Dallas Stars Daily Links: More Road Trip Blues

My alternate title for this was “A Tale of Two Stars Teams,” but I decided the Dallas Stars had way more than two identities in their 6-5 shootout loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs last night.

The Stars at the start were the team we have been seeing recently, who were unable to keep up with fast teams and unable to produce offense. Then, the Stars kicked it up a gear and began a scoring frenzy, proving to everyone that they really did have the talent to beat some of the best teams in the league.

And then they reverted back to a team that tried to defend its small lead in the third (despite coming back from a two-goal deficit earlier), which cost them said lead. And finally... well, you get the picture.

But hey, at least I have plenty of goal GIFs to show you! First up is Tyler Seguin’s sweet setup for a Jamie Benn one-timer:

Next is a serious case of déjà vu, as Radek Faksa tipped in a shot from Greg Pateryn to tie the game up:

Seguin would nab the go-ahead goal all by himself, as he scored off his own rebound:

Later, Devin Shore made a sweet pass to Remi Elie, who potted the puck for his sixth of the season:

The final Stars goal of the night (what probably should have been the game-winning goal) came courtesy of Brett Ritchie, who probably thanked Seguin afterwards for such a great pass:

Unfortunately, the Stars couldn’t quite finish, falling just short of the second point. Here’s what Ken Hitchcock had to say about the tough loss:

And here’s the Stars MVP of the game, Tyler Seguin:

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Other Stars News

Alexander Radulov returned to Montreal the other night, but rather than get nostalgic over his old team, he’s staying focused on getting the Stars into the playoffs. [NHL]

Ben Bishop is that much closer to returning to the regular lineup:

Mike Heika discussed the team’s pre-Toronto offensive struggles in his live chat, plus the relationship between Ken Hitchcock and his players. [SportsDay DFW]

Guess it wasn’t the best night for Stars hockey, even in the AHL:

But hey, at least not everything is doom and gloom:

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Central Census

There weren’t any other Central teams who played last night, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t stories to be shared.

First, James O’Brien tries to figure out why the Nashville Predators have been unstoppable lately: [NBC Sports]

A large part of that is due to the stellar play of Pekka Rinne, who might make the life of the voters for the awards a little bit easier:

But does that mean Nashville will win the Stanley Cup? Down Goes Brown actually has the Winnipeg Jets winning in his “ideal” 2018 NHL playoffs (a bracket that doesn’t include the Stars, mind you). [Sportsnet]

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Around the League

While the Predators and Jets duke it out in the West, most would pick the Tampa Bay Lightning or Pittsburgh Penguins to win the East. But could the team to beat actually be the Boston Bruins? [The Hockey News]

Speaking of the playoffs, the Calgary Flames are slowly inching their way back in after plummeting out earlier in the season:

The Flames are just one of many teams in the West pushing for a playoff spot, of course. Dom Luszczyszyn breaks down the numbers for each of the teams on the border. [The Athletic]

For the teams that miss the postseason, they’ll be given a (small) chance to win the lottery and draft Rasmus Dahlin. The Swedish defenseman opened up about the pressure (or lack thereof) of being the consensus top prospect and more. [Sportsnet]

Who could emerge with the Hart Trophy in a close race? Jared Clinton breaks it down:

Always beware contracts that come with terms and a heavy price tag. The Washington Capitals might be learning that the hard way with T.J. Oshie. [FanRag Sports]

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Finally...

Taylor Lipsett, once a fixture on the US sled hockey team, is now working as a color analyst for the 2018 Paralympic Games. Sean Shapiro sat down with the Texas native for a Q&A: