Dallas Stars Show More Focus, Still Lose 4-3 In OT To Sharks

The Dallas Stars clawed, scrapped, and gave it their all in San Jose on Saturday night. But in the end, they unfortunately could not come out with the win, as they lost 4-3 in the early moments of overtime.

It’s beginning to become a tragic recurring theme for the Dallas Stars. Even after giving one of their best efforts in weeks tonight, the Stars still could not figure out how to solve the San Jose Sharks. They fell in overtime at the Shark Tank 4-3, which means that the losing streak continues. Postgame wrap up is below.

Game recap

First period

The Dallas Stars started out the game with a decent showing in all areas of the ice. This was quite the surprise, considering last night may have been their worst first period of the entire season. The Stars and Sharks traded punches in shots, but neither goaltender gave an inch through the first few minutes of the game.

But with 8:45 to go in the period, the Stars finally took a first period lead for the first time in games. After an excellent feed from Mattias Janmark to the front of the net, Ales Hemsky went backhand and scored his first goal after a 22-game drought. Antoine Roussel was credited with the other assist. The Stars took the 1-0 lead and continued to apply the pressure.

Antti Niemi seemed to be a rather popular target to get close to with the Sharks during the first. After a few earlier altercations, Joonas Donskoi was called for goaltender interference with 3:19 left in the first. The Stars did not capitalize on the power play and the score remained the same. At the end of the first, the Stars led it 1-0. The shots were 16-13 in favor of the Sharks.

Second period

The second period did not start out as the Stars might have wanted it to. After a bit of a laid-back intro, the Dallas Stars tripped up in transition. The Sharks ended up driving and cashing in when Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored on a wrist shot at the 3:54 mark. Niemi could not close the five hole fast enough and it was a 1-1 game. Joe Thornton and Tomas Hertl were given the assists.

The Stars and Sharks both continued their tradition of trading shots back and forth until Alex Goligoski was called for a questionable-at-best interference call on Tomas Hertl. The penalty was called with 10:47 to go, and the Stars survived 1:54 of it. But Chris Tierney found the puck in a broken play and rifled it past a sprawling Niemi to take the 2-1 lead. Tommy Wingels and Matt Nieto tallied the assists.

The Sharks created a couple more top-grade chances, but Niemi stood tall against their attack. At the end of the second, the Sharks were in control with a 2-1 lead. The shot totals were 30-21 Sharks.

Third period

It’s still unsure of what happened to the Dallas Stars in the second intermission, but something clearly snapped. The Stars came roaring out of the gate and tied the game up 33 seconds into the final frame. Tyler Seguin found the lone puck in the Sharks zone and ripped a shot past Jones to tie it at 2-2. The only assist was granted to Jamie Benn.

The Stars took the first nine shots of the period and knotted the total at 30-30. But at the 6:25 mark, Jamie Benn was called for tripping and the Sharks went on their second power play of the game. It did not take long for the Sharks to capitalize, as Vlasic scored his second of the game to take the 3-2 lead. The Stars would attempt to challenge the goal for offsides, but the call on the ice stood. Donskoi and Dylan DeMelo were credited with the assists.

But the Stars were not left behind for long. Just 12 seconds after Vlasic’s second goal, Jason Spezza found a perfect opportunity in the right circle, spun around to face the net, and fired it past Jones going top shelf to tie it at 3-3. Both Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin tallied assists. The score remained at 3-3 until the end of the third period. The shots ended up at 36-34 in favor of San Jose.

Overtime

The overtime was brief but painful. The Stars had a chance or two here and there, but the Sharks ultimately prevailed. Tomas Hertl scored an overtime game winner against Niemi and finished the game 4-3. The final shots were 39-35 Sharks.

Thoughts and Observations

The Dallas Stars now sit with a record of 29-12-5 with 63 points. Their chances at the Central Division lead are diminishing fast as well, considering they still trail the Chicago Blackhawks by one point and only one game now in hand. It’s a tough time for Dallas hockey.

The Stars started strong and finished strong, but it was the middle portion that was not thrilling. The Stars simply could not stop falling behind, though their effort was always strong enough to tie it back up. In the end, they had one too little chances to bring it back to even and ended up losing it.

The Sharks went 2/2 on the power play, which is unacceptable. Even though both calls were questionable-at-best, the Stars still could not control the play while on the PK and it ended up being the main cause of their downfall.

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Meanwhile, the Stars were 0/2 on the power play and could not figure out how to score. The Sharks had more hits (29-17), won more face offs (39-33), had more takeaways (8-1), blocked more shots (20-14), and took more shots (39-35). In other words, not much went right for the Stars in terms of advanced statistics.

Tyler Seguin played in his 400th career NHL game. He finished the night with a goal, an assist, and a +1 rating. Not a half bad night for one of Dallas’ brightest stars.

Ales Hemsky had a decent showing tonight and it was nice to see him get back in the goal column. The Stars may have a new look with the rapid line of Roussel-Janmark-Hemsky. Something to look at in the future for sure.

The Stars are in a desperate scenario at this point in the year. They are slipping behind in the leads that they used to own and cannot seem to find the win column in 2016. The Stars are 1-4-2 so far in the new year and are 0-4-3 in their last seven road games.

Something is clearly up with the Dallas Stars. Even when they play in a desperate and determined fashion as they did tonight, it is still not enough apparently to come away with two points. Something must be done, and it must be done fast. Or else they may be closer to the bottom looking up before we know it.

Next: Will Hemsky Produce In The Stars Road Trip?

The Stars will now fly to Los Angeles to finish their road trip up with the Kings on Tuesday night. Make sure to tune in to Blackout Dallas for updates and previews regarding the game.