Tonight felt like a never-ending nightmare for me. I remember recently mentioning guarding Kirill Marchenko in two articles: the upcoming games article and tonight's pregame article. Marchenko is one of those players who can take over a game if you don't guard him. The Stars failed to do so twice tonight and paid the price. The Columbus Blue Jackets were all over the Stars tonight, winning 6-4. The Stars' defense will probably want this game back tomorrow morning.
The first two Blue Jackets goals weren't even Jake Oettinger's fault. The first goal was Cody Ceci not playing defense in front of the net. The second goal was redirected, and Oettinger didn't see the puck. The defense is ailing right now with Miro Heiskanen and Lian Bichsel out. However, there's no excuse for tonight's performance. Oettinger was left out to dry tonight. Here are the four takeaways from tonight's loss in Columbus.
Dallas Stars vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Recap: 4. Absent defense
The Blue Jackets took advantage of the Stars' ailing defense tonight. I was afraid this would happen in the back of my head. I don't know if the last game against the Islanders drained a lot of gas out of the team. The defense was going through the motions and trying to see if they could get a win, playing at 50%. Doing that would get you bounced from the Stanley Cup Playoffs in a heartbeat. Let's not do this again on home ice against the Kings later this week.
Dallas Stars vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Recap: 3. Hintz and Robertson combo continues
Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz kept the Stars within reach of the lead tonight. Hintz had a low snipe that fooled the Blue Jackets goaltender, Elvis Merzlikins. Robertson received a nice feed from Mikael Granlund near the net to make it a one-goal deficit. These two players have recently kept the Stars in some games. They brought their energy tonight and made a difference in the score. I'm sure they will continue to make a difference when the Stars return home to take on the Los Angeles Kings.
We'll take that, thank you! pic.twitter.com/G4ACrPXNGq
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) February 26, 2025
Dallas Stars vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Recap: 2. Minor power play failure
The Stars had a four-minute power play at the end of the second period, but they failed to convert. That was an opportunity they could have flipped the game's momentum in their favor. Once again, the power play is starting to be an issue for the Stars as they inch closer to the playoffs. I hope the Stars can figure something out to capitalize on those before postseason play. Robertson looked like he was about to add his second goal of the night, but the Blue Jackets killed the penalty.
Dallas Stars vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Recap: 1. Kirk Herbstreit shout out
I'll wrap up the postgame article with something pretty cool. College Football analyst Kirk Herbstreit gave a shoutout to the Dallas Stars in the middle of the game. I was not expecting someone to give the Stars a shoutout when they were trailing almost the entire game. It just goes to show that the Stars are getting recognition for how they are doing right now. At least the Stars are done with a massive road trip. It's time to come home and take on the Los Angeles Kings on Friday night.
Whelp. That’s why they’re the Dallas Stars-one of the best teams in the NHL! So fast and so skilled. Gonna be a battle till the end. Love their style of play-up and down creates so many scoring opportunities for both teams.
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) February 26, 2025
See what happens.