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Welp, the NHL accidentally put a feed of the game online. If you were lucky enough to find it congrats. Let's discuss what some of us saw.
The Stars defeated the Panthers in the shootout tonight 3-2. The Stars had a 2-0 lead late in the 3rd, but two quick Panthers goals tied the game up to send it to the shootout. In the shootout the Stars first two shooters, Alex Chiasson and Jamie Benn, scored with relative ease.
The Stars were dominant in the second period. They were led by the Benn and Tyler Seguin duo. The game started with Erik Cole on their wing. Later in the game Chiasson was with them. The interesting thing about these two units was that it appeared that Benn and Seguin were playing the wings with the big guy in the middle driving the net. Whether those instances were coincidental or not is anyone's guess right now, but I noticed it on several occasions.
Sergei Gonchar had a big game as well. On Cody Eakin's goal in the second period Gonchar had a slick pass to Ray Whitney who tapped it back to Eakin for a very nice goal. He was a big part of the Stars powerplay which, while they didn't score, looked impressive. They showed a lot of creativity with their passes that was missing last year.
Benn was your player of the game. He took charge when needed and looked great. His goal in the second was a heck of a snipe from the top of the faceoff circle. He and Seguin had numerous chances to bury goals. They should be very exciting to watch this year.
The Stars next take the ice Friday in San Antonio against the Panthers. We'll have more detailed observations up in a few.