Dallas Stars Fall to Chicago Blackhawks in Shootout, 3-2

The Dallas Stars dropped the first game of the 2014-15 season to the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night at American Airlines Center. After sixty minutes of spirited performance by both teams, the Blackhawks outlasted the exhausted Stars  and finally ended it with Patrick Kane’s shootout goal.

Recap

Both teams came out with a flurry in the opening minutes. Presumably releasing a summer’s worth of excitement and anxiety, the Stars had the first four shots of the game, two of which came on their first power play. The puck seemed almost permanently entrenched in the Chicago zone for the first ten minutes, as Dallas unloaded a frantic rally of offensive attempts. High energy and gritty? Absolutely. But organized and well executed? Maybe not.

Jamie Benn kicked off his 2014-15 campaign with a bang, leveling Johnny Oduya behind the ‘Hawks net and then uprooting Brandon Saad a mere ten seconds later. His crusade drew a roar from the fans and set the tone early. I don’t know how much more can be said about the young captain, as we Stars fans are truly lucky to have such a complete player leading the team. If you were watching the Chicago telecast, you were even treated to hearing the Blackhawks-biased announcers gush at the sight of Benn flattening their own!

The revamped power play debuted at 1:50 in the first when Marcus Kruger got called for hooking. Featuring Benn, Tyler Seguin, Jason Spezza, Ales Hemsky and Alex Goligoski, they peppered Corey Crawford for sixty seconds in what was surely a glimpse of future success.  The unit would get another go towards the end of the frame, but failed to muster up as much threat.

From an effort standpoint, the Stars were simply hungrier in the opening period, and would carry that level of play into the second. They outshot the Blackhawks 8-3, and took no penalties. If it weren’t for Kari Lehtonen’s inexplicable lapse in the final minute, in which he allowed Duncan Keith to score on a garden variety slapshot, it would’ve been easy to award the period to the boys in green.

The second period saw the Stars continue to dictate the pace of the game, allowing few passing lanes and limited possession time. They would fire the first seven shots of the period before finally getting whistled for a penalty. The Stars power play unit broke through on their fourth attempt, as Hemsky threaded a nifty pass to Trevor Daley who dumped the puck over Crawford’s left shoulder. Cody Eakin would tally a goal to take the lead at 15:01, after a three-pass sequence between himself and linemates  Antoine Roussel and Ryan Garbutt. Dallas Defenseman Kevin Connauton left for the locker room after landing awkwardly on his back, but would return. Dallas continued their domination in the shot column, with a 24-11 advantage after forty minutes.

Time of possession was pretty even in the third frame, as the Blackhawks conjured up enough offense to outshoot the Stars 14-9. The equalizer came in the form of a power play slapshot from Patrick Sharp. Duncan Keith and Patrick Kane were credited with the assist. Regulation ended on a Chicago power play, as fans booed a rather dubious no-call on Crawford. After Dallas forward Vernon Fiddler and Crawford collided in front of the net, Crawford quite obviously grabbed Fiddler’s stick and slung it into the boards.

Overtime was by far and away the most sluggish period of the evening, as both clubs registered a shot apiece as their bodies further acclimated to regular season hockey.

Jason Spezza led off the shootout, with a pull-up wrist shot that Crawford easily kept out of the five hole. Jonathan Toews went next, and his backhand wrister was stymied by a spectacular save by Lehtonen. After Seguin’s failed attempt, patrick Kane dazzled with a deke-move wrister that zipped over Lehtonen’s left shoulder. Hemsky’s final attempt for the Stars fell short as the puck drifted off his stick during his approach.

Thoughts and Observations

A tough loss for sure, but the Stars have no reason to hang their heads. You can point to a couple different moments that could’ve turned the tide in the end, most obviously Lehtonen’s fluky goal allowed in the first. Most importantly, though, they played hungry. They easily outpaced the Blackhawks for the first forty minutes, and they have 81 more games to expand that to a full sixty.

The two biggest newcomers, Spezza and Hemsky, fit in seemlessly. Both registered an assist in their Victory Green debut, and Hemsky in particular showed some great puck movement and smart decision making. Patrick Eaves found himself in a couple scoring chances as well.

The top scoring line came up empty-handed, but Valeri Nichushkin made a couple furious rushes at the net. I’m excited to watch as he further matures during his sophomore year.

Tonight’s attendance was 18,768, and judging by the crowd noise, we can expect similar crowds throughout the season.

What’s your take on the Stars’ home opener? Thanks for reading, and check back soon as the team travels to Nashville to take on the Predators on Saturday night!