Jamie Benn Gets 1st Hat Trick, Dallas Stars Hammer Blues 4-1
By Josh Clark
Game recap
“Jamie Benn just walks in, pulls his pants down, and spanks this one home!” -Stars color analyst Daryl Reaugh after Benn’s first goal
The first period might be THE best first period the Dallas Stars have played all season. After a few minutes of clearing back and forth, Jason Spezza won the face-off in the Blues zone and diverted to John Klingberg, who found Jamie Benn wide open and centered up to the net. Benn proceeded to slap it home past Blues goaltender Brian Elliott, giving the Stars an early 1-0 lead just 2:47 into the first. After the Blues weathered the storm a bit and regained their composure, the Stars immediately stole it back. After a big hit from Steve Ott on Colton Sceviour, Erik Cole gained possession of the puck in his zone and cleared it up the boards to Jason Spezza, who crossed the blue line with Jamie Benn on his side and only Alex Pietrangelo in their way. You can guess how this ends. Spezza sent a crisp saucer pass over to Benn who cashed in on the left side, making it his second goal of the night with 11:42 remaining in the first. Just twenty seconds later, Jyrki Jokipakka forwarded another Stars attack and passed off to Ryan Garbutt, who put a shot off of Elliott. Elliott left a juicy rebound in front that was answered by Cody Eakin, tallying his eleventh goal of the season. Elliott headed to the bench and was replaced by Jake Allen. With 3:02 left in the third, Vernon Fiddler was called for a delay of game during the face-off. The Stars killed the penalty, and the period ended quietly. The Stars led the Blues 9-7 in shots through one.
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The Dallas Stars started the second period off just as nicely as they did the first. After a penalty for too many men on the ice against St. Louis with 18:16 remaining, the Stars found a way to capitalize on the power play. With just five seconds remaining on the PP, Benn sent one top shelf on Allen for his third goal of the game, marking his first career NHL hat trick and increasing the score to 4-0. Jason Demers and Jason Spezza were credited with the assists on Benn’s 22nd goal of the year. At 13:04 left, Steve Ott was called for tripping, but the Stars second power play chance was unsuccessful. With 11:13 remaining, Brett Ritchie served a too many men on the ice penalty for the Stars, but the Blues made nothing of it. With 5:11 left in the second, Jason Demers was called for a questionable interference penalty, but the Blues once again found nothing with the man advantage. At the end of the second, the Stars led 4-0. The Blues held the 20-14 shot advantage.
The third period was a laid back effort with some fun, energetic moments here and there. The Dallas Stars started the period off with a 5-on-3 advantage after a penalty on Chris Butler for interference with 18:50 left and a penalty on Alexander Steen for hi-sticking with 18:12 left. Sadly, the Stars were unsuccessful in generating a goal from either power play opportunity. With 7:30 to go in the game, Patrik Berglund took advantage of an extended amount of time in the Stars zone and scored from the point to make it a 4-1 game and spoil Kari Lehtonen’s shutout bid. Paul Stastny was granted the helper on the Berglund goal. With 5:41 remaining in the final frame, Antoine Roussel was prodded and almost speared by Barret Jackman, causing a massive scrap to ensue. For the video, check the Blackout Dallas Twitter page @BlackoutDallas. The last few minutes ticked away and the Dallas Stars walked away with a dominant 4-1 victory over the second best team in the NHL. The Blues held the 28-22 shot advantage.
Thoughts and Observations
The Dallas Stars found a way to win without the help of Tyler Seguin, Patrick Eaves, or Ales Hemsky. Just let that sink in.
The Stars blocked 18 shots from the St. Louis Blues and took away a lot of chances early. The defense and goaltending were on fire tonight when under pressure.
The power play went 1/4, which is not terrible, though the Stars could have at least notched one more goal.
Jamie Benn, Kari Lehtonen, and Jason Spezza were granted the Three Stars of the Game in that order.
The Dallas Stars now sit four points out of the final wild card spot with two games in hand. If you do the math, that means that if the Stars win those two games, they are in a playoff spot. They will face off with the current spot holder, the San Jose Sharks, on Thursday night at home. 214-GO-STARS, just in case you do not know how to get tickets.