Wounded Tiger Theory: Stars manage to remain competitive despite being short-handed

The Dallas Stars and the Boston Bruins gave fans a quality 65+ minutes of hockey this afternoon. The Stars, however, were short-handed due to Matt Duchene being scratched before the game due to an upper-body injury. The fact the Stars remained competitive in the 4-3 loss against the Bruins is impressive. Here are the three takeaways from the win over the Bruins this afternoon.

Feb 19, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) is dumped at
Feb 19, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) is dumped at | Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

I want to give a shoutout to Dallas Stars Radio Analyst Bruce LeVine for the article title idea today. The Stars have had a whirlwind the past 24 hours. Last night, the Stars called up Matej Blumel to join the team, and it looked like he was Evegenii Dadonov's replacement.

Today, Alexander Petrovic and Derrick Pouliot were called up because the Stars were short-handed three defensemen. After the team warmups, Matt Duchene was scratched due to an upper-body injury. Dallas went into the game against the Bruins being down a player. The Stars lost the Boston Bruins today, 4-3, despite all the injuries the Stars had. Here are the three takeaways from the win over the Bruins.

Dallas Stars vs. Boston Bruins: 3. Finding a way to score goals

The bar fans had for the Stars today was set low due to all the injuries announced in the last 24 hours. Somehow, the Stars were able to shut me up today with the way they played. Wyatt Johnston made his landlord proud today by opening up the scoring with a textbook redirect. Ryan Suter made people's hearts skip a beat when he scored his second goal of the year. However, he gave up a goal 30 seconds later, which drove fans mad on social media. Fans should be happy with the way that the Stars found scoring against a tough Bruins team.

Dallas Stars vs. Boston Bruins: 2. Everyone taking extra minutes today

A lot of the Dallas Stars roster got some extra playing time today with the Matt Duchene injury. It was great to see the Stars have a lot of energy today despite all the extra shifts they took today. I was impressed that the Stars outshot the Bruins 36-19 through two periods. They showed the Wounded Tiger theory today against the Bruins.

Dallas Stars vs. Boston Bruins: 1. Jake Oettinger flat out played

Jake Oettinger displayed some of his best goaltending this season today despite losing the game in the shootout. There were multiple times when it looked like the Bruins were about to break away from the Stars in the second period, and Oettinger stood on his head. The Stars wouldn't have been in this game today if it wasn't for him. With the Stars playing the New York Rangers tomorrow, you can expect Scott Wedgewood to be between the pipes.

Check out our latest Blackout Dallas Articles

Schedule