Dallas Stars Experience Most Frustrating Loss Of Season

The Dallas Stars finished off their Western Canada road trip with an overtime loss to Edmonton. Even though the Stars snagged a point, it might have been their most disappointing loss of the season.

On Friday night, the Dallas Stars hit the final stop of their Western Canada road trip in Edmonton, Alberta. They took on the Edmonton Oilers and dropped a 2-1 contest in extra time.

They snagged one point. So that’s pretty good, right?

While it is nice to have escaped with one point, the second point seemed just as easy to obtain. Heck, it even seems like it was earned.

But one quick goal after a bad defensive breakdown just 45 seconds into overtime took away another opportunity to increase the Stars lead atop the NHL. On the bright side, they still are first place in the standings and hold a one point lead with a game in hand.

But that one point. It seems so measly, but at the same time so deserved.

The Stars opened up the game with some grade-A chances at the net, and it looked like it was going to be a night of high-offensive intensity. But the Oilers had an attack of their own, and both goaltenders stood strong in their respective creases.

But with 5:11 to go in the first period, a bad defensive shift gave Taylor Hall a surprisingly open chance in front of Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen and he cashed in to take the 1-0 lead for Edmonton.

More chances for the Stars, but Oilers goalie Anders Nilsson would not budge. Eventually Dallas would take advantage though. With 1:37 left in the second period, Mattias Janmark put a rebound effort in the back of the net and revived the game to a tie.

The third period was a quiet one, though plenty of chances were offered to the Dallas Stars. Overtime came along and Jordan Eberle cashed in quick to bring the game to an end.

That one point is now gone to one of the worst teams in the Western Conference and NHL. It’s disappointing that after outshooting Edmonton 14-8 in the first period, 13-10 in the second, and 15-4 in the third, they still could not salvage the second point. That’s outshooting the Oilers 43-24. Not to mention that Nilsson was awarded first star honors.

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Now it was not a bad performance at all by the Dallas Stars. Of course they had two bad defensive breakups that cost them, but those are usually covered up by their excellent offensive play. Sadly, Nilsson would have none of it on Friday night.

Not to mention that the Stars have already put up a valiant offensive effort against Nilsson this season. Back in October, Nilsson saw 51 shots from the Stars and put down 48 of them. He has yet to see a save percentage below .940 against Dallas. Why is Edmonton playing so poorly if their goaltender can do things such as shut down the hottest offense in the NHL?

The Dallas Stars experienced a loss Friday night that stank of 2014-2015 losses. Ones where you just cannot explain what happened or why it happened. Ones where they just ran into a red hot goaltender that did not allow anything easy.

Next: Dallas Stars: Overtime Tres Amigos

It was sad to see that second point go to waste, and for the first time ever this season, the Dallas Stars have lost 50 percent of their last six games. It seems as though the early season firepower may be wearing off, but that remains to be seen. With a record of 20-5-2 and 42 points, the Stars are basically a third of the way through their 2015-2016 campaign. Will they be able to keep it up?