Anyone who thinks the Dallas Stars are an early season fluke has not been paying attention to the way this team has gelled since the start of training camp. The Stars were a good team last season when reasonably healthy -- better than many of the playoff teams in the other Conference -- and have improved since then.

The Washington Capitals have not been playing their best hockey of late after getting to a torrid start in October. That does not in any way diminish what the Stars accomplished last night, handing the Caps their first regular season loss on home ice this season.

To be honest, I was a little concerned for the Stars going into the third period last night. Dallas had been the superior team -- especially at 5-on-5 -- for the majority of the opening 40 minutes and yet the Caps managed to get the game to the third period tied at 2-2 after the Stars had led 1-0 and 2-1.

That's why Adam Burish's goal scored at the expiration of a Stars power play in the opening half minute of the third period was the very definition of a clutch tally. It deflated the Capitals and lifted the Stars to dismantle the home side in the third period and end up winning comfortably (5-2).

Although the Stars can be said to lines 1A and 1B rather than traditional first and second lines, I consider the line with Jamie Benn and Loui Eriksson to be the more critical of the two in games against top-notch competition like Washington. Last night's game was another big one for Benn (1 goal, 2 assists) and Michael Ryder (2 goals).

In terms of defense and goaltending, I thought the Stars did a very good job for the most part against the dangerous Caps attack. Just a quality win all around.

The Western Conference leading Stars' gauntlet of measuring stick games continues on Friday, when they travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Eastern Conference leading Penguins.

*********

KINDLE USERS: Please subscribe to Stars Buzz; a one-stop feed for all things Dallas Stars-related at HockeyBuzz. Content is automatically updated whenever a new blog is published. For more information, click here.

Join the Discussion: » Comments » Post New Comment

» NHL Statement on Stars' COVID Situation

» SCF: Tampa wins Stanley Cup with 2-0 Shutout

» SCF: Stars Extend Series to a Game 6 w/ Double OT win

» SCF: Stars Have No Time to Lament What Could Have Been

» SCF: Uphill Climb Falls Short Again in Game 3