3 major takeaways from Dallas Stars 7-2 Loss To Wild

The Dallas Stars returned to Minnesota for the first time in over 22 months and the Wild sent them home with a fear-inducing 7-2 loss. There was much blame to go around, but here are three takeaways that I came away with.

3 Takeaways from Dallas Stars vs Wild: 5 on 5 was a problem

We already know this. Outside the two regulation wins earlier this week, the Stars have continued the trend of not being able to score on even strength. This trend has continued to be a staple of this franchise since Lindy Ruff was the head coach of this team. The Stars are currently 30th in the league in 5 on 5 scoring with 21 goals.

That puts them only ahead of the torn-down Arizona Coyotes (19) who were expected to be terrible and the Chicago Blackhawks (19). This is an astounding number for a team that was expected to bounce back offensively after getting Seguin and Radulov back healthy and having a fully healthy Roope Hintz.

On the defensive side of the puck, the Stars are middle of the pack in allowing 5 on 5 goals with 29. That’s good for 17th which isn’t terrible. However, the Stars allowed seven 5 on 5 goals tonight.

The Stars’ defense, whether it has been on the penalty kill or 5 on 5, has looked like Swiss cheese at points this season and the game tonight does not quell those fears of Stars fans who expected a better defensive outing from their team not just in this game, but also this season.

3 Takeaways from Dallas Stars vs Wild: Goaltending

Anton Khudobin was not ready for this game and the decision to start him tonight was not the correct one. More on that in a second.

The first two goals were not on Dobby at all, but more on the defense in front of him. The remaining five goals I would put on him. He was not finding the puck at all and when the Stars really needed a save, they were not getting it.

Peterson scored to put the Stars in relevancy and a powerplay soon followed. The hope that existed for a grand total of approximately 3 minutes of playing time was immediately squashed with a goal from the “offensive defenseman” Alex Goligoski.

3 Takeaways from Dallas Stars vs Wild: Goaltending

Let’s get to Bones’ decision to start Dobby. I understand he’s the veteran goalie that’s healthy right now, but there were multiple reasons to start Oettinger over Dobby. Outside of one game this season, Dobby has not been very consistent between the pipes. He ends the night with a 3-3-1 record with an abysmal 3.73 goals-against average and a .873 save percentage. He has the worst save percentage in the league among goalies who have started 6 or more games.

Even the struggling Philipp Grubauer in Seattle has a better save percentage than Dobby (.877). Again, it’s one game, but Oettinger looked very solid in a 5-2 over the Red Wings with a .933 save percentage. And not to mention that Khudobin was coming off of a non-COVID-related illness. Why not put the young guy back in after a great game by him?

Riley Tufte was supposed to play in his 3rd NHL game against the Wild, the team that he cheered for growing up. Tufte grew up in the Minneapolis area and was excited to play in front of family and friends, but Bowness made a game-time decision to healthy-scratch him and instead put Kiviranta in.

According to Hockey Agent Ben Hankinson, Tufte had spent all his money getting tickets for his friends and family to watch him play in this game and even received some money from other NHL players to help pay for tickets for his loved ones.

I’m not so sure this was the best decision for two reasons. One, it does not look good on the Stars to highlight him playing against his hometown team only to healthy-scratch him at the last second. Two, I would’ve expected Tufte to play off of his emotions and show up for this game, but he wasn’t even given that opportunity.

Nothing much the Stars can do after Thursday night but learn and move on to the next game. The Stars will welcome the St. Louis Blues to the American Airlines Center on Saturday. The game time is 7 pm central time.