Dallas Stars Top 25 Games Of 2017-18 Season: 10-6

10. Nashville Predators @ Dallas Stars, December 23, 2017

The final home game before Christmas break always seems to have some enjoyable ties to it for the Dallas Stars.

In 2015-16, the Stars walloped the Chicago Blackhawks behind the impressive play of Patrick Sharp (oh, the irony). In 2016-17, Dallas secured a rare overtime victory against the Los Angeles Kings two days before the big day.

And just before Christmas 2017, the Stars made sure to enter the holiday season with a bang.

Blackhawk Up

Dallas welcomed the Nashville Predators to town on December 23 in hopes of closing out their homestand on a high note. After turning in a decent road trip record (2-1-1) in the week prior, the Stars had started off a three-game homestand with a 1-0-1 mark. They fell in overtime to the Washington Capitals in the first game but countered the loss with a dominant 4-0 win over the Blackhawks two days later.

With one game to go before a three-day break, picking up a win and gaining ground in an incredibly tight Central Division race looked to be essential. But it wasn’t shaping up to be an easy game by any means.

The Predators sat in a three-way tie for first place in the division going into the game, with Dallas holding on to fourth place. The Stars were riding an impressive push through December, but had yet to defeat (or even come close to defeating) the Predators in the two meetings between the teams through the first two months. Dallas lost 4-1 and 5-2 in the first two contests.

Though the confidence level was high after winning their previous game, the Stars knew that they had a deep and dangerous opponent standing between them and the break. It would likely prove to be their toughest endeavor of the entire season to date with the stakes being high.

And for much of the game, that was exactly the case. Dallas dug themselves into an early hole in the first 7:03 after Alexei Emelin and Calle Jarnkrok (shorthanded) scored goals to give the Predators a dominant 2-0 lead. And just like that, it looked as though the Predators were setting up to once again ring the Stars up.

But this time around, Dallas didn’t fold under the pressure. They delivered three goals in a row from Tyler Seguin, Antoine Roussel, and Martin Hanzal before the second period ended and carried a 3-2 lead to the locker room. The Stars were outplaying the Preds, owned the lead, and had a full building of Dallas fans supporting them.

Early on in the third period, however, it happened. Ryan Johansen scored on an early power play in the third period to tie up the game. Nashville would also outshoot Dallas 11-4 in the final frame, leaving Ben Bishop a big storm to weather. He succeeded in doing so, but the race wasn’t over.

In overtime, the Stars were outshot 5-1 and couldn’t seem to generate a solid chance. But Bishop held down the fort and sent the game to a shootout.

And, well, we won’t remind you of what happened. All we’re going to say is that Bishop was still in net and the Stars had Alexander Radulov and Tyler Seguin shooting on Nashville’s backup goalie. Figure it out for yourself.

Alright, we’ll spoil it anyways. The Stars pulled off a gritty 4-3 win over Nashville, gaining a crucial two points and finishing off an impressive 4-1-2 stretch. They entered the break with spirits high and hope revitalized.

How is that for holiday cheer?

9. Dallas Stars @ New York Islanders, December 13, 2017

Just a few days before that thrilling Nashville game, the Dallas Stars were in Brooklyn. As part of a four-game road trip, they squared off against the Islanders.

And while this game was met with confidence by the Stars, it also brought along some skepticism. Though Dallas had already bested NYI 5-0 at the AAC in November (no. 19 on the countdown), their track record against the Islanders wasn’t the best, specifically on the road.

In fact, the Dallas Stars had yet to win a game against the Islanders on the road in the Jim Nill era. So the past was lingering as the Stars entered Brooklyn in search of starting a win streak.

But after a gritty win against the Rangers on Monday, it was time to tack on another. The Stars sure made it look easy, too.

Editor In Leaf

Dallas busted out of the gate early on, picking up goals from Tyler Pitlick and Alexander Radulov. In the second period, Remi Elie and Jamie Benn put away two more to give the Stars an insurmountable 4-0 lead against an Islanders team that never truly seemed to be ready for the game to start.

Tyler Pitlick scored his second goal of the game just 21 seconds into the third period to bump the lead up to 5-0. After that, the Stars got comfortable with their lead in a major way (being outshot 14-3 in the final frame) and Anders Lee scored two goals of his own, including one on the power play. But the Stars still carried the day with the 5-2 victory, marking their second win in a row after a recent three-game skid.

