Dallas Stars Get Raked, Fall To Leafs 3-2

The Stars fell prey to the trap game, letting the Leafs best them 3-2 in the first game of their homestand.

Period 1

The first ten minutes of the period saw both teams striving almost equally, with the Dallas Stars up in shots on goal (12-8 at the end of the period) and the Toronto Maple Leafs up in faceoff wins. The Stars had several chances on goal, the best of which came from Mattias Janmark but denied by Reimer.

Antti Niemi had his share of good saves as well, taking one in the mask from Holland at one point. However, the tide turned when Johnny Oduya went off for holding and the Leafs cashed in on their power play opportunity for the fourth time in their season series against the Stars. Peter Holland tipped it in past Niemi at 18:38 in and the clock ran out with the Leafs up 1-0.

Period 2

From the beginning, the Stars exhibited some rather sloppy offensive possession. It was Niemi who held the score at 1-0 with some skilled and crucial saves. At this point in the period, the most promising line was the Faksa- Roussel- Nichushkin line, which created some good rushes but ultimately remained scoreless.

Reimer remained sharp as well. Even when Dion Phaneuf went off for slashing 4:48 in, the Stars just couldn’t convert on the power play. Their equalizer did come, though, when Patrick Sharp scored on a wrist shot with 34 seconds left in the period, assisted by Jason Demers and Johnny Oduya.

Period 3

The third opened optimistically, with the Stars leading the Leafs in shots on goal 29-19. But as we know, it’s not always shot volume that wins it in the end. Vernon Fiddler did more than add to the SOG when he slipped in an incredible backhanded goal at an impossible angle to put the Stars ahead 2-1 at 5:39 in, assisted by Jason Demers.

Both teams made multiple goal attempts, but in the end the Leafs took advantage of misplacement in front of the net. At 12:38, Pierre-Alexander Parenteau answered with a wrist shot which deflected off the skate of Jordie Benn. And at 16:32, the Leafs took the lead with a slapshot from Jake Gardiner that again deflected off the skate of Colton Sceviour.

Although the Stars emptied their net with a minute and a half to go and took a timeout with 3 seconds left, they couldn’t beat the buzzer to push it into overtime, falling to the Leafs 3-2.

More from Blackout Dallas

• Dallas Stars Traverse City Tournament: Who had great performances?
• Grushnikov and Stankoven lead Dallas Stars to 6-3 win over Columbus
• Dallas Stars prospects look to wrap up tournament with a win
• Burn the tapes: Dallas Stars prospects lose 5-1 to Toronto Maple Leafs
• Dallas Stars look to continue success today against the Maple Leafs

Thoughts and Observations

Although Reimer played a great game, both Stars goals were avoidable for the Leafs keeper, making the loss even that much more disappointing. The Stars’ offense, which at many times this season and before has seemed effortless, seemed to really struggle to not only create attempts but to carry through and cash in on them.

The only power play opportunity of the game passed rather quietly for the Stars, if you don’t count the sound of Tyler Seguin’s shot rattling the crossbar as noise (we’d like to think of it more as nightmare fodder).

The penalty kill also came up short, allowing one of the NHL’s lowest ranking power plays to convert, as if the Stars were destined to repeat their mistakes from their first meeting with the Leafs.

But let’s take it in stride. It wasn’t a trap game for nothing. The Stars are now settled in from their road trip and are ready to take on division opponents and leave the confusing trauma of the Leafs in their past.

Next: Dallas Stars Shooting Less But Somehow Scoring More

The Dallas Stars will take on the Winnipeg Jets next on Thursday at 7:30 CT, back in the AAC. We’ll be ready and waiting to cheer on the comeback kids- will you?