After a taxing game against Minnesota Thursday night, a slower paced game seemed likely for the Stars as they took on the Rangers at home. And on Saturday, that’s exactly how the matchup began.
Dallas and New York held each other scoreless for roughly 50 minutes, with both teams displaying their strong defense and penalty kills. The Rangers eventually cracked, and the Stars defeated them 2-0 to clinch home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs — helped by Minnesota’s loss to the Nashville Predators.
In the first period, Dallas took three total shots on goal, while New York recorded five. Thomas Harley was the first Star of the night to take a penalty, getting sent to the box for two minutes after he high-sticked Adam Fox.
The penalty kill, which struggled the majority of the game against Minnesota, put a stop to the Rangers’ power play and went on to kill the next penalty when Jamie Benn, Tyler Myers and Tye Kartye got called for roughing.
As the second period began, the penalties began to overflow. Mavrik Bourque was the first offender and got called for holding Mika Zibanejad, but once again the Stars penalty kill went to work and prevented any goals.
Dallas got a power play chance when Vincent Trocheck tripped up Justin Hryckowian, but this time New York’s penalty kill was able to put up a stop after the Stars struggled to keep possession of the puck.
Jake Oettinger had a busy night, stopping over 20 shots on goal, and keeping the Stars in the game.
“I think you can get in trouble when it’s tight and, it’s kind of like the first team that gets away from what they’re doing is usually the one that loses,” Oettinger said. “I thought we did a good job of that. We just stuck with what we wanted to do…”
Jamie Benn laid a hit on Vladislav Gavrikov late in the second, giving the captain and J.T. Miller a reason to get into it. Benn and Miller each got a five-minute major for fighting and Benn got an extra two minutes for boarding.
Colin Blackwell tacked on another penalty when he high-sticked Trocheck, forcing the Stars to endure some three-on-five play. Dallas flexed their defensive muscles again and survived, without allowing the Rangers to get on the board.
Myers hit the deck after taking a stick to the face and came up bleeding. He headed down the tunnel to get patched up and, this time, Trocheck got sent to the box for a double-minor. Myers returned to play later on.
Matt Duchene and Mikko Rantnanen had a few good looks, but Dallas could not generate a goal, despite the four-minute advantage that stretched into the beginning of the third period.
As fifty-one minutes of scoreless play approached, New York’s Matthew Robertson got called for holding Blackwell and gave the Stars yet another chance to put up a power play goal. Duchene slung a puck that bounced off Shesterkin and Jason Robertson controlled it, dangled it and elevated it up and over Shesterkin’s shoulder to finally put Dallas on the board. The forward would later dump in an empty net goal to seal the shutout.
“Just going out there and trying to score. Just having the poise and the wherewithal in the end of the games, trying to stick with it, regardless of the score, just trying to go out there and make a difference,” Robertson said when asked about his clutch goals throughout the season. “Tonight it was on the power play. It was a big game for us — we needed these points.”
The win clinches home ice for the Stars in the first round of the playoffs, giving the squad a boost for the first game against the Wild.
The Stars will hit the road for the their last two regular season games. They head to Toronto Monday night to take on the Maple Leafs at 6:30 p.m. CT and will finish their season in Buffalo against the Sabres at 6 p.m. CT.