The Dallas Stars hosted the Washington Capitals in what could have been Alex Ovechkin's final game at the American Airlines Center. It was a closely contested matchup between two great hockey teams looking to find some ground in the standings. Dallas didn't get on the board until the second period when the Capitals redirected the puck past Logan Thompson. The Stars would go on to win 1-0 over the Capitals.
Jake Oettinger improved his record to 6-0-0 against the Capitals. He also recorded his first shutout of the season tonight. The Stars won tonight's game because Jake was dialed in. I thought this game would go to overtime but Oettinger stoned Tom Wilson in close to keep it 1-0. Here are the four takeaways from tonight's win over the Capitials.
Dallas Stars vs. Washington Capitals Recap: 4. Didn't capitalize on power plays in the first period
Even though the Dallas Stars really got to Logan Thompson on the power play, they weren't able to convert. It's unfortunate because the Stars could have had a nice lead heading into the second period. It's the second game in a row where the Stars had a chance to strike first on the power play and weren't able to do it. Thankfully, Martin Fehevary was nice enough to redirect Tyler Seguin's pass on the power play to make it 1-0. Still need to work on the execution of the power play.
Dallas Stars vs. Washington Capitals Recap: 3. Jake Oettinger locked in
Oettinger had one heck of a game against the Capitals tonight. Oettinger has had a great career against the Washington Capitals so far. He now has a 6-0-0 record against them. The Stars helped him out in front of the net and made sure the Capitals didn't have a chance to set up in the Stars' zone. All I know is the Stars had a very happy otter between the pipes tonight. The Stars will look to continue this three-game winning streak on the road.
Dallas Stars vs. Washington Capitals Recap: 2. The Stars started the game really well
I really liked how the Stars began the game tonight. I think it might be the change from coffee to Monster Energy. As mentioned in the pregame article, the Stars needed to crowd Thompson all night long, and they did, but were unable to convert on their scoring chances. That's a lot more aggressiveness than they had last week before sweeping this past weekend's schedule. Stars need to keep their strong starts going when they travel to Florida to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night.
Dallas Stars vs. Washington Capitals Recap: 1. 2nd period wizardry
I don't know how the Stars were able to pull this off. Dallas didn't have a shot on goal for the last 16 minutes in the second period and still had the lead at the second intermission. You can always thank your favorite goaltender, Mr. Oettinger, but the Stars hunkered down on defense and really made sure the Capitals couldn't reverse the momentum. Overall, a great game by the Dallas Stars tonight, with some momentum heading on the road. The Stars travel to Florida, beginning in Tampa Bay on Thursday night.