So, at this point, you may be questioning how this game made its way all the way up to the no. 9 spot. Sure, the Stars won in dominant fashion. On top of that, it was a critical road win that extinguished a disappointing slump. But why isn’t this game no. 16 or no. 19 instead? It’s not that special, is it?

Well, it’s the underlying achievements that made it a special game. First off, Pitlick scored two goals, marking just the second multi-goal game of his career (his first came earlier in the season against Carolina). He earned second star honors and once again proved his effectiveness as a depth forward.

But the big story was starting goaltender Kari Lehtonen. In the game against the Rangers two days prior, it was pointed out that Lehtonen tied the record for most games played in by a Finnish goaltender (623). Against the Islanders, he broke that record and now holds the all-time record with 649.

In addition, Lehtonen’s strong performance (32/34) also earned him his 300th career NHL win. He became the 33rd goaltender in NHL history to reach the mark and became only the sixth active goaltender to boast the mark at the time. Since then, Pekka Rinne has also reached the 300 plateau.

It was an ultimately special night for Lehtonen as he kept his current hot streak alive and made history while doing it. If this really was the Big Finn’s final season in Dallas, he made sure that it was a special one.

8. Pittsburgh Penguins @ Dallas Stars, February 9, 2018

The Dallas Stars and the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Dallas Stars. For some reason, these two always seem to put on a show when battling it out with each other. And Stars fans are perfectly okay with that.

Though they are in different divisions and conferences altogether, they always bring the intensity of a divisional rivalry to their games, especially ones at the AAC. And since the 2013-14 season, the Penguins haven’t won a game in the Stars’ building.

That only added to the storyline on Feb. 9 as the Stars and Penguins set up to square off once again. It was their first of two meetings in the 2017-18 season and looked to be quite the showdown.

Blackhawk Up

For starters, the Stars were riding a four-game win streak, which was tied for their second longest of the season. Meanwhile, the Penguins were in unfamiliar territory. At the beginning of the 2018 calendar year, Pittsburgh found themselves outside of the playoff picture. That was an unusual place to be in for the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions. And even though they finished out January on a strong note, they were still interlocked in a tough fight.

So it was a team riding a hot streak versus a team needing consistency. All of that came to an impasse on Feb. 9.

In front of a sold-out crowd at the AAC, the Stars and Penguins put together yet another exhilarating performance. With Kari Lehtonen between the pipes and Dallas rolling out a different look on defense, the Stars gave up two early goals (including one shorthanded) within 1:47 of each other to take over the 2-0 lead. But, as he did in the exact same situation against Nashville in our no. 10 game (funny how that works), Tyler Seguin scored to cut the lead in half.

The second period proved to be a back-and-forth battle with no scoring involved. Dallas entered the third period with a one goal deficit and their streak on the line. Luckily for the Stars, their defensemen showed up to save the day. John Klingberg and Dan Hamhuis scored in the first seven minutes of the period to make it a 3-2 game in favor of Dallas.

But with 1:13 to go, Justin Schultz sent a ripper to the net and scored on Lehtonen to tie the game at 3-3. The mass of Penguins fans in the stands erupted, leaving the Stars in need of resurgence.

Dallas dominated the overtime frame, outshooting Pittsburgh 5-2, but could not break through. The game went to a shootout with Lehtonen holding down the fort for the Stars.

The shootout is where the Stars once again stepped into the spotlight. Behind a tally from Seguin and three well-played attempts by Lehtonen against Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby and Phil Kessel, Dallas emerged with the gritty 4-3 victory. They picked up their fifth straight win in an entertaining fashion and once again proved that they were a legitimate contender.

Unfortunately, the wheels fell off the bus soon after as the Stars entered a horrific skid to end the year. But we’re not here to talk about that. We’re just here to focus on the high moments. So do that.

7. Chicago Blackhawks @ Dallas Stars, December 21, 2017

There aren’t many reasons to not be entertained by a Dallas-Chicago game.

It’s a Central Division rivalry that continues budding with each passing year. The inordinate amount of Hawks fans at the AAC each time the two meet up. The Patrick Sharp situation. Antoine Roussel’s antics. And of course, the overwhelming amount of hatred shared between the two teams. Why wouldn’t you want to tune in?

It was the same story on December 21 , 2017. The Stars and Hawks met up for the third time in the 2017-18 season, with Dallas owning an undefeated 2-0-0 record.

App Trigger

It was the second-to-last game before Christmas and the first of four in a row against the Central Division. The Stars, who were fiercely intertwined in the Western Conference playoff race, had not won a game in eight days and were looking for two important points. But, close behind them sat the Blackhawks that needed a win to keep them in playoff talks as well. Both teams were in desperate need, but who wanted it more?

