Dallas Stars Get Back on Track, Beat Jets 2-1 in Shootout

The Dallas Stars hosted the Winnipeg Jets Thursday night and beat them 2-1 in a shootout. The win ended Dallas’ three game winless streak and hopefully got them moving in the right direction yet again.

Recap

First Period

Tyler Seguin started the scoring for the Stars as he netted one just over Connor Hellebuyck’s pad at 7:55 of the period after receiving a pass from Patrick Sharp behind the net. Colton Sceviour had the other best scoring chance when Hellebuyck left the puck behind his net only to have Antoine Roussel pick it up and pass it to an open Sceviour in front of the net. Unfortunately no. 22 fanned on the pass and didn’t score, so the Stars took their 1-0 lead and 10-8 shots advantage into the first intermission.

Second Period

Dallas was able to successfully kill Jason Spezza’s penalty, however, they weren’t able to stop Winnipeg’s Mathieu Perreault as he tied the game at one 6:47 into the period. That was all the scoring for the period as the Stars and Jets went to the intermission tied 1-1 with Winnipeg leading in shots 20-14.

Third Period

The Stars were unable to take advantage of their two-minute power play after Winnipeg took a high sticking penalty a little under seven minutes into the period. Sharp had an incredible opportunity when he skated by a few Jets defenders to go one-on-one against Hellebuyck; however, he was stopped by the Winnipeg netminder’s pad and the score remained 1-1. The two teams ended the third period still tied at one, causing them to go to sudden death overtime.

Overtime

The Stars had a few chances in the offensive zone at the start of overtime, but Sharp took a tripping penalty in the Stars’ zone to put the Jets on a power play with 3:26 remaining in the overtime period. Dallas killed the penalty with the help of two Jets players who saw their sticks break on shots with the man advantage.

Shootout

Seguin and Sharp scored for the Stars, but Jamie Benn missed the net when he could’ve won it. Kari Lehtonen came up big in the shootout stopping two of the three shots and the Dallas Stars beat the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 in the shootout.

Thoughts and Observations

Solid Start

Unlike in recent games the Stars came out with an offensive push to start this one. They shot the puck early and often and more importantly they didn’t make the game harder on themselves by taking penalties at the start of the game. Establishing a lead early changes the entire dynamic of the game that follows and Dallas made their quest for victory all that much easier with Seguin’s tally less than halfway through the first period.

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Although penalty problems weren’t at the forefront of this game a few quality chances against were the result of a Winnipeg power play. While Dallas was able to go 3-for-3 on the penalty kill taking unnecessary calls is still something they’ll want to work on moving forward.

Lehtonen’s Form

Dallas entered the season with the full intention of playing with two starting goaltenders and as well as that’s worked for them it has often seen Lehtonen drawing the short end of the stick. Tonight he made some momentum changing, game saving stops that boosted the Stars’ confidence and made the team better as a whole.

Most notable were his saves at the very end of the Jets’ power play that started the second period. Those stops made it possible for Dallas to head into the second intermission tied, thus greatly increasing their chances of success later on.

It was important for no. 32 to not only have a good start to the game, which he did, but for him to do so wearing victory green. His struggles of late have been costly for the Stars and it was a valuable win that the Finnish goaltender can build off of moving forward.

Persistence 

The Stars showed their ability to stick with it after a road trip in which they did just the opposite. Even when they were down a man in the overtime period and their chances of winning seemed slim, the team defended together, made it to the shootout and eventually won.

Dallas used their dedication to a simple game to come out on the winning side of it for the first time in the last four games and it’s something they’ll look to continue moving forward.

Next: Dallas Stars Midterms: Grading Each Player at Season's Half

Thanks for reading! Be sure to check back for the preview and post game analysis on Saturday as the Stars take on the Minnesota Wild.