Dallas Stars Round 3: Top Game Of Year Poll: CHI vs. EDM
Today, Blackout Dallas will be starting up a series for a second year. It was meant to start up at the beginning of July but with the NHL offseason mess, it had to wait. But now that there is a bit of down time, now is the time to start it up!
We have made a bracket, one like you would see for the NBA or NHL playoffs, of the 16 best games of the Dallas Stars 2013-2014 regular season. We’re sure you will agree entirely with the 16 games that have been chosen, and if not, then just play along and comment at the end with which one you feel should have been given a chance.
So, we will put a poll up for each of the next 15 days featuring two of the games going head-to-head, with a brief argument for why it should be considered. Then, you can go to the bottom and vote on which one you think deserves to move on to the next round. The poll will expire 24 hours after it is put up, just in time for the next bracket of games to be put up. At the end of the Sweet 16, we will announce the winners of the entire round and start up the Elite 8, and so on and so forth. This is our second year to do this. Last season we received a good reaction from the readers, so we are going to do it for the second straight year.
Rounds one and two are officially in the books, and the eight games have moved on. The next round has already begun.
Here is the next piece of the bracket and this playoffs: Dallas Stars @ Chicago Blackhawks on January 18th VS. Dallas Stars @ Edmonton Oilers on December 21st
Dallas Stars @ Chicago Blackhawks, 6-3 F:
The NHL must not have cared when they made the master schedule last offseason in regards to the Stars. Three of their back-to-backs went from home to the United Center to face off with the Blackhawks.
During the first two attempts, the Star were pummeled 6-2 and then lost 5-4 in overtime. The third time had to be the charm, right?
The Stars were coming off of a win against the Capitals the night before. Facing off against the soon-to-be Stanley Cup champions, the Stars were low on energy.
The Stars took an early 2-0 lead, only to hand it away to the Blackhawks, who tied it up moments later. Dallas scored late to take a 3-2 lead into the first intermission. In the second period, only one goal was scored by Chicago to tie it up at 3. It didn’t look like the Stars would have enough to finish it off and get the victory.
But they had different plans. With three unanswered goals, the Stars pulled off a 6-3 win that not many assumed would happen. Kari Lehtonen stopped 41 of 44 and Cody Eakin tallied two goals and an assist.
Dallas Stars @ Edmonton Oilers, 6-5 F (SO):
Arguably the best game of the Dallas Stars entire season, this one most assuredly had to make the cut. It was just four days before Christmas and the Stars were finishing up their three-game Western Canada road swing. Riding a three game winning streak on their way to play the last place team in the Western Conference, they certainly had high expectations.
But somehow their expectations were not met, at least not immediately. In an early 5:00 PM matchup, the Oilers struck first. After falling behind 1-0, the Stars powered ahead and took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. All seemed okay until the second period began and the Oilers went on a three goal tear. These three goals were dropped on the Stars in a matter of 9:19, leaving them stranded in a 4-2 hole.
The decision was made after the fourth goal to pull Kari Lehtonen from the crease in exchange for Anders Lindback, who had just returned from a trip to the AHL to “find himself.” In other words, there was not much hope for a Stars victory. A quick goal from Taylor Hall to make it 5-2 didn’t help either.
With 20.5 seconds remaining in the second, Stars captain Jamie Benn scored a power play goal to bring it within two shots. The third period was where Tyler Seguin took control. Seguin scored two goals in the first 9:13 to tie things up and take it to overtime. Eventually, the shootout came along and eight rounds later, the former Oiler Shawn Horcoff ended it. Lindback earned his first NHL win of the season and the Stars erased a three goal deficit to win it in a shootout and give their fans an early Christmas present.
Now that you have been refreshed somewhat on the games, it’s time for you to let your voice be heard. Vote below on which game you think was the more entertaining. The poll will deactivate in 24 hours and the winning game will move on to the next round. Apologies to anyone using the mobile app as it does not currently support our polls. But we encourage you to find us online or through social media and vote there!
Be on the lookout tomorrow for the next edition of this series. The Stars had some memorable games this past season, but which one was the most memorable? You can help make this decision by casting your vote down below.
Next: Dallas Stars Still Afloat In Cap Space After Big Offseason
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