Furious Finish Can't Save Dallas: Lose 3-2
by Art Middleton on Mar 18, 2010 10:48 PM CDT
in Dallas Stars Game Recaps
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PrintWhen you think about it, tonight's Stars game against the Flyers in which they lost 3-2 seems like a microcosm of their entire season.
There were moments tonight where the Stars looked good and confident on the ice and looked very much like a team that could make a run at the playoffs and do some damage. But there were also moments where they looked rattled and unsure of what exactly they are supposed to be doing on the ice. There were moments of brilliance from key players on both sides of the ice that made us cheer and go "yes, that's it!" and other moments where all we could do as fans was just shake our head and think "how does this keep happening to us?" (I'm looking at you Trevor Daley with the puck going off your body beside the net and past your own goalie yet again for the game winner no less tonight!)
The Stars had a good game tonight where you can't say they played overly horrible at any point but they weren't all that great either. They hung with their opponents as much as they could all game and in the end just didn't have enough to come out on the winning end of things. No one - except for Steve Ott as he had two goals on the night and was the best play on the ice by far for either team - was exceptionally good, but then no one was really that poor either.
More on the game after the jump...
Did Daley and his partner for the night Jeff Woywitka have a tough night? A little bit defensively, but then they did do some nice things offensively and I really liked how both seemed to know when to pinch in on a play and when to back off. Jamie Benn was good, James Neal was good, Brad Richards was good - they all picked up assists tonight - but they weren't game changers by any sense either. Stephane Robidas kept on piling up shots, Brenden Morrow did well to work the corners and front of the net, Mike Ribiero had his feet moving all night and Karlis Skrastins maybe had the best game he's played since coming back from the Olympic reak and his play is no longer a concern for me.
At the same time as all the good decent stuff was taking place though, the payoff in goals didn't come like it did against San Jose the other night and to make matters worse there were mistakes all over the ice that Dallas committed from start to end that doomed them to a loss... No huge errors, but little ones - like the Scott Hartnell game winner that bounced off Daley - that just make you as a Stars fan shake your head in disbelief.
As for in goal, Kari Lehtonen in his second start was the same as all his teammates. He played well, maybe looked a little shaky at times and certainly I think he would have liked back that first goal that was scored by Simone Gagne off a goal mouth scramble... but overall it was a good night for him despite the loss.
The Flyers to their credit came in and played a pretty good road game where they kept things simple at both ends of the ice and got fairly good goaltending from Brian Boucher. That's all they got and on this night all they needed to get two points.
Now while some of you can be (and I'm sure are) angry with the result of this game and how the Stars played, I for one am not and I sense from most of the comments in tonight's game thread I am not alone feeling this way. Why bother at this point? Maybe it's because it wasn't against a western conference rival and maybe it's because the Stars needed a miracle to make a playoff run anyway, but it really did feel like "meh" kind of game tonight.
Just like the Stars effort, tonight's game was not great but not horrid either.
Your Defending Big D 3 and 38th stars:
1st Star - Steve Ott (DAL): As I said, best player on the ice for either team. Scored two and was at his super-pest best all night without ever going over the edge.
2nd Star - Mike Richards (PHI): Scored a very pretty goal in the second and led the way for the Flyers offensively.
3rd Star - Simon Gagne (PHI): I've always felt Gagne is somewhat underrated as a player now because early in his career he was maybe a bit overrated. He too had a goal and assist like Richards and I liked his play in the defensive side of the ice as well.
38th Star - Toby Petersen (DAL): What happened to the hard hustling Toby we had last game? Where did that guy go and how do we get him back?
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Being there in the building
Made it feel much less “meh” to me.
I am…not pleased.
And I saw that Ribeiro turn over goal happen before he even turned the puck over. I freaking knew that was going to happen.
So maddening. Still, you want to win a hockey game? Score more than 2 goals. I’m not pinning this one on the defense.
Petersen
Why was that Barch/Petersen line out there with less than 5 minutes to go in a game they were losing?
For stretches of the third period, after the third Flyer goal but before the Stars “turned it on”, it looked like they were playing with the lead. They were just chipping pucks out of the zone and then going for a change.
I think the Flyers performed some kind of voodoo on them or something there for a bit.
You mean other than
Because Crawford doesn’t know how to match lines?
how come they were in white last night?
I know it’s off topic, but I’d like to know.
I was told that Philly probably requested to wear a different uniform than normal (were those their alternates?)
and Dallas agreed, so since Philly was in black, Dallas wore their whites.
"Officially"
Is a little strong, but they need to make up a 7 point differential in 12 more games. It’s possible for the teams just above them to all go on a cold streak but for a team who has yet to win 3 in a row, there’s not much of a realistic chance.
That being said, they’re playing better hockey. I honestly thought that last night’s game was, overall, pretty decent. At least they didn’t lay a giant egg. They had plenty of chances to get back into it and their energy level was mostly high and they seemed to want it.
Not yet
But with Detroit’s surge coming out of the Olympic break, the cut line to make the playoffs is up to 95 points now. Dallas is at 73 points with 24 points left remaining
They’d have to pick up 22 points out of those 24 available just to keep pace with Detroit.
by Brandon Bibb on Mar 19, 2010 11:13 AM CDT up reply actions
The Daly goal made me cringe...
But the glare Lehtonen shot him almost made it worth it.
lol ... I posted that on DMN blog too
I was surprised I hadn’t seen anyone else mention it. He was not happy with Mr Daley.
I like what Otter said!
“I hate losing as much as anybody, but when there’s pride in losing and character in losing – that’s what tonight was. A couple of breakdowns in a couple of instances, but it’s pretty tough to be super upset when the guys put so much pride and character into it.”
I thought they played a good, sound, gritty game. I grew concerned early in the third period because they weren’t as active. Not really standing around, but a little lackluster.
Except for two mistakes that lead to Flyers’ goals, they played smart and with determination. Those two mistakes, from Ribeiro and Woywitka, were from trying to do too much, but, at least, they were trying to do…that’s hard to fault.
If they play like that every night, we would all be happy.
NEWS FLASH: This is a better team without Niskanen and Brunnstrom!
I’m not saying Woywitka is top four defenseman, I’m just saying he makes far fewer mistakes than Niskanen and shows much more effort. And, (sorry, DBD) I would rather see Barchy in than Brunnstrom. Maybe he’s not as talented, but atleast he hits and forechecks.
I hated losing the game but it’s hard to fault a team that was trying.
Crawford's calmness is annoying...
Where’s the crazy Crawford from Colorado that I was looking forward to when they hired him? I would have liked to see Crawford scream at Ribs for that atrocious turnover…
Here's to all us girls who love hockey...and the men who play it.
by Brad_Richards_Rocks on Mar 19, 2010 10:38 AM CDT reply actions
As much as I hated the turnover,
at least it was a result of effort. That Ribs DIDN’T move his feet right after the turnover and let Richards beat him back to the center of the ice for the return pass and score should have earned him a good chewing out though.
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