The odds of the Dallas Stars making the playoffs this season are not very good. With 10 games remaining on their schedule, the Stars are 10th in the Western Conference, four points out of the eighth and final postseason berth. Even so, the Stars have shown they'll battle for all they're worth.
Yesterday, Dallas rallied from a pair of two-goal deficits (2-0 and 4-2) to force overtime and then capture a second point via shootout in a 5-4 victory. It was the second straight win for the Stars, who won two of out of three games on their California road trip.
Promising young forward Alex Chiasson, who has scored in each of the last two games, tallied a pair of goals for the Stars. Dallas also got goals from Eric Nystrom and Loui Eriksson. Top-line center Jamie Benn broke out of a three-game pointless streak with two assists and the lone goal either team scored in the shootout.
In the meantime, victorious goaltender Kari Lehtonen outlasted countryman Antti Niemi. Lehtonen gave up four goals but turned back 32 of 36 shots in regulation and overtime, including many of the difficult variety. In the shootout, the big Finn went 3-for-3 in stymieing San Jose shooters.
Lehtonen had no chance on the first goal of the game. San Jose got on the board first at the 8:39 mark of the opening period when Tommy Wingels got open in the slot and received a centering pass from Logan Couture. All eyes were on Couture, who had won a battle for the puck behind the net and then found Wingels in front.
The 1-0 Sharks lead held through the first period. In the opening minutes of the second stanza, the Stars got a little unlucky as Ray Whitney hit the post in the opening minute of play. Shortly thereafter, Matt Fraser got a breakaway but snapped his shot wide of the net.
At the 3:06 mark of the middle period, the Sharks extended their lead to 2-0. This was on Lehtonen would have liked to have back, as Brent Burns beat him to the short side on a line rush goal scored from the right circle. Burns released the shot quickly and placed it well, but that was one the goaltender should have had a better angle to stop.
Lehtonen has picked up his teammates many times this season. Yesterday, the team returned the favor, roaring back immediately after the Burns goal for two quick goals spaced 26 seconds apart.
First, Eric Nystrom's forechecking work created a turnover deep in the San Jose end. He spun off the boards and skated hard at the net as Vernon Fiddler controlled the puck behind the net. Nystrom jammed the centering feed home to cut the deficit to 2-1.
On the next shift, Chiasson potted a Jamie Benn rebound to tie the game at 2-2. A mere 1:01 had elapsed since Burns forged the two-goal lead for San Jose.
Lehtonen gave the team a lift several minutes later and gained a measure of revenge on Burns in the process. Burns stepped out of the box, claimed the puck and went in on a breakaway, only to be stoned by Lehtonen.
Shortly thereafter, the Sharks regained the lead. Defenseman Aaron Rome coughed up puck to Raffi Torres on a forced turnover. The puck made its way to T.J. Galiardi, who backhanded a shot from the right circle that found its way into the net.
Dallas has had frequent penalty problems in second periods of games this season, and yesterday was no exception. Still trailing by one goal, the Stars had to kill consecutive penalties midway through regulation. They survived the penalties, but still could not prevent the Sharks from eventually restoring a two-goal lead.
On a somewhat controversial play at the 15:31 mark, Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic briefly put the puck over the goal line on a wraparound. Referees Wes McCauley and Greg Kimmerly made no signal either way, but after a very lengthy video review -- which took nearly six minutes to view the play from several different angles -- it was correctly decided that the puck had entirely crossed the goal line underneath a sprawling Lehtonen, and the goal should count. As a result, San Jose carried a 4-2 lead into the third period.
With 13:53 remaining in the third period, Benn triggered the Stars' second comeback of the game. He stole a puck in the neutral zone and broke into attack zone. Benn then passed to Whitney, who drew the attention of the Sharks' defense. Chiasson alertly jumped into the seam, received a feed from Whitney and scored from point blank range to cut the deficit to 4-3.
About three minutes later, the scrappy Stars knotted the game at 4-4. Eriksson pounced on the rebound of a Fraser shot from the left circle, and quickly put the puck in the net for his 10th goal of the season.
Both teams had good scoring chances in overtime. First, San Jose nearly won the game with a vicious deflection by Couture. Lehtonen stayed with the puck and came up with the save to prolong the game. Later, Eriksson nearly ended the game in Dallas' favor, as he beat Niemi with a shot from the right circle but the puck ticked off the goal post.
The game moved to a shootout. San Jose went first. Lehtonen stopped Couture. Fraser was unable to score on Niemi. In round two, Lehtonen denied Dan Boyle. Benn scored for Dallas, putting the pressure on Burns to keep the shootout going. Lehtonen made the stop to nail down the win.
The Stars (18-17-3) return home for one game, taking on the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings (22-13-4) on Tuesday night at the American Airlines Center.
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