Dallas Stars get their revenge on the Vancouver Canucks to open road trip

The Dallas Stars began a four-game road trip tonight in Vancouver to take on the Vancouver Canucks. The Stars will be heading to other places to play hockey over the course of this trip, but you have to stop and get some revenge against the Canucks, who embarrassed you at the American Airlines Center weeks ago. The Stars came out swinging and took less than a minute to score a goal. The Stars fought hard to come away with a 4-2 win in Vancouver tonight.

The Stars didn't look like the team from this past Tuesday night when the league robbed them of a point. They came out slugging tonight to spoil the Canucks winning another home game. One player who stood out tonight was Jake Oettinger. While he hasn't had a decent stretch of games, he came up crucial in the second period by keeping the Canucks from scoring on their 5-on-3 power play in the second period. Let's look at the four takeaways from tonight's game in Vancouver.

Dallas Stars vs. Vancouver Canucks Recap: 4. Robertson is the fire you don't put out

Usually, I'm someone who wants to see fires put out when they engulf a building. However, when you are on a scoring streak like Jason Robertson, you want that one to keep burning. Jason Robertson scored in the first period tonight and brought his goal total up to nine goals in five games. If Bill Guerin were smart, he would offer Robertson a spot on Team USA for the Winter Olympics. If I'm Jim Nill, I'm handing Robertson a blank check for his contract extension. The Stars can't let Robertson leave the DFW metroplex.

Dallas Stars vs. Vancouver Canucks Recap: 3. Impressive streak comes to an end

The Stars' penalty kill has been good since November 8th, when they took on the Nashville Predators. Since that game, they have been one of the better penalty kill teams in the NHL. Well, their impressive streak came to an end in the first period when Elias Pettersson scored on the power play. The Stars allowed the Canucks to park right in front of the net and pay the ultimate price for that. Now it's time for the Stars' penalty kill to create a new streak of not allowing teams to score on the power play.

Dallas Stars vs. Vancouver Canucks Recap: 2. Stay out of the penalty box

Luckily, the Canucks were only able to capitalize on one of their power plays tonight. The Stars have to stay out of the penalty box if they want to win hockey games. They are lucky Oettinger was dialed in after the second goal the Canucks scored tonight. The Stars have a long road trip, and going to the penalty box is going to entice their opponents to score with the extra man on the ice. That's going to get the Stars eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs if they keep it up during the regular season.

Dallas Stars vs. Vancouver Canucks Recap: 1. Jake Oettinger is a gem

He might be having a rough stretch right now between the pipes, but you can't say enough good things about what Oettinger does for the fans. He signed a stick for a goalie with cancer tonight and gave it to her after warmups. This gesture is one of the many things I love about the Stars. They love giving back to the fans who might travel hours to see them play on the road. Jim Nill has put together a team that you only hear good news about online. Next stop on the road trip is Calgary, where Glenn Gulutzan has coached before.