The Dallas Stars lost their third straight regulation game for the first time under Pete DeBoer, falling 6-4 against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Monday.
Mr. 400 take II, oh wait, just kidding pt II
Jamie Benn finally scored his 400th goal. Well…
After having his previous attempt overturned for goalie interference against Utah — a very Jamie Benn type of goal at that — the Stars captain scored a beautiful goal in the first period against Detroit — a very 2015 Jamie Benn type of goal.
And with that, a new DLLS Stars shirt appeared!
But then, we saw the replay and Luds said “did Lian Bichsel steal that goal?!” And the back and forth was back on.
I have to say… especially after Saturday, I found it hilarious that Lian Bichsel nearly (or did he actually??) stole the goal from Benn. Bichsel crashed the net and slapped the puck across the line. But did he actually make contact while the puck was still touching some red of the goal line?
After the full remainder of the period and an intermission, the goal was taken away from Benn and given to Bichsel. What a crazy world we live in.
But the shirt is still launched, we didn’t unlaunch. So that’s cool.
Preseason game #7
Tell me this did not feel like a preseason game.
I’m not sure if it’s the fact that Dallas cannot move up or down in the standings and already knows it’s playoff fate involves the Colorado Avalanche. Or maybe it was Thomas Harley, Mason Marchment, and Esa Lindell resting. Honestly, I think it’s more because DeBoer said they just need to get through the last two games and that he wishes the playoffs started already.
I understand the feeling, but the team has been going through some rough stretches, and I would have loved to see them taking a bit more serious of an approach.
The game itself also looked like a preseason game. It was open, defending was poor, and the energy was just sort of meh. That’s a word, right?
Anyway, onto preseason game #9 in Nasvhille.
This was just not good
I don’t even care if the Stars come back and win this game because this point stands true — by the way, they didn’t.
Remember when Dallas would go up a goal or two, find an empty netter and quietly just win games? Nothing fancy, but nothing super sloppy either. Win games, move on.
Now, as I said to Owen and Luds at the start of the third period, this new Stars team (since March basically) does the complete opposite. They allow teams to take control, outshoot them, and come back. Again, I said this before the third period.
Then Detroit scored three goals and turned a 3-2 deficit into a 5-3 lead before the second TV timeout. At second intermission, I was also happy to see the Wings sittings at 24 shots. But thanks to 12 shots in the third, they ended up nearly getting 40, and that point was also moot.
As I wrote about this morning, I don’t know what the playoffs are going to look like for Dallas. Could they flip the switch and look like the team that advanced within two wins of the Stanley Cup Final the past two seasons? Sure. Could they get skated around by two of the best players in the world and go out in six games? Yup.
Could Jamie Benn score his 400th goal? No.
I guess I just hope this all means nothing. I hope the mediocre play for the past month is meaningless and the playoffs start everything anew. We shall see.
