in the third period, scoring a wrap-around goal to take Dallas into the lead. It was nice to see the leader be able to serve his team again.
Radim Vrbata scores off of a one-timer against Kari Lehtonen, giving Arizona a lead early in the first period. Shore scored on a breakaway, leveling the score at 1-1. This was Shore’s 10th goal of the season, a milestone for the NHL rookie.
Not too many notable plays came up at the start of the second period. The referees, however, found themselves in some hot water with the Stars’ fans. It seems that there is always something or someone to blame for the unfortunate happenings of the team.
Dallas had the opportunity to redeem themselves in a power play, but per usual, they were unable to capitalize on the situation. They were given another power play opportunity about five minutes later, but no goal. Another swing and a miss.
Arizona took the lead when Martin Hanzal’s shot deflected into the goal from Jordie Benn’s skate. Brett Ritchie’s goal would have added another tally to Dallas’ score but was ruled no goal after review. This call upset many of the fans, but from the press box, it was clear that the puck did not cross the line.
John Klingberg ties it up 2-2 with a power play goal. Dallas is ranked 21st for PP on home ice.
The Stars entered the third period tied 2-2. Their record for GF in the third period has the Stars ranked 25th overall, which somehow trumps Arizona’s 29th placement. GA in the third period is 71, which puts the Stars in the first place.
Finally, Dallas at the top of a chart! No, this category is not a good one to win.
Dallas’ defense had a rather passive start to the game, allowing breakaways and missed passes to become large plays. It was a rather disgruntled mess, which is disappointing considering the Stars’ potential. Luckily, their third period became more organized and they were able to prevent any further of Arizona’s attacks to develop.
Lauri Korpikoski scored his eighth goal of the season off of a rebound. Radek Faksa took the initial shot, but Korpikoski was at the right place at the right time to finish the job. Finally, Ritchie caught a break, and assisted Cody Eakin’s goal, setting Dallas with their final score: 5-2.
I liked the third period in terms of effort. The Stars knew the stakes and rose to the occasion.
Next: Dallas Stars Trade News: Patrick Eaves Shipped To Anaheim Ducks
The Stars will host the Boston Bruins on Sunday for a matinee.
Dallas will most likely call up a forward to take Eaves’ spot, but I would not have any guesses as to who yet. I’d like to see Jason Dickinson or Justin Dowling, but would also not be surprised to see Remi Elie make his NHL debut.