Dallas Stars End 2015 With A Bang, Demolish Predators 5-1

The Dallas Stars put together a wonderful performance in their final game of 2015 as they clobbered the Nashville Predators, 5-1. Postgame wrap up can be found below.

Dallas Stars head coach Lindy Ruff went into Thursday night’s game assuming that the Stars would not be given many chances to score. They were facing a skilled defensive club in the Nashville Predators. But as the final horn sounded, it was clear that he misjudged the game. The Stars went on to beat the Predators 5-1. The Stars improved to 28-8-3 on the year, while the Predators fall to 18-13-7. Postgame wrap up is below.

Game recap

First period

Dallas Stars head coach Lindy Ruff mentioned in his morning skate interview that he thought the game would be a low chance one. Boy, was he right. At least for the first period he was.

The Stars and Predators simply traded the puck back and forth for the first 12:00 minutes of the game. Neither team took a real advantage in shots and simply played shut down defense the entire game. Colton Sceviour was sent off for interference with 7:11 left in the period, but the Stars had no trouble killing it off. At the end of the first period, the scoreboard was empty. Shots were even between the Stars and Predators at 12-12.

Second period

The second period began exactly the same as the first. Two teams trading chances. But with 8:38 to go in the period, Craig Smith found a way to break the scoreless tie. On a pass from Mike Ribeiro up front, Smith went to a backhand shot and put it past Antti Niemi for the game’s first goal. The game would stay 1-0 Predators for a short while, though.

With 7:07 to go, Jamie Benn fought for possession of the puck at the blue line and sniped a beautiful wrist shot past Pekka Rinne to tie the game 1-1. The period would continue in it’s regular trend, until the Stars broke the tie. With 2:32 left in the second, Jason Spezza had a fancy keep at the blue line and dished it across to Mattias Janmark for the open net goal.

The Stars took the 2-1 lead and it would stand true until the end of the period. At the end of two, the shots were 23-22 in favor of the Predators.

Third period

The third period was all Dallas Stars, which ultimately led them to the crushing win. Just 3:56 into the third, Jason Spezza put out another beautiful pass in front of the net. This time it was to Patrick Eaves who sent it home for the 3-1 Dallas lead. The Stars and Predators continued to trade shots until 11:57 remained in the final frame when Tyler Seguin took two shots on Rinne from up close.

Seguin’s first shot was easily handled by Rinne, but his second one was a bit too powerful. Rinne saved the puck with his glove past the goal line and the play was called dead. But the shot was reviewed and it was determined that the puck had crossed and a good goal was awarded to Seguin. Patrick Sharp earned the only assist on the night.

The Stars took on their first power play of the night with 7:50 to go in the game after Barret Jackman went off for elbowing. The Stars had some good chances, but the Predators killed it off. Tyler Seguin would prove that the game was not over with 4:04 left. Seguin scored on a wicked wrist shot to make it a 5-1 lead for the Stars. The assists were given to Jamie Benn and Patrick Sharp.

The game would end with the Dallas Stars holding all the cards. They defeated the Nashville Predators 5-1 to close out the year 2015.

Thoughts and Observations

The Dallas Stars are now 28-8-3 on the season with 59 points. The win tonight is good enough to put them in first place throughout the league going into the 2016 calendar year.

The Stars snagged the win in front of a sellout crowd of 18,532. What a time to win big.

The Dallas Stars are also 7-2-1 in the Central Division this season. That is quite the turnaround after an ugly faring in the division last season.

Antti Niemi played another terrific night in net, especially after a disappointing performance against the Columbus Blue Jackets. He stopped 33 of 34 and held down the fort.

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The Stars defense played an exceptional game, giving up very few high-quality chances. Lindy Ruff said that the Predators had a single digit chances night and that the defense did an exceptional job in handling their offensive attack.

Jason Spezza played a very complete and impressive game tonight. He had two quality passes that quickly turned into assists. He had a +/- rating of +2 on the ice tonight. He played 17:55 tonight and took two shots. He also had the one of the highest face-off winning percentages of the night, winning 9 of 12 for 75 percent.

Valeri Nichushkin only skated 9:24 in the game and did not make an appearance on the ice in the third period. He also left the arena immediately after the game ended. Ruff categorized him as a “lower body, day-to-day.”

The Stars are now 12-4-2 on New Year’s Eve since moving to Dallas. They are 3-0-0 on New Year’s Eve since the 2013-2014 season. In that span, they have outscored their opponents (Kings, Coyotes, Predators) 14-3.

On December 31, 2014, the Dallas Stars throttled the Arizona Coyotes 6-0. That win put them with 39 points to end 2014. This year, the win tonight against Nashville has the Stars at 59 points and the top of the league. Something is in the water, and it definitely needs to stay.

The Dallas Stars have yet to lose in the game after a loss. After losing, the Stars are 11-0-0 in the following games. In those 11 games, they have outscored their opponents 50-24. They are also 19-0-2 in games where they lead after the second period and 15-0-2 when being outshot.

Jamie Benn scored his league-leading 24th goal tonight against the Predators. Tyler Seguin also netted his 22nd and 23rd goals of the season to tie Patrick Kane for second in the league. It’s safe to say that the Dallas Stars have the most effective dynamic duo in the league, perhaps in the 21st century.

The Dallas Stars will now hit the road for a three-game road trip in upstate New York. They will face off with the New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, and New York Rangers in four days. We’ll see how the early days of 2016 treat them.

Next: Stars Morning Skate Quotable: Jason Spezza, Lindy Ruff

But a good win tonight from the Dallas Stars as they beat the Nashville Predators 5-1. They close the book on the 2015 year and boy what a year it was. More to come on that. But Happy New Year, Stars fans! Enjoy the celebration. You’ve earned it.