Dallas Stars Daily Links: Stars’ Comeback Falls Short
That could have gone better. Plus, Boston beats Columbus in overtime to win Game 1, the NHL apologizes to Vegas for the Game 7 officiating, and more.
The Dallas Stars had a less than ideal second round start, falling 3-2 to the St. Louis Blues. But head coach Jim Montgomery likes what he saw from his team in the loss:
“I thought we were in place for the second shots, I thought we had traffic in front of Binnington. I didn’t think it was an easy night for him,” Montgomery said. “So there was a lot of our game that I like, and there are areas we need to get better at. The physicality and intensity of the game probably wasn’t what we were doing against Nashville, and those are areas we need to get better.
The Stars might have come out with the victory if it wasn’t for Jordan Binnington, who had yet another strong game for the Blues:
“Another outstanding game. At times they had momentum and he made some unbelievable saves,” Ryan O’Reilly said. “He’s just so calm in there. I think we have to do a better job in front of him, but again, he played phenomenal tonight.”
You can read more in Sean Shapiro’s 20/20 here.
Stars Stories
Here is Jim Montgomery’s post-game comments in their entirety:
Monty liked the process and execution from the group tonight. Areas the team can improve on in Game 2 are effort, intensity and physicality. pic.twitter.com/x2uVWpXdoe
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) April 26, 2019
And here’s the captain, Jamie Benn:
"It's going to be a chess match the whole series."
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) April 26, 2019
Both teams have great goaltending and play stubborn defense. One game in and this series looks like it's going to be a battle. pic.twitter.com/lL5INdIKBZ
Hard to blame Dallas for failing to score on St. Louis — they might have the best defense in the NHL:
St. Louis and Dallas were the only two teams in the regular season with three defensemen scoring at least 10 goals. Might the Blues defense give the Stars more issues than Nashville? https://t.co/YsIlqecTtl
— Matthew DeFranks (@MDeFranks) April 25, 2019
Shapiro discusses Mats Zuccarello and more in his latest mailbag:
Stars Mailbag, Vol. 46: Playoff thoughts, Zuccarello’s impact, players to watch in Round 2 https://t.co/KsdKOwZurQ
— Sean Shapiro (@seanshapiro) April 25, 2019
Around the League
A wild third period forced the other playoff game into overtime, where the Boston Bruins scored to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2:
The Bruins missed plenty of chances early, but a late push and some local heroics got the job done. https://t.co/HwXlUXh01F
— Stanley Cup of Chowder (@cupofchowdah) April 26, 2019
Jack Hughes is playing at the U18 tournament, and boy, is he turning heads:
Likely No. 1 NHL pick Hughes sets U.S. record https://t.co/26MM2wIiw8
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) April 25, 2019
I’m sure this will make the Vegas Golden Knights feel all better, right?
George McPhee says the NHL did reach out to him on the call and apologize. He says the refs made a mistake.
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) April 25, 2019
Says his team is not going to throw a pity party. That they are a good team and are built for the long run.
Furthermore, the referees who made the call just so happen to be among those not officiating for the remainder of the playoffs:
As the teams get eliminated, so do the officials. Here are the NHL Referees and Linesmen moving on to Round 2 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. https://t.co/mMYUJ1trDR pic.twitter.com/wozNofTqIr
— Scouting The Refs 🏒🦓 (@ScoutingTheRefs) April 25, 2019
The results are in: this first round was wack.
Before the second round begins take a look back at the chaos of Round 1: https://t.co/g5W1hBlJYE
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) April 25, 2019
Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas is taking responsibility for the Maple Leafs’ shortcomings this season. So what changes might be on the way?
Does Mike Babcock return as coach next season? Have Jake Gardiner and any other core players played their final games as Maple Leafs?
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) April 25, 2019
Here's @THNMattLarkin on five burning questions facing Toronto this off-season: https://t.co/Jvvqvnx6Qm
Finally...
Still bummed out about last night? Here’s something to cheer you up:
The Dallas Stars Foundation is proud to announce our commitment of $2 million over 5 years to St. Philip’s School and Community Center. pic.twitter.com/uPkZnWOCh9
— Dallas Stars Fndn (@DS_Foundation) April 26, 2019
