Dallas Stars Shoot Down Ducks, 4-3

119. Final. 3. 105. 4

Enduring a prolonged shaky start, the Dallas Stars came back in the second period against the Ducks and their three unanswered goals to prove that their fast start to the season is something to be taken seriously.

The Stars clawed their way back with four unanswered goals of their own, taking advantage of the absence of Ducks’ captain Ryan Getzlaf (appendicitis) and making the best of the last game of Jason Demers’ suspension.

First Period:

The Stars seemed in control early on, keeping their shots to a minimum but also holding off the Ducks’ shots. Jamie Oleksiak’s quick tussle with Chris Stewart gave the Stars a little extra momentum to put down a Ducks power play several minutes in.

The Ducks were clearly still trying to carve out a fighting chance for themselves. Nine minutes in, and the shots on goal were 2-1 ANA. The tension finally broke when Mike Santorelli scored on the power play at 14:44.

Things just kept heating up. Shawn Horcoff scored a sneaky goal on an over-committed Antii Niemi at 18:56 to make it 2-0, and then Carl Hagelin followed it up at 19:10 to wrap up the assault at 3-0 and finish off the period on a sour note for the Stars.

Second Period:

When the period started out with the Stars sent to the penalty kill on a Jamie Benn hooking call, things didn’t seem very promising. But the Ducks’ power play passed without damage, though it was clear that Anaheim’s three unanswered goals afforded them some extra confidence.

The Stars got their chance to get on the scoreboard when Patrick Sharp scored his first as a Dallas Star, a power play goal at 7:30 assisted by Jamie Benn and Jason Spezza. With a light at the end of the tunnel, the Stars set their eyes on killing another penalty.

At 15:27, Cody Eakin kept the comeback coming with a shorthanded goal facilitated by an amazing pass from Jamie Benn. At this point, the Stars’ attempts to work their way back into the hockey game were steady and consistent.

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John Klingberg’s goal at 17:01 with assists from Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn tied the game up at 3-3 and put some energy back into the crowd at the AAC as the second period came to a close.

Third Period:

The keyword for the third period was shots. Because both teams continued to both take and save them repeatedly to keep the score tied. Dallas pulled ahead with shots, leading 17-2 in third period shots alone. Niemi and the defense did their job, continuing to make life hard for the Ducks, who responded with increasing physicality.

With 2:35 left in the third, the Stars had skyrocketed their shot number up to 32, leaving the Ducks in the dust with only 19. It finally paid off at 18:32, when Antoine Roussel backhanded in a rebound from Vernon Fiddler to put the Stars ahead 4-3 with four unanswered goals. Despite emptying their net, the Ducks just couldn’t retaliate.

Thoughts:

Both teams came into the game with something to prove and a great amount of pressure weighing on their shoulders. For the Ducks, it was the loss of captain Ryan Getzlaf due to appendicitis as well as the pressure to turn their downhill season around.

For the Stars, it was the pressure to redeem themselves from the nasty loss to the Panthers and prove that their five game win streak was not just a happy accident.

And both teams handled that pressure well, in intervals: the Ducks more so in the early stages of the game and the Stars much more in the latter. Thankfully, the Stars were able to demonstrate that they can take the lead in the third period instead of lose it.

Despite a rough start, Niemi remained in goal and turned out to be one of the heroes of the game for the Stars. Jamie Benn was another absolutely crucial player, with a hand in 3 of the night’s 4 goals.

The Stars will look to extend their home-ice success against the Vancouver Canucks at 7:30 and prove they can compete in the Western as well as Eastern Conference.

Next: Dallas Stars: Beast In The East, Best In The West

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