Playing without top-line center Tyler Seguin or blueline anchor Stephane Robidas, the Dallas Stars got the better of the shots and chances in the majority of their Sunday evening game with the Edmonton Oilers. Dallas outshot Edmonton by a 45-32 margin and outchanced the Oilers by an equally wide margin.
In the end, however, all the Stars had to show for it was their second straight shootout loss. The Oilers prevailed, 3-2. Ryan Garbutt scored shorthanded and even-strength goals for Dallas, but the Oilers twice managed to battle back to tie the game.
Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 28 of 29 shots fired his way until he had to leave the game late in the second period with an apparent head or neck injury suffered in a collision with Garbutt. The collision was not especially violent but Bryzgalov was in immediate pain. He went down to the ice, holding his head and remained down for a lengthy period of time before gingerly leaving the ice.
Erstwhile Oilers starter Devan Dubnyk came in to relieve Bryzgalov. He turned back 15 of 16 shots in regulation and overtime and then nailed down the bonus point for his team by stopping two of three in the shootout.
Kari Lehtonen stopped 30 of 32 in regulation and overtime for the Stars; doing much of his best work in the latter part of the third period and overtime. Over the latter stages of the game, Edmonton finally turned the tables and got the better of play.
The Oilers knotted the game at 1-1 with just six seconds left in the middle period. Alex Chiasson was knocked off the puck on a heavy hit along the boards. Ales Hemsky slipped in behind an inattentive Sergei Gonchar -- who was caught watching the puck -- and scored from the doorstep after a cross-ice pass from Ryan Jones.
With 5:07 left in the third period, Andrew Ference tied the game on a slap shot from the right point. The puck may have re-directed off Jamie Benn, who had a tough shift all-around. The sequence started with Benn being knocked down behind the Dallas net and losing the puck to David Perron.
Edmonton drew energy from the tying goal, going on to control the remainder of regulation and overtime (enjoying a 6-2 shot advantage over the Stars in the process). In the shootout, Jordan Eberle and Perron both scored on Lehtonen -- who had just gone 9-for-11 in stopping shooters in the Stars' shootout loss to Chicago.
Rich Peverley, the lone Star to convert among 11 shootout shooters in the Chicago game, roofed a shot over Dubnyk in the middle round for Dallas. However, that goal was sandwiched around Dubnyk waiting out Jamie Benn and Chiasson losing control of the puck, which dribbled in weakly on net and was casually swatted aside by the goaltender.
The Stars are in Chicago tomorrow. According to the Stars' official Web site, Seguin skated on his own before Monday's practice. Robidas, as has been widely reported, is lost for four to six months and is currently recuperating from surgery on his fractured right leg.
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