Dallas Stars Send Blackhawks Home Bruised 5-2

The Dallas Stars boasted a much reinvigorated line-up in their thrilling 5-2 steamroll over the Chicago Blackhawks as they took back first place in the Central division.

Game Recap

Thanks to some commanding presence on the blue line and an even (and unexpected) spread of talent across the four lines, the Dallas Stars were able to out-stride the Blackhawks from the get go. A highly physical style of play, along with few turnovers and speedy rushes to the net early on, put the Stars up first when Spezza scored on the power play in the first period.

The Stars scored a trifecta of exciting goals in the second period. First was Roussel’s close-range goal chipped over Crawford’s shoulder. Then a slick Seguin goal with a helper from Spezza, and  a power play goal from Jamie Benn snapped both their respective scoring droughts and got Crawford pulled in favor of Darling.

The Blackhawks retaliated the best they could when Teuvo Teravainen scored 13 minutes into the second period, but Hemsky’s empty netter with five to go in the third period sealed the deal. Even a questionable last-minute Blackhawks goal from Fleischmann that was ruled not to be goalie interference couldn’t stand in the way of a Dallas Stars 5-2 victory on home ice.

Thoughts and Observations

The sun’s come out over Dallas

Where do you even BEGIN to talk about what went right in this game? A lot of us were admittedly a bit tense over the potential outcome of tonight’s tilt, especially with seemingly half the team out with long-term injuries and Benn and Seguin somewhat MIA.

But if it’s one thing this team knows how to do, it’s pull through when the chips are down (but only when they’re really down. But that’s another thing entirely). This team played like a true playoff team, which clearly frustrated the Blackhawks.

The Stars absolutely slayed each and every penalty kill, while they also made the most of their power play opportunities. In net, Lehtonen was arguably at his most reliable, which no doubt had a lot to do with the defense playing in front of him. Speaking of…

Everything’s bigger in Texas

With the added height and size of Stephen Johns and Jamie Oleksiak, the Stars’ defense looked absolutely transformed. Confidence was there and turnovers were not. The worst mistake made in the Stars’ zone was allowing Teravainen enough space to score in the second, but it was not a repeated one.

Watching the Dallas Stars as powered by tonight’s defensive corps was hope-inspiring not only for this season, but for seasons to come; these are young guys with lots of good hockey years ahead. That’s great news for the Stars.

It takes two to make a thing go right

We’d been worried about Benn and Seguin for a while, with their multiple game scoring droughts sort of bringing the team down as a whole. But Ruff’s separation of them onto different lines really seemed to put the spark back where it had been before.

It took a few goals beforehand and the cooperation of some players who’ve proven themselves invaluable as of late (think Goligoski, Hemsky, Roussel, Nichushkin, Spezza- the list goes on), but the power play special team finally clicked. The Bennguin chemistry seems back on the right track after Benn’s power play goal, which Seguin got the assist on.

Conclusions

After seeing what the Dallas Stars can accomplish unhindered by constant turnovers and hesitant, confidence-lacking play, it would make a great deal of sense for Ruff to keep the lines from tonight in tact when the Stars take on the now number-two division-seated Blues tomorrow night in the AAC.

Next: Dallas Stars Have Variety of Chances At Playoff Opponent

For now, everything looks good out in the West. We’ll see you, same place, tomorrow!