The Dallas Stars looked like they were going to get run out of the building early, but rallied in a sloppy 6-5 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Monday.

Stars lines

• Bunting – Johnston – Rantanen
• Robertson – Duchene – Bourque
• Benn – Hryckowian – Hyry
• Bäck – Faksa – Blackwell

• Lindell – Myers
• Harley – Lyubushkin
• Capobianco – Petrovic  

• DeSmith
• Oettinger

Scratches: Bichsel, Erne, Lundkvist (illness), Steel (injured), Bastian (injured), Hintz (injured), Seguin (SELTIR)

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A tale of two seasons.

Dallas looked uninterested in this game from the start. Partly because they are a bit gassed, playing so much hockey with so many injuries. And partly because this game meant nothing in the standings, and their playoff matchup and seeding are already locked in. They played that way for the first period, going down 3-0. Then they woke up. Then they fell asleep. Then they woke up. Then they fell asleep.

Then they woke up, or at least Mavrik Bourque did.

On the flip side, Toronto was flying around in the first period. They looked extremely sloppy, but were still creating chances because the Stars were not defending or making smart decisions. Then the Leafs fell asleep and let Dallas run them over. Then they came out and scored two quick goals to start the third. Then they fell asleep and let Dallas score three straight.

But, unlike Dallas, Toronto wasn’t sloppy and uninterested because the playoffs are near. They just want a terrible season to come to an end so they can go golfing and move on.

This doesn’t always happen, but this game truly looked like the game we expected it to be when understanding the position of both clubs. It was sloppy. But dang, was it not fun to watch?

One more to go. Then, the real season begins.

Live game notebook

Period 1

• Casey DeSmith needed 10 seconds to get his first really good save on a backdoor one-timer.
• Another sloppy start for Dallas, and this one is costly. After Arttu Hyry took a high-sticking penalty, and the Stars penalty kill made a mess of a loose puck behind the net. Tyler Myers lost the puck and tried to push a soft pass toward Colin Blackwell amidst plenty of traffic in the slot. Blackwell wasn’t in his best coverage, and John Tavares was wide-open for a shot from right in front of DeSmith.

• I have this weird feeling that the Stars could lose to a backup goalie making only his second NHL start tonight. I hope you are reading this and laughing because they won 6-1 (CLOSE). But, I do have this feeling (HA). Artur Akhtyamov is his name. Goaltending for a very bad team is his game.
• DeSmith has made three big pad saves early. He had to make another from in tight on Nick Robertson, as he and Max Domi played give-and-go and made Myers look out of place and slow caught in between.
• Myers got beat again wide, and Jacob Quillan slammed home his first NHL goal after Steven Lorentz threw a wraparound out front. In case you don’t recognize Quillan’s name… Here’s why I do.

• Dallas is down 3-0. William Nylander was unmarked in front (a common theme in the first 20) and batted a rebound out of mid air. What a start for the Stars, yeesh. Good thing the game means nothing, but still. I would think they want to play better this close to playoffs.
• What an ugly period.

Maple Leafs 3, Stars 0

Period 2

• The Leafs must really want a higher draft pick. Nylander with a no-excuse horrendous drop pass on the breakout despite having a man open in front of him and the room to skate it out. Mavrik Bourque made a good play, nonetheless, to pick it off and score five-hole on an individual effort.

• Matthew Knies (former Gopher who was in that Quinnipac-Minnesota game above) made a nice play to split the D and poke a rolling puck up over DeSmith and nearly in.
• Bourque is back. Back again. And NEITHER of his two goals was an empty netter! That’s wild. Dallas has tilted the ice after getting the first goal, and now it’s somehow a one-goal game early in the second.

• I wish this line of Bourque, Robertson, and Matt Duchene would just do something.
• Oh wait! I was kidding, y’all… Another turnover by Toronto, and a tic-tac-toe passing play by the above trio leaves Robertson wide open with an open net to shoot into for his first career goal in Toronto, only his second against the Leafs. It took all of seven and a half minutes to completely reset this game. And now, it certainly feels like Toronto is going to fade away in this one.

• Anybody else get frustrated with Pad Thai? I love it, but I feel like you either get mild, and it’s so plain and dull, or you get medium, and your mouth and face are on fire. Still pretty good though, eh?
• Why do we think the Stars take their sweet time getting into games? It would be nice for the fans if they just started on time once in a while. I think so, at least.
• Dallas has two huge chances to take the lead. Toronto just continues to turn pucks over in its own end, but got bailed out by Akhtyamov.
• One team wants the regular season to be over so they can focus on playoffs. One team wants a terrible season to come to an end so they can go golfing and get a good draft pick. That’s the reality and what the game looks like tonight.

Stars 3, Maple Leafs 3

Period 3

• Knies wins a battle along the wall in the Toronto zone, Kyle Capobianco gets caught flat-footed on an unnecessary pinch, and then Alex Petrovic doesn’t play the 2-on-1 well. Petrovic plays Nylander on the shot all the way — not the move on a 2-on-1, especially when it’s a righty fading to the outside with very little shooting angle. Instead, he slides over to Nylander and doesn’t block the pass across to Max Domi, who has an open net.

• Now, it’s Nick Robertson’s turn. Leafs score twice in rapid succession, as Dallas looks a bit lost again to start the third. Who knows how this game is going to end, like, honestly.
• We were tricked by a flashback, as our Victory+ feed froze. We thought Duchene scored a beauty between-the-legs goal. Turns out, he just skied it into the crowd.
• But not too long after, Mikko Rantanen draws a PKer to him and finds Wyatt Johnston in his bumper spot for a beautiful shot and power-play goal. Everybody gets 45 goals. This game is on drugs.

• This game is ridiculous. I want to be writing something more than just goals. But there are goals every 8.4 seconds. This time, Troy Stecher is battling with Hyry for a loose puck and just slams it into his own net lol. Literally. They really want that higher draft pick. Hyry gets credit for his second career goal. And it’s 5-5.

• Nick Robertson gets stopped by DeSmith on a clear-cut breakaway from center ice.
• Bourque has probably been the best player in this game.
• Bourque! Mavrik wins a battle in front of the net and easily outmuscles Oliver Ekman-Larsson and buries the rebound for his first NHL hat trick and the Stars’ first lead of the game.

• This was a whacky game, sure. But Mavrik Bourque is showing he can truly be an impact player in Game 83 and beyond. That’s huge.
• What a goofy game. Leafs fans get fun hockey, but a loss keeps them in the running for a top pick. Stars fans got a win and a Bourque hat trick. Let’s all just watch some New Girl and go to bed.

Final: Stars 6, Maple Leafs 5