Dallas Stars: Observations From A Thrilling 2-1 Win Over Rangers

It was fast, it was filled with energy, and it might have caused some heart problems, but it was a win. The Dallas Stars found a way to knock off the New York Rangers in the shootout last night through a dominant performance. Here are some final thoughts.

After a week filled with depressing losses against top-tier talent, the Dallas Stars sure looked like a different team last night.

The Stars went to Madison Square Garden on Monday night to kick off a four-game road trip. They did it against a red-hot New York Rangers team.

The game ended in a 2-1 shootout victory for Dallas, but simply listing the final score doesn’t do the game justice. More importantly, it doesn’t do the Stars’ performance proper justice.

The Dallas Stars, as they have done many times this season, looked like a completely different team than in the recent past. They were quick on pucks, working hard to generate efficient scoring chances, and outmuscled the Rangers in just about every category.

Dallas Stars

Their play was worth recognizing, as the Stars arguably put on their most dominant performance of the year. Dallas outshot New York 45-25 and provided constant offensive pressure. The Rangers could not seem to possess a clean offensive possession and got off very few shots in the first two frames.

The offense was overpowering, the defense played in proper formation, and the goaltending came up big when needed. If the Dallas Stars constantly play like that, they should have no trouble coming away with plenty of victories.

With the win, Dallas snapped a three-game losing skid and propped themselves back into a playoff spot.

Here are some afterthoughts and observations on the game itself.

Squeaky clean play

The Dallas Stars played their first completely clean game of the year last night. Dallas did not commit a single penalty in last night’s game, and as a result did not have to put forth their iffy penalty kill.

With last night’s game, the Stars have only played ten games over the past 19 years without committing one penalty. The last one came on March 17, 2017 (last season) against the Calgary Flames. Before that, it was January 23, 2016 against the Colorado Avalanche.

The Stars are 7-12 on their last 12 penalty kills, which is horrendous. Something isn’t clicking just right and the absence of Martin Hanzal is a big shot to their abilities on the PK.

That being said, it was an added boost for them to keep their sticks to themselves and avoid the penalties.

New York Rangers

It should have never gone to a shootout

I’m all for overtime hockey and creating irregular patterns in my heartbeat from excessive fear and worry, but last night’s game should not have needed one. It should not have even needed overtime.

The Stars dominated the Rangers, and there’s no other way around it. Dallas put together a solid 50-minute stretch and didn’t come close to letting their foot off of the gas until the first NY goal was scored on a fluky play. The Stars owned puck possession, set the tempo, and controlled the flow of the game.

It was one of their most impressive showings of the season, and it just happened to come against a really good Eastern Conference team on the road.

The Stars (almost) lost to another backup

For a second there, it almost became comical. Just before the shootout started, it looked very much like the Stars were set to lose their third game to a backup goalie in a one-week span. With losses already to Juuse Saros and Nashville last Tuesday and Maxime Lagace and Vegas on Saturday, it wasn’t impossible to think that Ondrej Pavelec would find a way to oust the Stars as well.

More from Blackout Dallas

• Dallas Stars Traverse City Tournament: Who had great performances?
• Grushnikov and Stankoven lead Dallas Stars to 6-3 win over Columbus
• Dallas Stars prospects look to wrap up tournament with a win
• Burn the tapes: Dallas Stars prospects lose 5-1 to Toronto Maple Leafs
• Dallas Stars look to continue success today against the Maple Leafs

The only difference between the first two games and last night’s was the Stars performance. Against Nashville, Dallas had little to no effort or energy carrying them and were bested on every front. During the Vegas game, the Stars committed some simple errors that the Golden Knights capitalized on.

But against the Rangers, the Stars were flawless. They controlled the game and remained in the driver’s seat.

But Pavelec still almost found a way to lift NY to victory. He stopped 16 straight shots in the first period alone and followed it up with 16/17 in the second. As the Stars got hotter, it seemed that Pavelec did, too. Dallas generated plenty of high-danger chances, but all were stopped by the New York backup.

Had it not been for a screaming slap shot from Julius Honka that caught Pavelec dead to rights, the Stars may very well have lost that game.

And yes, a loss would have definitely pushed us to questioning the game of hockey itself.

Kari making history

Kari Lehtonen started in his 400th career game as a Dallas Stars goaltender, but that’s not why he made the history books last night.

Lehtonen also played in his 623rd career NHL game, tying him for the most among Finnish-born goaltenders. He also made sure that it was a special game by securing the 2-1 victory.

It’s an unbelievable statistic and is one that portrays just how consistent and dedicated Lehtonen has been to his craft. Lehtonen also secured his 299th career victory in the NHL with the win over New York. He’ll go for no. 300 sometime in the near future.

A major stick tap to Mr. Lehtonen.

“Can beat any team in this league”

Dallas Stars defenseman Julius Honka had some bold words in his postgame interview following last night’s game.

The quote may seem a bit far-fetched, but it is properly justified.

The New York Rangers are a very good hockey team and are one of the hottest teams in the league since November 1. Last night, the Stars went in and made them look confused, disorganized, and altogether helpless.

That is what happens when this Stars team comes together and fires on all cylinders. The talent is there and the lineup is stocked. They have the necessary pieces to be a playoff team that can compete for a Stanley Cup. But they must find a way to bring that same level of effort with each passing night.

Next: Examining Stars' Chances Of Sweeping The Trip Up North

We’ll have to wait and see which Dallas Stars team shows up tomorrow night in Brooklyn.