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

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.

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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.