I think the Dallas Stars had too much food for their Thanksgiving dinner. They looked like they were in complete control tonight against the Calgary Flames until late in the second period. The Stars would give up two quick goals to start the third period as they ended up losing 7-4 to the Flames.
Jake Oettinger should have never played tonight after that exhausting Vegas game on Wednesday. There is absolutely no excuse for the way the defense is playing right now. Either they need to fire the coach who’s coaching the defense or they make a trade for a solid defenseman. Here are the three takeaways from the game tonight against the Flames.
Stars head coach Peter DeBoer addresses the media following tonight's loss vs. the Flames. @Dallasstars | #TexasHockey |@ballysports pic.twitter.com/en3Dj0WrVY
— Bally Sports Southwest (@BallySportsSW) November 25, 2023
Dallas Stars vs. Calgary Flames Recap: 3. Stars got out to a fast start tonight
The Stars had a really good first period for the first time in a while. Wyatt Johnston opened up the scoring with a wrister that went past Jacob Markstrom. Jason Robertson also scored a goal from an unreal angle to become the fastest Stars player to record 250 points. Aside from the eight minutes of really bad defense, the Stars took control of the game early tonight. If the Stars could figure out their defensive issues, this team could take their opponents out of the game in the first period.
250 points in only 228 games. Not bad, Robo. 🤖
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) November 25, 2023
Milestones x @JackDaniels_US | #TexasHockey pic.twitter.com/N7mcUyCXDY
Dallas Stars vs. Calgary Flames Recap: 2. Good food in the Pavelski household for Thanksgiving
Joe Pavelski and Wyatt Johnston must have had the best Thanksgiving meal yesterday. Johnston finished with two goals while Pavelski finished with one goal. The Stars needed some offense tonight and both of these guys delivered big time for the Stars. Everyone was concerned that there would be a “sophomore year” decline for Johnston but he has proven otherwise. Now if the Pavelski residence wouldn’t mind becoming a boarding house for Stars’ rookies moving forward, that would be great.
Game #101 is starting well for the kid! 👏 pic.twitter.com/8wsZTOsrM4
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) November 25, 2023
Dallas Stars vs. Calgary Flames Recap: 1. Jake Oettinger shouldn’t have started tonight
Jake Oettinger shouldn’t have started between the pipes tonight for the Stars. After a very exhausting game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night, Scott Wedgewood should have started. You can tell Oettinger had some fatigue tonight, especially on the third goal that should have been saved. As for the defense, that is another story to bring up. Jim Nill needs to make a trade for another defenseman. I know we don’t have the cap space in order to make room for a big-name player, but something needs to change to the defense core.