Dallas Stars Cannot Keep Momentum, Lose Crucial Game Against Wild

For a second there, the Dallas Stars had a glimmer of hope. But it didn’t last long as they dug their way into another depressing loss on Tuesday night. It was much of the same as it has been with the Stars fighting hard but missing a few key parts of a winning formula.

The Dallas Stars needed to be desperate in their play, and you could even say they were in Tuesday night’s game. But not desperate enough.

The Stars went into Minnesota needing two points to keep their playoff hopes alive. They were up against a Wild team trying to keep its grip on third place in the Central Division and knew the stakes. But they couldn’t answer the bell.

Jamie Benn scored an early goal on a nice assist from Tyler Seguin to get the lead, but that’s when things started going downhill. The Stars gave up a shorthanded goal a few seconds into their four-minute power play and then coughed up another two goals. Before the halfway point of the game, Dallas was down 3-1. After getting a goal from Devin Shore to make it 3-2, the Stars once again lapsed with just a few seconds to go in the second period and gave up a fourth goal.

The third period came with some clawing back but no scoring besides a Minnesota empty netter and the 5-2 victory for the Wild. Game, set, match, and probably season.

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There’s a lot to say about last night’s game. The Dallas Stars fought hard for a good amount of the game, had some good chances, and even looked as though they might’ve had the upper hand in a few cases. But, as they did too many times during the abysmal eight-game losing streak, they made a few errors that the opposition capitalized perfectly on.

The four-minute power play that turned into a shorthanded goal for the Wild is probably where the game broke in Minnesota’s favor. But there were a few other pivot points, too. The Stars’ shorthanded chance that turned into a power play goal for the Wild is one. So is Dallas giving up a power play goal on their first PK attempt. The list kind of drones on and on. That’s how it goes with this team right now.

Dallas kept to their typical struggle of being a one-line team. Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, and Alexander Radulov seemed to be the only three forwards contributing in some fashion in the offensive zone. Playoff teams need more than that.

After slumping back in eight straight games, the Stars bounced back on Tuesday with a confident and unexpected 3-2 overtime win over Philadelphia. After getting some help over Tuesday and Wednesday in the race, Thursday night meant a lot as to whether Dallas would have a chance at realistically getting back into the playoff race. It looks like they still weren’t ready to take on the pressure.

So yes, it continues to get more frustrating. The Dallas Stars say they want it and sometimes they act like they want it, too. But when they don’t, they can’t help but get absolutely run over by the opposition. It almost seems too horrific to be true at this point. Nothing is going right and it’s the worst time of the year for misfortune to happen.

The Stars seem to want it, but just can’t go about getting it in the right way OR get any sort of lucky bounces in their favor. That’s a rough way to go, but that’s how the cookie is crumbling this year. All they can really do is put on a brave face, keep the frustration at a manageable level, and close out the year on a high note.

Their next chance comes with a second swing at the Wild on Saturday night. It’s the Stars’ final home game of the 2017-18 season and should be their last time at the AAC until the 2018-19 preseason. Just let that settle in.

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Things just aren’t going right. There’s not much else you can say at this point. The Dallas Stars just need this season to be over with and in the rearview mirror. It seems as though only then will they be able to confront their problems head on.

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