Jan 20, 2013; St. Paul, MN, USA; Dallas Stars goalie Cristopher Nilstorp (41) looks on during the third period against the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center. The Wild defeated the Stars 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Dallas Stars vs. Minnesota Wild

January 20, 2013

MINNESOTA — Dallas Stars were hoping to echo their win over Phoenix Coyotes tonight against the Minnesota Wild. Stars rookie Cristopher Nilstorp (41) was in the crease for his NHL debut. He was matched up against Josh Harding (37) in the net for the Wild. Nilstorp put in an excellent performance for the Stars. Unfortunately, the Stars’s defense and offense did not give Nilstorp the assistance he needed leaving the Stars with one in the loss column.

1st Period

Stars’ Derek Roy won the initial face-off. Nilstorp made quite an NHL debut with some great saves, unfortunately at 8:11 Zach Parise (1) of the Minnesota Wild made a one-timer, unassisted goal. The goal did not at all detract from Nilstorp’s first period performance. the young goalie is definitely sending a message to the organization that he is here to play and stay for good.

After the Wild goal, Stars Derek Roy won the face-off against Wild’s Devin Setoguchi (10). Wild’s defensive players were solid in front of their goal preventing Stars from having any good looks at the goal.

At 5:24 left in the 1st, Stars’ Brenden Morrow caught a puck to the nose and upper-lip. He headed into the locker-room for treatment of his injury.

At 2:54 in the 1st, Stars players were looking frantic in their passing game. The Wild had much more cohesive play on the ice. Their pssing game was fluid and produced some great attempts on goal.

At the end of the 1st period Stars had 8 shots on goal while the Wild had 10.

2nd Period

Stars Morrow rejoined his team in the 2nd period sporting butterfly stitches on his upper-lip and nose.

The first 3 minutes were rather uneventful, but at the 15:28 mark the play began to heat up with more aggressive puck passing by both teams.

His  impressive 6’3″ frame allowed him to block a goal attempt at the 12:34 mark with his left foot. The Wild went on to make three more shots on goal at 12:20 all of which Nilstorp blocked with cat-like agility.

Jaromir Jagr (68) was not as instrumental to the Stars as he was in the Stars vs. Phoenix Coyotes in last night’s game. However, Jagr was a great example of patience for the younger players on the team.

The players on both sides were getting testy with their opponents with a few shoves and words being exchanged from time to time toward the end of the 2nd period.

Stars Brenden Dillon (4) was sent the Dallas Stars a message similar to Nilstorp’s: “Im here for the long-haul.” The young 6’3″ defenseman was aggressive  in the game, yet patient with his passes. He was not afraid to bide his time behind the Wild goal looking for the right opportunity to pass the puck. Dillon showed mature passing skills.

At the end of the 2nd period the Minnesota Wild was leading the Dallas Stars in goals, 1-0. The shots on goal were tied at 20 each.

In a televised interview with Fox Sports’ Daryl Reaugh between periods, Jordie Benn (58) said, “We give them too much time, obviously the more time we give them the more shots their going to take.” Benn went on to say, “We have to make quick transitions and get it (the puck) out of the zone.”

When asked about Nilstorp’s performance Benn said, “He’s a solid goaltender… He deserves to play tonight.”

3rd Period

A quick offsides started the final regulation play at 19:34. The stars missed many opportunities to take shots by losing the puck multiple times. Stars had issues with getting past the Wild defensive line the entirety of the 3rd period. The Stars offense could not find any solid looks at the goal. Meanwhile, the Stars defense lacked in assisting Nilstorp in front of the net.

At 11:22 the Stars pulled it together to make a number of attempts on the Wild goal without fruition. Wild’s Harding make quick work of blocking the shots.

A Double penalty was called at 11:00; Stars’ Stephane Robidas (3) for interference and Wilds’ Pierre-Marc Bouchard (96) for goalie interference. Neither team could produce any goals in the 4-on-4 play.

With 2:01 left in regulation Stars’ Trevor Daley (6) caught a penalty for high sticking leaving the Stars short manned in a critical time. Daley’s penalty could not have come at a worse time for the struggling team. Despite pulling Nilstorp to compensate for Daley’s penalty, the Stars were unable to score a goal.

The Stars fell to the Wild 0-1 with 24 Stars and 32 Wild shots on goal.

Without Nilstorp’s strong performance the Stars would have likely lost by a much larger margin. Dillon put in some great work throughout the game as did Rookie Cody Eakin (20). Tonight was the night for the rookies to make an impression that sticks. Despite the loss, the rookies proved themselves to be true Stars.

Oral surgery paired with a hockey game is not the best introduction a person can have to the game. I attended my first hockey game at the ripe old age of 28. It was a San Antonio Rampage game in San Antonio, Texas.

I was 6 rows from the glass and had just had my wisdom teeth removed the day before. Four wisdom teeth down and a great deal of pain to go, I sat in the seat trying my hardest to follow the game. Each slap shot, check into the glass, and loud cheer sent shockwaves of pain searing through my jaws into my brains. Despite the throbbing raidiating from my mouth, I stayed for the entire game and even managed to cheer without popping a stitch.

I knew then that I loved hockey.

I started getting some interest in hockey when the then Minnesota North Stars moved to Dallas. I listened as people insisted Texas and hockey mixed as well as oil, Texas Tea of course, and water. I watched a young Mike Modano become the face of Texas hockey and Dallas embracing a sport other than football or baseball.

As the years have progressed I have had two wonderful children who were born to be hockey fans. I graduated from Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas with an emphasis in Sociology and Government. Upon graduating I entered into the world of teaching where I currently teach 7-12th grade Social Studies in the Dallas area.

While my career is not as a writer, I have a passion for writing. Originally a Journalism major in college, I have written and copy edited for “The Shorthorn” at the University of Texas – Arlington and “The Carolina Flyer” at Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina.

When the opportunity to marry my love of writing with my love of hockey here at Blackout Dallas came along, I jumped at the chance. I look forward to covering the Dallas Stars and their affiliated teams with same excitement a crowd feels when they see the puck drop.

STATS:

Favorite teams: NHL – Dallas Stars

CHL – Allen Americans

AHL – Texas Stars

Favorite players: NHL – Alex Goligoski, Dallas Stars (Kari Lehtonen a close 2nd)

CHL – Darryl Bootland

AHL – Jack Campbell