Dallas Stars Escape With Lives, Edge Canes 6-5 In Thriller

The Dallas Stars strung together an indescribably ugly performance against the Carolina Hurricanes. Even after coughing up a four-goal lead, the Stars still found a way to beat the Canes 6-5. Game recap can be found below.

Wow. There really aren’t many words that can be used to describe the events that occurred during Tuesday night’s game between the Dallas Stars and Carolina Hurricanes. But somehow the Stars managed to come out on top and defeat the Hurricanes 6-5 at home. The Stars improve to 21-5-2 while the Canes fall to 10-14-4.

Game recap

First period

The Dallas Stars started the game out with a bit of a slow and unamused pace. As a result, there was an early turnover by the Stars that Patrick Eaves had to negate by committing a penalty with 18:54 left. The Stars succeeded in killing off the penalty and keeping the game tied at zero. With 13:11 to go, the Stars went on an offensive rush and ended up taking the 1-0 lead after Patrick Eaves tallied his first of the season. Tyler Seguin and John Klingberg were given the assists.

Just a mere 26 seconds later, the Stars took to another offensive assault. This time, captain Jamie Benn notched his 19th goal of the year with assists from Valeri Nichushkin and Johnny Oduya. The Stars held the 2-0 lead until 5:19 remained in the first when Johnny Oduya scored on a shot through traffic. Assists were given to Benn and Nichushkin.

You think that was dominating enough? Think again. With just 1:33 left in the period, Jay McClement was called for a tripping penalty. After a shuffling of the power play lines in practice yesterday, the Stars took just 16 seconds to score. After some nifty passing from Klingberg and Benn, Seguin found a gaping net and cashed in to take the 4-0 lead at the end of the first period. Shots were 10-8 in favor of the Canes.

Second period

The second period was much less entertaining, but nonetheless the Dallas Stars still held onto their margin. The Canes replaced Cam Ward with Eddie Lack in the crease to start the second.

The Stars started the period rather slow, probably because they were resting on their four goal lead. After laying back for the first 3:10, Jaccob Slavin scored his first career NHL goal. Riley Nash and Eric Staal were awarded the assists. The teams would trade assaults and dump-ins for the majority of the period. With 34 seconds to go though, Nichushkin capitalized on a turnover and scored with assists from Benn and Seguin.

The goal was initially waved off, but ended up being called a good goal, giving the Stars a 5-1 lead at the end of 40 minutes. Shots were 21-15 in favor of the Hurricanes.

Third period

The final frame could be described a few different ways, but one word correctly fits the final 20 minutes: anarchy. Just 1:55 into the frame, Jason Spezza committed a tripping penalty. 26 seconds later, Justin Faulk scored his first goal of the game on the power play. Assists were given to Victor Rask and Elias Lindholm. With 16:26 to go in the game, Phillip Di Giuseppe scored his first NHL goal with assists from Noah Hanifin and Rask.

5-3 game in the early moments of the third and the Dallas Stars continued to play at a relaxed pace. The Canes were called for a too many men on the ice penalty with 13:34 left, but the Stars power play could not convert. As the power play ran out, the Stars committed a too many men penalty of their own. With 11:14 to go in the third, Faulk scored another power play goal with assists from Hanifin and Rask. Just like that, it was a 5-4 game.

With 6:43 to go in the game, the Stars completed their implosion when Jeff Skinner scored on a wrist shot to knot things up at 5-5. Assists were given to Andrej Nestrasil and Ron Hainsey, and Carolina controlled all of the momentum. Kari Lehtonen would head to the bench after giving up the game-tying goal in exchange for Antti Niemi.

But not to worry. The Stars regained their composure and started their attack once more. With 1:34 to go, Eaves drew a tripping penalty against Rask. The Stars settled into the zone and went all out, and with 18.5 seconds left Patrick Sharp scored on a tantalizing wrist shot to take the 6-5 lead. The Stars would hold onto this one and finish the game on top. Final shot totals were 30-20 in favor of Carolina.

Thoughts and Observations

Wow. That was a game for the scrapbook. Stash that one away folks in case you’re ever in need of a fun game to watch.

The Stars now improve to 21-5-2 with 44 points. They are first place in the NHL and hold a three-point margin on the next closest challenger.

It was definitely a game of firsts tonight. While Patrick Eaves scored his first goal and tallied his first point of the season, both Slavin and Di Giuseppe scored their first career NHL goals. Also, this was the first time in a while that both starting goalies were subbed out in the same game due to poor play.

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The Stars improved greatly on the power play, going 2/3 that included the game-winner. But the penalty kill was down, going just 1/3 against the second worst power play in the league.

The Stars were outshot 30-20 and only took one shot in the first 14 minutes of the third period. They held a narrow 33-31 advantage in the face-off circle.

Jason Demers must truly be the essential part of the Dallas Stars defense. Every game he is not on the ice seems to be a true struggle for the Stars defense. The blue line seems lacking and inefficient in his absence.

Valeri Nichushkin has really taken on a new role since being awarded top line play with Seguin and Benn. His energy has increased and he is putting up plenty more points as a result. The rookie is back on track to becoming one of the Stars brightest young prospects.

The last time the Stars blew a four-goal lead before tonight was back in 2007. Luckily, this one did not end in a loss because Patrick Sharp knew what to do at just the right time.

The three stars of the game were as follows:

3. Patrick Sharp, 1 G

2. Justin Faulk, 2 G

1. Jamie Benn, 1 G, 3 A

The Dallas Stars officially completed the season sweep of the Hurricanes with the win tonight. Though it was not pretty, they will take it and move on.

Next: Valeri Nichushkin: Almost Shining Star

The Stars next matchup is on Friday night when they face off with the Philadelphia Flyers, looking to complete another season sweep. Check back to Blackout Dallas for info on the game!