Dallas Stars fall to Boston Bruins 3-1, Ending their Winning Streak
The Dallas Stars (21-18-7) lost to the Boston Bruins (25-16-6) by a score of 3-1 at home in a game that was full of special teams. Dallas is currently four points behind the Calgary Flames for the second wild card position in the Western Conference playoff race and they’ll have a few days off for the All Star Break before they start the last leg of the season next Tuesday.
Recap
The first period started and ended with special teams. Three penalties were called in the opening six minutes of the game: one for the Stars and two for the Bruins, but neither team converted. Boston’s Patrice Bergeron, however, shot the puck into the post on their best scoring chance with the man advantage. Dallas then went on their second power play of the night midway through the period and they had some good opportunities, but failed to take the lead. A few minutes later Travis Moen of the Stars was called for closing his hand on the puck and was sent to the penalty box putting the Bruins on their third power play of the first period. Dallas got their third man advantage shortly after they killed the penalty to Moen. Both teams were 0-for-3 on the power play and were scoreless after the first.
It should be noted that Dallas forward Erik Cole left the game during the first period and did not return due to an upper body injury. The severity of his injury is unknown at this time.
The second period saw fewer penalties, but more quality scoring chances. Dallas’ Kari Lehtonen and Boston’s Tuukka Rask made key saves to keep the game scoreless until Vernon Fiddler’s backhand shot beat Rask 6:46 into the period. Shortly after a Boston penalty expired former Dallas Star Loui Eriksson beat Lehtonen with his eleventh goal of the season to tie the game, 1-1. Boston then took the 2-1 lead with 1:33 remaining in the period when Gregory Campbell scored on a wrist shot. The Bruins took their one-goal lead into the second intermission.
The third period started with a lot of offensive zonetime for Dallas, however, they were unable to tie the game. Then with Jason Demers in the penalty box for a questionable elbowing call Boston scored their first power play goal of the night to increase their lead 3-1. The Stars had their fair share of chances, but couldn’t beat Rask as they lost 3-1. Dallas ended the game with 37 shots to Boston’s 27.
Thoughts and Observations
Missed Opportunities
Tonight, and in recent games, the Stars failed to score on a lot of their best chances. They often shoot it high or wide when the opposing goalie has little to no chance at stopping the puck and it’s becoming a more concerning problem. Tyler Seguin specifically has had issues converting on his chances, even missing a few wide-open nets late in games. Their missed opportunities against the Bruins included some prime scoring chances on the six man-advantages they had during the game in addition to those at even strength. In order to make a legitimate playoff push the Stars will have to bury their best offensive opportunities on a much more consistent basis.
Special Teams
One way or another special teams find a way to influence NHL match-ups on a nightly basis, but tonight even a single Stars power play goal would’ve changed the entirety of the game. It’s one of Dallas’ biggest mysteries being that they’re third in the league in goals scored per game with 3.13, but they rank 25th in the league on the power play only converting 15.5% of the time. That’s a full ten percent less than the league-leading St. Louis Blues who score on 25.5% of their opportunities. With the line-up the Stars have there is no reason why they shouldn’t be converting more with the man advantage, but regardless it is something they will have to continue to work on as the regular season comes to an end.
Kari Lehtonen
Lehtonen has played better of late and he had some miraculous saves early on tonight. As they say, the goaltender has to be the best penalty killer and Lehtonen managed to contribute to four kills on the night in addition to other quality saves while at even-strength. Lehtonen has arguably played his best, most consistent hockey of the season lately and it’s at the perfect time for a team that is desperately trying to get into one of the two Western Conference wild card positions. The Stars goaltender should benefit from the few days off he has with the All-Star Break, which will hopefully contribute to a legitimate playoff push by Dallas.
Thanks for reading! Be sure to watch the All-Star festivities this weekend, as Dallas’ own Tyler Seguin represents the team in Columbus! The Stars will start their final push for the playoffs on Tuesday January 27th in Montreal when they take on the Canadiens.