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As I sit here watching this game from the couch with the flu, I thought this could be a great time to try something new I have been thinking about lately.
So, welcome to the first iteration of Dallas Stars game notes, where I will lay out all of the notes that usually hide in my notebook throughout a Stars game.
Don’t worry, there will still be plenty of sillyness. You know that. But this will simultaneously give you some quick thoughts on smaller plays, X’s and O’s (they haunt me), and insight onto what the heck is going on in my brain during Stars games. May god have mercy on your soul.
Let’s get it started with a matinee tilt between the Dallas Stars and Montreal Canadiens.
Top story
The Dallas power play. And not for a good reason.
As I wrote about after the loss in Chicago, the Stars power play has hit a cold streak. And while it is no good that the streak continued today, the bigger problem was the opportunity it had to secure two points in regulation.
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After Wyatt Johnston tied the game midway through the third, Dallas got a late power play with the chance to take a lead and likely win the game. It felt like the moment. Not just because of the stakes, but because it was exactly the type of moment the Stars power play has converted on again and again this season. It has been a huge part of their record through 41 games.
But instead of crazy cheering from the AAC crowd and multiple weights off the Stars shoulders, Johnston was called for hooking in the slot, and the opportunity was gone.
Dallas is now 0-10 on the power play in the past three games since the Christmas break. They have been unable to create nearly as much, and a few of these types of key moments have passed them by. That’s been the scary part of this little streak, where Dallas has lost five straight and allowed 20 goals…
How good of a team are they when they can’t get a power-play goal, especially the ones at key moments? The Stanley Cup Playoffs are all about 5-on-5 play. The Stars have scored plenty at even strength (7th in NHL) and rank 8th in 5-on-5 goals against, but have usually also added a power-play goal or locked it down on the penalty kill to boost them to wins.
Their power play has now gone dry, and the penalty kill that rapidly climbed the NHL rankings after a slow start is now hitting some bumpy times. It ranks near the bottom of the league since Dec. 23 after being nearly unbeatable in the previous month.
Here is the comparison of the two special teams shots today.
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Not enough on the power play and too much on the kill. Work to be done.
Dallas Stars live game notebook
Period 1
- Adam Erne does a great job winning the puck on the forecheck and getting it in front for a good scoring chance for Oskar Bäck. Erne’s big body shows its benefit on the first shift, coming into the lineup for a much smaller Colin Blackwell.
- Rémi Poirier is backing up for Jake Oettinger today, as Casey DeSmith was granted a brief leave of absence on Saturday for a personal family matter. DeSmith is expected to rejoin the team in Carolina on Tuesday. Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said Poirier has the type of energy that could be good for a room dealing with a four-game skid.
- Thomas Harley made another big mistake early, whiffing on a point shot as the last man back. It led to a breakaway for lethal scorer Cole Caufield. Harley did a great job getting back and lifting Caufield’s stick, although he certainly looked to get up into the hands and is probably lucky not to be called for hooking.
- Just as Josh Bogorad was talking about Philip Danault being traded back to Montreal by Los Angeles before the Christmas break, a point shot was partially blocked by Jamie Benn and deflected off the leg of Danault, then off Brendan Gallagher and found its way past Jake Oettinger to give Montreal a 1-0 lead.
- The Stars got lucky when Oliver Kapanen missed high and wide on a dangerous 3-on-1 for the Canadiens best line.
- Mavrik Bourque tied the game on a forehand wraparound that snuck under the left pad of Samuel Montembeault. It was a great play by Bourque to win a battle on the wall after Jason Robertson dumped it in on a nothing-looking play. Bourque quickly skated into the puck and took it behind the net for the wraparound.
- Bourque is from Plessisville, Quebec, just under two hours from Montreal. He grew up attending games at Bell Centre, had hundreds of family and friends there earlier this season, and now has a goal against his childhood team. It’s also a big goal for Bourque, who has been really searching for more consistent offense. The 23-year-old now has goals in two of his last three games and three goals in the past six. He told me he really enjoys playing with such skilled players as Robertson and Roope Hintz. Duh.
- Bourque nearly scored his second after some highly-skilled puck play by Matt Duchene. Duchene fed Bourque on the backpost with a seemingly open net, but Montembeault got his pad over. Bourque died inside a bit.
Stars 1, Canadiens 1
Period 2
- Matt Duchene played on the left wing of Wyatt Johnston and Mikko Rantanen. This trio was put together a bunch mid game and now, for the past week or so, has been a staple. Duchene is a natural center. Not only does he utilize his space well and love to go East to West through the middle of the ice, but he also tends to slide to his right, curl onto his forehand, and use his vision to find offense coming with speed. He has gravitated toward that right side today, which may be a signal that he is not a long-term left-wing solution. We kind of already thought that, and it’s a small sample size, but it’s there so far.
