Apart from the fact that the Dallas Stars got only point out of last night's game against the Penguins, there was a lot to like about their performance. The Stars brought a lot of energy and intensity to the game and played very well on the whole in a game that had a playoff-like feel to it. If Dallas can bring a similar effort most nights down the stretch, the lost point last night can be made up.
The Stars got clutch performances from many of their key players, including the returning Jamie Benn, Michael Ryder, Loui Eriksson and Sheldon Souray. They limited the Penguins to 24 shots, and played a sound defensive game with the major exception of the nearly fatal (but brief) lapse in the third period where the Penguins -- who also deserved credit for their execution in the offensive zone -- tallied two quick goals to turn a 2-1 Stars lead into an 3-2 deficit.
Dallas took a few more penalties than Glen Gultuzan would have liked heading into the game. Nevertheless, the team did a fine job at containing the Penguins' red-hot power play, which had gone 6 for its last 13 heading into the game. Meanwhile, while Kari Lehtonen's stat line on the night looks pedestrian (21 saves, scored on by 3 of 4 shooters in the shootout), I thought he was solid when he had the chance to make saves.
The Stars have long since proven that they are a club that does not panic when it falls behind, so it was no big surprise that the team roared back to knot the game at 3-3 on Ryder's goal (on a great setup by Eriksson) barely three minutes after Pittsburgh went ahead in the third.
Unfortunately, Dallas was unable to convert its own power play chances, including a 4-on-3 at the beginning of overtime. The Penguins are a team that is quite willing to play for the shootout once a game gets to the latter stages tied, and the Stars had a few good scoring chances to win it late. Pittsburgh is now 8-3 in shootouts this season after going 10-3 last year. The Stars fell to 4-4 in the skills competition in 2011-12 after a 5-7 mark last year.
Taken on the whole, the way the Stars played last night would be sufficient to win the majority of games in regulation. With a 4-0-1 mark over the last five games, the club just needs to shrug off the one point left on the table and keep on rolling.
Dallas is back in action tomorrow night. They will travel to Edmonton to take on an Oilers team that is just 4-5-1 in its last 10 games but earned two of their victories in that span by blowing out Calgary and shutting out Philadelphia.
********
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.
Dallas Stars Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»