The Dallas Stars entered Tuesday night’s game having just finished up a 6-3 victory over the Wild in Minnesota the night before. Even with the lack of energy, the Stars still found a way to obliterate the Chicago Blackhawks 4-0 at home. Postgame wrap-up is below.
The Dallas Stars entered Tuesday night’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks about 17 hours after landing in Dallas. After securing a 6-3 comeback victory against the Minnesota Wild, the Stars were facing the second leg of a back-to-back against one of their biggest rivals, the Chicago Blackhawks.
While the first 30 minutes were a bit slow and sluggish, the Stars came alive in the final half of the game. With a fast-paced and impressive performance, the Stars strung together a 4-0 shutout victory against the Hawks to glide into the Christmas break on. Postgame wrap-up can be found below.
Complete coverage of postgame interviews will be up tomorrow morning, including quotes from Patrick Sharp, Jason Spezza, Antti Niemi, and Lindy Ruff.
Game recap
First period
The first period was a rather quiet one for both the Dallas Stars and Chicago Blackhawks. The game began with only three shots taken in the first five minutes between the two teams. Vernon Fiddler eventually took a delay of game penalty with 11:21 remaining in the first. The Stars had no trouble killing it off. A second penalty would be called on Jason Demers for hi-sticking, but the Stars would succeed in killing it off as well.
The period would end in a 0-0 deadlock. The Stars would hold the 7-3 shots advantage through one.
Second period
The second period began just as slow as the first, except all of the momentum was held by the Blackhawks. Through the first seven minutes, the Hawks outshot the Stars 7-0. With 12:33 to go in the second, Artemi Panarin was sent off for holding, and the Dallas Stars got their first power play chance of the game.
They capitalized as well, with Jason Spezza finding a way to squeeze one through Crawford’s five hole from an awkward angle. Patrick Sharp and John Klingberg were awarded the assists as the Stars took the 1-0 lead. They would almost immediately return to the power play when Patrick Kane went off for hooking. The Stars had some good chances again, but could not capitalize.
Antoine Roussel and Niklas Hjalmarsson got caught scrapping in the corner with 7:24 left and were both sent to the penalty box. Nothing came out of the 4-on-4 appearance. With about 4:00, Antti Niemi made a masterful sprawling pad save on Andrew Desjardins to protect the Stars lead. At the end of the second, it was 1-0 Dallas. The shot totals were 17-15 in favor of the Blackhawks.
Third period
The Dallas Stars took the wheel in the third period and refused to let go. Just 11 seconds into the third period, former Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp scored on a laser shot past Crawford. Jamie Benn and Jason Demers were awarded the assists. The Stars took the 2-1 lead and continued to control the pace of the game.
With 17:03 to go in the game, Colton Sceviour deflected a shot past Crawford to make it a 3-0 lead for the Stars. Assists were given to Jordie Benn and Antoine Roussel. Just 31 seconds later, Michal Rozsival would go off for roughing. Nothing would come from the power play, but the Stars went back on the man advantage with 9:47 left after Duncan Keith went off for slashing. Some crafty saves from Crawford kept it at a 3-0 deficit.
The third period continued to drain on until rookie Mattias Janmark began making noise again. With 5:24 remaining, Janmark put a shot from the left side onto the skate of a Blackhawk that deflected in, making it a 4-0 game for the Stars. Assists were granted to Jason Demers and Johnny Oduya. The third period came to a close with deafening cheers throughout the stands as the Stars knocked off the Hawks 4-0. Final shots were 32-20 Stars.
Thoughts and Observations
The Dallas Stars have now improved their record to 26-7-2 with 54 points, which puts them in sole control of first place throughout the NHL.
The Stars are 3-0-0 against the Blackhawks in their last three games. They outscored the Hawks 14-3 in that span. This is something to celebrate over.
In the third period alone, the Stars outshot the Hawks 17-3. As a result, they outscored them 3-0.
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Patrick Sharp tallied two points in his debut against his former team, while Oduya tallied an assist and a +2 rating. Oh, and Sharp’s celebration fist pump could have easily killed someone if he made contact. THAT’S how excited he was.
Meanwhile, Ryan Garbutt had a quiet night. He spent 13:06 on the ice and only came up with a -1 rating.
While Antti Niemi did record the 20 save shutout, head coach Lindy Ruff pointed out that the Stars did a good job with cutting down scoring chances and only gave up maybe one or two semi-quality chances the entire game.
The Stars secured an eight-point lead in the Central Division with a game in hand with the win tonight.
The Stars bested the Blackhawks in just about every area of play tonight. They were 1/4 on the power play and 2/2 on the penalty kill. They won the face-off dot 28-21. They outhit the Hawks 20-9. They took away 14 Blackhawks chances, while Chicago only took four from the Stars. Let’s not forget that the Stars did this on the second night of a back-to-back.
The Stars are now 3-1-1 on the second leg of back-to-back nights. It’s an impressive turnaround from the struggles of last season.
It was a sellout crowd tonight of 18,532 at the American Airlines Center. There was a hefty showing of Blackhawks fans, but they had all but dispersed after Sceviour’s tally in the middle of the third that turned it into a 3-0 Stars advantage.
Though he only had one assist, Antoine Roussel played a terrific game and was commended by Ruff in the post game. He played with a lot of energy and constantly gave the Chicago defensemen fits by keeping the puck in the offensive zone. He also got into a scrum with Niklas Hjalmarsson and almost threw a close-fisted punch at Brent Seabrook. His emotions always seem to flare when he takes on the Blackhawks.
The Stars have won three games in a row in the past four days. All three of these wins are against teams with more than 40 points that are all in the playoff picture.
The Dallas Stars will now head into the Christmas break atop the Central Division and NHL. But immediately after the holiday hiatus, they will be back in action with a back-to-back, home-and-home series with the St. Louis Blues. The Blues beat them in the only matchup of the season, 3-0, back on December 12th. It will be an interesting two game stretch between the top two teams in the Central Division.
Next: Multiple Stars Set To Reunite With Former Teams Tonight
Make sure to check back to Blackout Dallas for complete coverage of both games! What a win it was tonight. That is exactly the kind of momentum the Dallas Stars need heading into their well-deserved Christmas break.