You don’t have to be superstitious to believe that crossbar was cursed last night.
I’m not a particularly superstitious person, but even I noticed the stat lines being offered by the Victory+ crew last night one after another. First it was the the unreal 7 minutes all season the Stars had trailed at the AAC. Then it was the 7-0 start at home, with the Stars attempting to be just the 18th team to go 8-0. Finally, it was the Ducks being the only team in the NHL to not win two in a row all season.
Maybe I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stitious. That crossbar was cursed last night.
The Stars actually looked pretty solid in this one after the slow start, and sometimes the puck doesn’t drop for you. The fourth line, and Mavrik Bourque in particular, had several great looks throughout the night. But they don’t call them trap games for nothing. We let one go last night. Mike Heika caught up with Coach DeBoer last night –
“It doesn’t matter who you are playing if you’re going to spot the other team three goals. This is too good a league to do that and expect to come back,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “Tough loss, obviously, coming off a well-played Minnesota game on the road. It’s not the kind of effort we were looking for.”
Then we started thinking that maybe we were going to see one of those vintage Stars never-say-die comebacks.
Dallas finished with a 36-27 advantage in shots on goal and an 85-48 edge in shot attempts. As much as there was a slow start to the game, the Stars had a good response. Mavrik Bourque made a nice play to Esa Lindell early in the third period to make the score 3-1. And then Duchene mixed relentless mental drive with incredible skill to make the score 3-2 with eight minutes left.
But it wasn’t to be.
The San Jose Sharks come to Dallas for a Wednesday game, and there will be another sign out front warning of quicksand. Dallas has all sorts of reasons to be uneven, including a weeklong trip to Finland and a compressed schedule, but that is the hand they have been dealt, and they need to make the most out of it.
Read more from Mike Heika’s Take at NHL.com
Dallas Stars Stuff
While the end didn’t go our way last night, I just want to spend a moment appreciating Matt Duchene and this absolutely filthy goal.
Would love to see Stankoven avenge Jason Robertson and get us a Calder this year.
Via NHL – https://x.com/NHL/status/1858617432341885211
And let’s not forget Mush has been on a bit of a tear lately himself.
Via Owen Newkirk – https://twitter.com/OwenNewkirk/status/1858595181836333290
Elsewhere in the Central
Just a couple other teams active in the division last night.
- The Avs held on for dear life against the Flyers behind a couple of Makar second period goals. [LINK]
- Utah HC scored early, but ultimately fell victim to the ageless wonder Ovechkin and the Caps. [LINK]
Around the NHL
The Sharks will be coming to town on Wednesday with a pretty solid rookie of their own, on the back of an OT game-winner…
You KNOW he’s gonna shoot from there. But you’re helpless to stop it…
Finally…
It was a rough sight at the Avs game when a referee had to be stretchered off the ice after a collision. Thankfully, it looks like things are moving in the right direction.
Via NHL Public Relations – https://x.com/PR_NHL/status/1858681079856582661