Wasn’t that the most fun loss?
There is something liberating in a game where the points aren’t needed, and it doesn’t make a difference if you win or lose in the standings.
I’m not going to bother with the how it happened tonight. There wouldn’t be much to read into it when you’re playing lines that aren’t going to last beyond this game. Instead, we’ll talk about a few things that stuck out as a whole tonight.
Firstly, the penalty kill continued it’s effectiveness. The Stars killed off five power play chances by the Coyotes and didn’t allow a single goal on them. There were guys playing penalty killing minutes that don’t usually play them here in Dallas, and it worked well. That’s the benefit to having a style and system that all of the players have bought into.
Next, the power play connected again. Did you know that the Stars had a power play and penalty kill that paced in the top ten in the league down the stretch? So said Razor Reaugh on the commentary tonight. Colton Sceviour was rewarded early in the game on the first man advantage for the Stars.
Lastly, the ice time tonight was pretty evenly spread with big minute guys getting reduced minutes — something that is needed for them going into the playoffs. Alex Goligoski and Jordie Benn played just about 14 and 17 minutes respectively, a huge change from the 20+ they see on a nightly basis. Tyler Seguin only saw 16 minutes of ice, where he’s over the 20 mark often as well.
The youth got some good minutes tonight as well. Kevin Connauton, Patrik Nemeth and Sceviour all looked good with the added responsibility tonight. That bodes well for next season when guys like this will be relied upon to take the next step forward in their development at the NHL level.
Dallas lost on a late goal by David Moss. I think it would have been great to get Tim Thomas the win, as he played a heck of a game facing 31 shots with no real offensive support the other way (the Stars managed just 17 shots on goal).