Stars Special Teams Shine In 5-3 Win Over Bruins
By Marcus Gatto
Feb 10, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Dallas Stars defenseman Trevor Daley (6) react after scoring a empty net goal during the third period against the Boston Bruins at TD Banknorth Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
The Dallas Stars will head home with a smile on their faces after defeating the Boston Bruins 5-3 at TD Garden. The Stars wrapped up a three-game road swing by scoring two shorthanded goals and killing both 5-minute major and 4-minute double minor penalties. Captain Jamie Benn scored two goals, Trevor Daley and Vernon Fiddler each had a shorthanded tally and Erik Cole channeled his inner voodoo abilities to hit the open net for the Stars 5th goal. Kari Lehtonen looked sharp tonight steering away 41 of 44 Bruins shots. The Stars gained 4 of a possible 6 points on the roadtrip and now find themselves only 3 points behind the 8th place Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference standings.
First Period
Stars forward Antoine Roussel was kicked out of the game less than 5 minutes in for a crosscheck to Bruins defenceman Adam McQuaid’s throat. Three minutes into the penalty kill Vern Fiddler stole a pass from David Krejci and skated in on a shorthanded breakaway. Fiddler snapped a quick wrister past the blocker of Niklas Svedberg to give the Stars the early lead.
Boston would reply fairly quickly when David Krejci tapped in an empty net goal after being set up by David Pastrnak. Bruins forward Milan Lucic high sticked Stars defenceman Jason Demers leaving him bloodied and heading for the Stars bench. With Demers out of position the puck was worked to the front of the net where Krejci eventually potted his 7th of the season.
Jamie Benn would then take over the remainder of the period by scoring two unanswered goals. His first goal was a world class top-shelf tickler over Svedberg’s shoulder. His second of the period would come when he slammed home a redirected puck off of Patrick Eaves midsection.
The Stars would finish the period up 3-1.
Second Period
Tuuka Rask took over in the Bruins net as the second period began. He made an instant impact by making a big stop on Jason Spezza from the top of the faceoff circle. The Bruins retrieved the loose puck off of Rask’s pads and went the other way on a 2 on 1 shorthanded break. Brad Marchand slid the puck over to Patrice Bergeron who beat Lehtonen five-hole to cut the Stars lead to 3-2.
Dougie Hamilton would knot the game up at three when he scored his ninth goal of the season only a few minutes later.
Stars forward Ryan Garbutt looked to chip a puck past Hamilton and head into the offensive zone on a 2 on 1, but the opportunity was halted when he was sequestered for a high-sticking penalty. Garbutt got his stick into the face of Hamilton and caused a small cut below the Bruin defenceman’s eye. He was given a double-minor penalty for his actions.
On the Bruins powerplay, Trevor Daley skated the puck out of the Stars zone and looked to be getting to centre and chipping the puck in deep. However, Daley held onto the puck and proceeded into the Bruins zone and tested Rask with a long wrister. After Daley took the shot he immediately went to the net and was rewarded with a juicy rebound lying infront of him. Daley would pot his fourteenth goal of the season and the Stars league-leading eighth shorthanded goal.
Kari Lehtonen would clean up the remainder of the penalty time by making big stop after big stop to keep his team ahead by one. The Stars went to the intermission up 4-3.
Third Period
In the third period the Dallas Stars did exactly what they needed to do in order to gain the full two points. Each forward line and defensive pairing played as a solidified unit of five and kept the crease infront of Lehtonen clean.
The Bruins best chance to tie the game came when Milan Lucic found himself at the side of the net with a downed Lehtonen. Lucic fanned on the shot and sent the puck wide of the net.
Shortly after Lucic’s mishap, Erik Cole chipped a puck out along the boards and down the ice. The puck was sliding down the boards and headed straight for an icing call. In a last-ditch effort, the puck took a sharp left turn and rolled on edge into the Bruins net. Cole had potted his fifteenth goal of the season and the insurance marker the Stars desperately needed.
Notes and Observations
-Lehtonen looked great for a second straight night stopping 41 of 44 shots.
-The Stars can thank their penalty killers for keeping them in the game early. Without the massive 5-minute major kill in the first period this game could have been drastically different.
-Antoine Roussel will likely receive a call from the NHL regarding his cross-check to Adam McQuaid’s throat. A 3-5 game suspension does not seem unreasonable.
-With their two shorthanded tallies tonight, the Stars now find themselves tied atop the NHL with the New York Islanders for most shorthanded goals.
-The Stars return home on Friday night to take on the Florida Panthers at 8:30pm CST.