Dallas Stars Drop Another Divisional Match-up as they Lose to Winnipeg Jets 5-2

The Dallas Stars reverted to old ways and dropped another game to a divisional foe as the Winnipeg Jets won by a score of 5-2. Dallas is now three games under .500 (10-13-5), while the Jets improved to 15-9-5 on the season.

Recap

The first period started with Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen mishandling the puck and giving up a decent scoring opportunity, but the Jets were unable to convert. From there the play was very choppy on the Stars’ part with a lot of icings and a few odd man rushes that Dallas is desperately trying to eliminate from their game.

When killing a penalty against Jordie Benn Winnipeg’s Mathieu Perreault converted on a lethal power play to put the Jets up 1-0. A few minutes later Tyler Seguin got his league-leading 22^nd goal of the season on a pretty passing play from Jason Spezza and Jamie Benn with the man advantage. Then with a little more than six minutes remaining in the first period Winnipeg’s Blake Wheeler scored to put them up 2-1 going into first intermission.

Dallas came out with an offensive push to start the second period and tied the game up on Antoine Roussel’s sixth goal of the season. The game wasn’t tied for long, though, as the Jets Adam Lowry scored to make it 3-2 Winnipeg. Following the Jet’s third goal Head Coach Lindy Ruff elected to pull Lehtonen in favor of back-up goalie Jussi Rynnas. The change in goal didn’t do much to alter the Stars’ momentum as Lowry added his second of the night to give the Jets a 4-2 lead. They then added a short-handed goal on a breakaway to take a 5-2 lead late in the period.

The third period faired about the same for the Dallas Stars. They had opportunities, but couldn’t convert on them to scratch and claw their way back into the game. Meanwhile, the Jets didn’t take many chances and managed to preserve their three-goal lead and get the two points at the end of the game.

Thoughts and Observations

Five Goals Against AGAIN

The Dallas Stars reverted to old ways as they gave up five goals for the umpteenth time this season. Even though Ruff pulled Lehtonen, Rynnas gave up two goals against in his relief effort. The goalies and defenseman of this team failed yet again to communicate on a couple of the goals against tonight and it’s becoming a redundant theme of the season. Like all of their bad habits, if the Stars continue to give up five goals on a consistent basis they have almost no chance to be successful in a league of this caliber.

Not the Icing on the Cake

The beginning of this game was filled with Dallas Stars mishandling the puck and it just isn’t acceptable more than a quarter of the way through the season. Dallas didn’t register a shot until a few minutes into the first and it was all Jets until the Stars managed to score on a beautiful passing play. The pace of the Stars’ play was poor throughout and was evident through the unbelievable amount of icings they took in the game.

Tyler Seguin Show

For whatever reason Seguin is playing out of his mind this season, and Stars fans can only hope it continues! He has been the only highlight of Stars play during many games and he’s the bulk of their offense at the moment. Tonight he scored his league-leading 22^nd goal of the season and took over the league lead in points with 36. He’s currently the best offensive player in the game and while that’s great, it means nothing if the rest of the Stars don’t contribute offensively. Seguin is expected to be an offensive asset to this team, but Dallas can’t make a return to the playoffs if he’s the only one scoring.

Thanks for reading! Be sure to check back for the preview and post game analysis on Saturday as the Stars take on the New Jersey Devils!