The answer became clear rather quickly throughout the night. Jamie Benn scored the opening goal with less than three minutes to go in the first period and gave Dallas the upper hand.

That upper hand would only become more dominant as the second period got underway. Antoine Roussel doubled the Stars advantage with a goal of his own just 1:07 into the middle frame. After that, it was the Tyler Seguin show the rest of the way out. Seguin scored his 15th and 16th goals of the season (including one on the power play) to push the Dallas lead to 4-0 going into second intermission.

This is where tensions started to get a little more heated than usual. With the mass of Blackhawks fans walking around the arena looking disappointed and frustrated, it only made sense for Stars fans to try having a little fun with it.

The two groups jawed at each other as they walked through the concourse, with references to “How many Cups?” and “Who’s winning right now?” making various appearances throughout the debate.

The Stars would hold firmly to the 4-0 lead and carry it to the end of the game. Ben Bishop picked up his third shutout of the season and the Stars finished the game with a shooting percentage of 18.18 percent (four goals on 22 shots).

But shutting down a division rival on home ice just before Christmas wasn’t the only present that this game had to offer. It also turned out to be Ken Hitchcock’s 800th NHL coaching win. He’s only the third coach in NHL history to reach the mark.

The win helped boost Dallas up in the playoff race and build their confidence for the Nashville game two nights later. Beating the Blackhawks is always a holiday treat.

6. Florida Panthers @ Dallas Stars, January 23, 2018

This was a game to remember, as you probably already know. But it wasn’t just a game for Dallas Stars fans to look fondly back on. This is the kind of game that any hockey (and some non-hockey) fans would love.

That’s because there was fighting. And not just one or two brawls. It was an all-out gutter war in Dallas.

The Stars welcomed the Panthers to the AAC for a typical Tuesday night game between non-conference opponents. Tensions have always been a tad on the high side between the two clubs, but there was no reason for this game to get out of hand in any way. The Stars were riding a 3-0-1 run while the Panthers had only played two games in the previous ten days. It was a mid-January game, so no implications were incredibly high by any means.

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But everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) hit the fan just 3:48 into the game when Antoine Roussel (who else) got into a scuffle with Keith Yandle. After James Reimer went down from apparently stretching the wrong way to make a save, Yandle thought that Roussel (who had skated by the crease at the time) had made a run at his goaltender and decided to drop the gloves. Roussel, who did nothing wrong but is no stranger to throwing fists, gladly obliged. And so the night began.

What followed this fight was both a legitimate domination by Dallas on the scoreboard and a vicious fighting bout for the ages.

The Stars picked up goals from Devin Shore, Alexander Radulov (x2), Jamie Benn, Mattias Janmark, and Tyler Pitlick while only Aaron Ekblad found the back of the net for Florida. They dominated every major aspect of the game, putting 39 shots on net and going 2/6 on the power play and 5/6 on the penalty kill. Dallas won the game 6-1, but that was only part of what made this game so entertaining for the Stars fans both in attendance and at home.

Six total fights erupted between the two teams on that cold Tuesday night. Roussel vs. Yandle started things off. Radek Faksa and Micheal Haley met up just two minutes later. Ten minutes later, Faksa got into it again, this time with Derek MacKenzie. At the same time, Dillon Heatherington and Alexander Petrovic threw down. Fast forward to the third period and you find Brett Ritchie and Connor Brickley duking it out as well as Stephen Johns and Jamie McGinn.

By the time it was all said and done, 138 combined penalty minutes had been dished out to the two clubs, with some misconducts and disqualifications involved.

It was a raucous affair that Dallas found a way to win on the scoreboard by a substantial margin. On top of that, they showed their teeth and proved that they can still be an enforcing team when need be.

What was it that Rodney Dangerfield said? “I went to a fight the other night, and a hockey game broke out.” That’s quite fitting for this specific brawl.

Next: How Much Should Backup Goalie Be Worth For Stars?

That’s all we have for no. 10-6. Check back soon for the next edition of Top 25 Games of the Stars’ 2017-18 Season where we will reveal the top five games of the year. You can be assured that it will be another walk down memory lane that you won’t soon forget.

MORE READING: Stars’ Top 25 Games of 2017-18 Season: No. 25-21, Stars’ Top 25 Games of 2017-18 Season: No. 20-16, Stars’ Top 25 Games of 2017-18 Season: No. 15-11