- Duchene has actually spoken about how he thinks being in the middle of Johnston (left) and Rantanen (right) could make for a lethal line. I personally agree that Johnston could be more successful on his off side than Duchene is on the wing. But Dallas also seems likely to be in the market for a top-six winger, so maybe that will be the long-term solution on the left that keeps Johnston centering the top line and moves Duchene into a third-line center role. They just have to give him enough offensive help on his wings, if that becomes the case.
- Bourque gets another great scoring chance, missing the net high on a 3-on-2 with Hintz and Robertson. When he is confident, Bourque not only looks more offensively dangerous, but also has an extra gear of speed that opens up space for him. It’s fun to watch.
- Dallas once again converted on the perfect tic-tac-toe passing to bumper slot shot they have mastered this season. This one started with a bump back behind-the-back pass from Robertson to Harley at the point. Harley quickly moved it to Rantanen. And Rantanen one-touched it perfectly past the blocker of Montembeault. Rantanen to Johnston has become one of the most lethal duos in the NHL, especially especially on the power play, which had just barely expired on this one.
- Radek Faksa, Nils Lundkvist, and all of the Stars did not handle a rush by Montreal properly and it cost them. Lundkvist and Faksa got deep on the same forward, and there was not enough help back from the opposite wing forwards to make up for it. Ivan Demidov pulled up (exactly like Duchene does), swung a perfect cross-ice pass through the seam, and Kapanen spanked a one-timer perfectly inside the far post against the grain.
- Montreal duplicated the bumper triangle passing on their power play, with Juraj Slafkovský scoring on a one-timer from the slot. Sam steel took a slashing penalty while trying to slightly interfere with Lane Hutson to give Rantanen some space entering the Montreal zone. It was the Stars fourth minor of the game and third of the second period, two of which by key penalty killers in Steel and Esa Lindell. It eventually caught up to them, and they have 20 minutes to find the game-tying goal after take a 2-1 lead earlier in the second.
- After Johnston’s go-ahead goal midway through the second, Dallas was outshot 10-2, heavily outplayed and pinned in their own end, and outscored 2-0. Missed opportunity.
Canadiens 3, Stars 2
Period 3
- Seeing thes ’99 jerseys today just makes me more mad that Dallas didn’t roll them out on New Year’s Eve… Against the Buffalo Sabres… Hello? Am I missing something there?
- Jamie Benn took a hard fall to the ice and left the game. Benn was bumped into going after a loose puck in the Montreal zone, and looked to be in some serious pain after the contact. The result was Benn spinning to the ice and being unable to suppport his body weight or brace his fall. He hit his face on the ice and was bleeding while being helped off. Scary sight all around.
- Gulutzan said Benn was being evaluated postgame and they would have more infortmation on Monday.
- Steel had yet another golden opportunity but could not convert. Give Montembeault credit, it was a spectacular save moving right to left.
- Johnston found a loose puck for his second goal of the game, but more importantly, the goal was result of a few excellent offensive shifts. Miro Heiskanen made a great play to carry the puck behind the net and throw it in front, and Johnston converted after it bounced around near the blue paint. Just about from the same spot he knocked out the Colorado Avalanche from in Game 7.
- Dallas has turned on the jets. If it weren’t for a wild block from a sprawling Habs defenseman behind his own goaltender, it would be 4-3 Stars late in the third.
- Rantanen put the Stars on an important late power play with a heavy rush toward the blue paint down the left side. But the even better play came after, when Rantanen collected himself enough while falling down to win a race to the loose puck and spin a pass to Lindell coming down open in the high lot. This guy is just way too good at passing, it’s crazy. Makes me a bit dizzy, if I’m being honest.
- Dallas needs to convert this power play. It is 0-17 in the past six home games and hasn’t scored a power-play goal in three and more than two thirds games… But, Johnston was called for hooking on a loose puck in the slot, and the power play came to an end.
- Both teams were more than happy to let this game go to overtime
Stars 3, Canadiens 3
Overtime
- Johnston could not beat Montembeault low on a breakaway that would’ve given him a hat trick walkoff winner in front of a rowdy AAC crowd. It was not meant to be. Johnston did a great job splitting the Montreal defense when Miro Heiskanen pulled up at center ice and the Habs were flat footed.
- Unfortunately, Johnston soon after fell down off a defensive-zone faceoff loss, and Duchene was unable to read the play quickly enough to switch with Johnston and cover Lane Hutson up top. Instead, he stayed put and left Hutson to walk straight down the slot on his forehand for the game winner.
Final: Canadiens 4, Stars 3 (OT)
Really brutal loss today at the AAC, especially remembering that Montreal played yesterday and is at the tail end of a long road trip. Dallas, meanwhile, had the past three days off.
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Dallas has now lost five straight games (0-2-3). They have been outscored 20-13 and have allowed four goals in each of those contests.
Now, for a season-long six-game road trip that will take the Stars East and then West over the next 11 days.
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