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Stars Blow Comeback, Lose 4-5 In Overtime

Posted on by Ann Atkinson

Game four of five of this eastern road trip finds the Stars in Raleigh tonight facing off against the Carolina Hurricanes.

This season’s Hurricanes are possession drivers that overwhelm teams struggling defensively with shots and offensive pressure. This has, historically, been a bad combo with the Stars, who tend to turn over and overpass under pressure.

First Period

Dallas showed up 10 minutes late to the first period with Starbucks but . . . at least they finally showed up. The early part of the period the Hurricanes basically put on a clinic that only Scott Wedgewood showed up for.

At six minutes into the hockey game, the two shots on goal both belonged to the Hurricanes and the Stars struggled maintaining possession of the puck anywhere on the ice, but especially in the offensive zone. Just nothing but dump and chase entries because they couldn’t manage to get through the neutral zone while maintaining possession.

So that’s a great time for Ty Dellandrea to take a tripping penalty.

Four seconds after the penalty began, it was over, as Stefan Noesen redirected a shot off the opening face off.

Calvin de Haan and Joel Kiviranta were given matching minors for interference and high sticking but nothing came of 4 on 4. Then the Stars were given a power play when Andrei Svechnikov went to the box for tripping Colin Miller, but the Stars struggled entering the zone and didn’t get a shot on goal.

And then Svechnikov scored immediately upon exiting the penalty box.

The Hurricanes finished off the period by letting the Dallas Stars go on the power play again, this time when Jordan Martinook high sticked Joe Pavelski, who then scored on the power play.

Shots: Stars 9, Hurricanes 8
Goals: Stars 1, Hurricanes 2

Second Period

The second period saw very little 5-on-5 time as both teams took multiple penalties. Hard to tell if the referees were whistle happy or the game really was this chippy, to be quite honest.

De Haan and Teuvo Teravainen took penalties within the first 5 minutes and gave the Stars thirty seconds of 5-on-3, which Jamie Benn capitalized on for another tally on his team leading power play goals. Another penalty to the Canes

Dallas took another penalty for holding against Miro Heiskanen, then Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jani Hakanpaa took matching minors for roughing. Then the Stars took a bench minor for too mnay men followed closely by an interference call on Hakanpaa, giving the Hurricanes over a minute of 5-on-3 time, which they then capitalized on.

Teravainen got the puck over Wedgewood’s shoulder.

Two Stars on the ice called for a review of a possible high stick from Svechnicok, but it’s pretty clear from this angle that no one else touched it.

The Hurricanes took another penalty for hooking putting both teams at 4-on-4 with a short Stars power play but nothing much came of it.

It’s hard to keep track but the Hurricanes led in penalty kill time but still lead in shots and puck possession.

Shots: Stars 15, Hurricanes 21
Goals: Stars 2, Hurricanes 3

Third Period

This may be difficult to believe after the second, but the third period was nothing but 5-on-5 hockey. Not a single penalty was called.

The Hurricanes celebrated by scoring early after a turnover in the neutral zone. Jarvis rushed the net with a pack of Stars on his back went five hole on Wedgewood.

There was a slight delay in the game after Raanta took a puck to the chin and he had to stop some bleeding in his mouth. Stars color commentator Daryl Reaugh explained that while there’s padding in the chin of the goalie’s helmet, the concussion of the puck stricking can still cause bleeding.

Tyler Seguin brought the Stars within one off a redirect of a Colin Miller shot off the draw.

About a minute later Hakanpaa completed the comeback with a wrister that dribbled through Raanta, after a mad scramble of pressure in the Hurricanes zone.

The Stars came alive in the third and the game was a lot more fun to watch, a lot of big saves on both ends of the ice. Makes one wonder if they know they are allowed to play like that the entire game.

Regulation was not enough to bring the game to conclusion, and to overtime they went.

Shots: Stars 28, Hurricanes 35
Goals: Stars 4, Hurricanes 4

Overtime

Wedgewood bit pretty hard to the side to save a goal from Svechnikov and was completely out of position and without his stick when Svechnikov then passed his own rebound over to Martin Necas. Stars lost in overtime but pulled a point out of the encounter.

Shots: Stars 30, Hurricanes 38
Goals: Stars 4, Hurricanes 5

They close out the road trip on Monday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Puck drop will again be at 6 pm CST on Ballysports or 96.7 FM The Ticket.

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