The hot streak came to a close for the Dallas Stars on Saturday afternoon in Arizona. They dropped a 3-2 loss to the Coyotes to pick up their first regulation loss since Jan. 17. Here are some quick thoughts on how the game played out.
23 days. That’s how long it had been since the Dallas Stars last suffered a regulation loss going into their Saturday contest against the Arizona Coyotes. And, after posting a 5-0-1 record in their last six contests, the streak hit a wall on Saturday afternoon in Glendale.
After falling down 3-0 early in the third period, Dallas attempted to mount a comeback. They put two goals on the board within the final five minutes, but couldn’t find an equalizer as they dropped a 3-2 finale in regulation in the desert.
Both teams could have used a win for different reasons, but the Coyotes’ desperation ultimately won out as the Stars dropped to 0-1-1 on their current five-game road trip.
It was the third and final meeting between the two teams in the 2018-19 regular season, with Dallas picking up victories at the American Airlines Center in the first two contests. The two clubs met up just six days ago in Dallas, with the Stars picking up a 5-4 comeback win.
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With the loss, the Stars drop to 28-22-5 on the season with 61 points. They still sit in third place in the Central division, but inched slightly closer to falling back into the wild card mix with the loss on Saturday.
Here are some quick thoughts on the loss and how it all played out.
Too little, too late in effort
From the opening puck drop to midway through the third period, there was something about the Dallas Stars that just seemed off. They didn’t look like the Stars team that had picked up points in six straight games and certainly didn’t look like a team prepared to claim two points.
But then, all of a sudden, they did. With around five minutes to go in the game, the Stars seemingly jumped back into the driver’s seat. Brett Ritchie scored on a rebound with 3:39 remaining and Alexander Radulov joined him on the score sheet just 27 seconds later. Just like that, the Stars had a winnable 3-2 game on their hands.
This rapid attempt to fight back didn’t necessarily come as a surprise, considering the Stars’ third period heroics during the six-game point streak.
But that’s where the comeback bid came to a halt. Dallas scrambled to find an equalizer in the final minutes of the game, but came up empty-handed in the 3-2 loss.
“I think that we do think that we can find ways to win,” Stars coach Jim Montgomery said. “Again, that third period showed it. I don’t think there was ever a sense of ‘we’re out of this game’ in the third period even. I thought it was a really good hockey game. They played really well and we played really well in spurts, maybe not the whole time like they did.”
Puck Prose
It was simply a matter of not having a full 60-minute effort that did the Stars in. Arizona capitalized on their chances in the first 50 minutes and looked like the more determined team. Third period comebacks have been a strength for this team, but not from three goals behind. That’s where Dallas tried to rally from this time around, and it didn’t pan out.
Special teams weren’t so special
While you can potentially point to effort as a characteristic in the Coyotes’ win, special teams played a critical role in the game.
The Dallas Stars finished the day 0/3 on the power play and 1/3 on the penalty kill. Those numbers alone tell the story. In the first period, Alex Goligoski scored on the team’s first power play chance just seven seconds after starting the 5-on-4. In the second period, it only took Alex Galchenyuk (who had two goals in the game) 45 seconds of power play time to make it a 2-0 game.
Meanwhile, the Stars didn’t capitalize on their own opportunities on the man advantage. They missed out on opportunities late in the first period, early in the second period, and late in the third period.
This was a reversal of the script from Monday night, when Dallas went 3/4 on the power play.
Arizona boasts the best penalty kill in the NHL and showed it off on Saturday as Dallas put up six shots but couldn’t break through.
Forwards finally broke through
The Dallas Stars escaped Bridgestone Arena with a point on Thursday night as they dropped a 3-2 overtime loss to the Predators. The fact that they even got a point can be largely attributed to the play of their defensemen.
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While the Dallas blue line held the Nashville offense to just two goals in regulation, they also made their presence known in the offensive zone. After going scoreless through the first two periods, Miro Heiskanen and Taylor Fedun tallied goals for the Stars in the third to tie the game and force overtime.
And up until 3:39 left in Saturday’s contest, it looked as though the Stars’ forward group might be shutout for the second game in a row. And while Ritchie and Radulov stopped that possibility cold with back-to-back goals late in the frame, it’s still a story to talk about.
The Dallas forwards went quiet for the entirety of the Nashville game and almost remained quiet for all of the Arizona game.
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That’s a sign that, while this team is succeeding at playing a defensive, low-scoring style, the need for offensive help is still lingering. The 2019 NHL Trade Deadline is a little over two weeks away and presents the Stars with a chance to fill their voids, one of them being depth scoring.
More on that later.
Miscellaneous: Radulov and Polak
Roman Polak left the ice late in the first period after being boarded from behind by Lawson Crouse. According to Sean Shapiro of The Athletic, Polak passed the concussion protocol test. Following the game, Montgomery said that the defenseman is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Stars still have 3 games left on road trip, but will spend next two days in Dallas before flying to Florida. Team will practice in Frisco on Monday for those looking to attend such things.
— Sean Shapiro (@seanshapiro) February 10, 2019
It was also a slump-breaking game for Alexander Radulov, who scored his first goal in over a month. Radulov’s last tally came in Winnipeg on Jan. 6 in a 5-1 loss for the Stars.
The Dallas Stars once again clawed back late to try and stay afloat in a big game, but came up short this time around. And with three games to go on this five-game swing, there is a need for a quick turnaround. Their playoff standing could very well depend on it.
“Our next three games are on the road, so we can’t have what we had today,” Alexander Radulov said following the game. “We’re gonna regroup, have a good practice, and get ready for the next one.”