Dallas Stars Put On Complete Performance In Domination Of Islanders

There’s not much room to doubt what happened at the Barclays Center on Sunday afternoon. The Dallas Stars routed the New York Islanders in a 6-2 walloping to improve to 11-7-2 on the year. And with that, they showed just how dangerous the team can be when everything clicks.

The Dallas Stars opened up a three-game road trip yesterday in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center. And, as it seems to be with every stretch this year, it looked to be an influential swing.

The Stars were sitting in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race, claiming fourth in the Central division. But with other teams breathing down their neck, there was little room for error. That’s where the road trip came into play.

One of the Stars’ weaknesses this season is their play away from home. They are 3-4-1 on the road this throughout the first six weeks of their 2018-19 campaign. A season-long six-game road trip in late October/early November helped Dallas break out of an early-season road slump. The Stars put together a three-game win streak during the trip to bump them back to .500, but dropped their final two contests in Boston and Columbus to shift back to road mediocrity.

Considering how tight the Western Conference is right now, there is no space to slip or fall into a slump. With that being said, the three-game trip out east offered Dallas a chance to either get ahead or fall behind.

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And in game one, they did nothing but impress.

The Dallas Stars took on the New York Islanders in their first meeting of the season in a Sunday matinee contest. The Islanders carried a 10-6-2 record into the game and sat near the top of the Metropolitan division in second.

And after falling behind 1-0 through the first period, the Stars left no doubt as they routed NY in a 6-2 finish. It was a complete team performance from the crease out and gave Dallas a feeling of command.

In this win, the Dallas Stars proved that when they are firing on all cylinders, they can be a tough team to stop or even hang around with. And that’s where Dallas needs to capitalize from here on out.

Following a rough goal against off of a defensive breakdown early in the first period, the Stars slipped out of the first period in a 1-0 hole. They created some good chances through the first frame, but Thomas Greiss held the line and left the Stars searching for answers.

They found all the answers in the final two periods. In a span of 4:59 early in the second, Esa Lindell and Roope Hintz found the back of the net to flip the script and give Dallas a 3-1 lead. Lindell scored twice and Hintz put up the first goal of his NHL career.

Tyler Seguin scored off of a perfect rebound from the back boards to close out the period with a 4-1 lead. In the third period, it was the Alexander Radulov show. After Scott Mayfield cut the lead to 4-2 using a weak and odd-angled shot that somehow beat Ben Bishop, Radulov scored two goals in less than two minutes to seal the dominant victory.

So here the Dallas Stars sit. They are 11-7-2 on the season, have won four of their past six games on the road, and are tied for third in the Central division with 24 points. And if they can continue playing like they did on Sunday night, they will be nearly impossible to compete against.

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The thing about the Stars’ win on Sunday is that they were firing on all cylinders. The top line was back in the scoring department after a brief absence, with Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, and Alexander Radulov combining for three goals and nine points. The depth forwards were sharing the spotlight as well, with Roope Hintz scoring a goal and Jason Spezza, Jason Dickinson tallying assists.

The defense recovered from a slow start and shut down the Islanders offense. Though New York put up 39 shots to the Stars’ 33, there were few high-quality chances, giving Bishop a relatively easy stretch to deal with. And in the crease, Bishop stopped 37 (though it should have been 38).

The Dallas Stars went perfect on the penalty kill but saw their power play still struggle with finding the back of the net. But Dallas made up for it in other areas on their way to a routing.

Their inefficiencies were cleaned up, their strong areas looked stronger than over, and the team put on a commanding performance. The win proved that Dallas has the tools to compete in a loaded division, regardless of who they are missing from their lineup. This team can be dangerous and can run a game when everything clicks.

And through 20 games this season, that’s about all you can ask for.

The Dallas Stars have two more games to play before Thanksgiving, starting tonight against the New York Rangers. If they can find a way to access the style and energy that they had last night, they could very quickly find themselves challenging for the top spots in the West.

The Stars now know that they can run over opponents if everything is working. That’s a scary thought for the rest of the NHL. We’ll see how long they can keep it up.