Florida wasn’t kind to the Dallas Stars. First, the Tampa Bay Lightning showed that following up on a 8-1 shellacking isn’t all that easy, especially when there is a Veniza quality goalie in net. Follow that with a matchup against a motivated Florida Panthers team that got the bounces and breaks. Another loss.
The Stars came out pushing against the Panthers, but the air went out as a Ryan Suter pinch turned into an odd man rush against. Jake Oettinger didn’t make the save, showing yet again that putting it all on your netminder to bail the team out for over aggression is not a winning long-term strategy.
Next up the Washington Capitals, a team that has spread out its offensive incompetence only to be bailed out by a hot backup goaltender.
Dallas Stars Lineup
Jamie Benn (14) – Roope Hintz (24) – Joe Pavelski (16)
Jason Robertson (21) – Wyatt Johnston (53) – Evgenii Dadonov (63)
Mason Marchment (27) – Matt Duchene (95) – Ty Dellandrea (10)/Tyler Seguin (91)
Craig Smith (15) – Radek Faksa (12) – Sam Steel (18)
Ryan Suter (20) – Miro Heiskanen (4)
Esa Lindell (23) – Jani Hakanpää (2)
Thomas Harley (55) – Joel Hanley (44)/Nils Lundkvist (5)
Scott Wedgewood (41)
Jake Oettinger (29)
Tyler Seguin may or may not play, given what looked like a wrist injury in the second period against Florida. The Stars also played around with swapping Benn and Robertson, with mixed results.
I won’t even venture a guess on defense. Lundkvist should likely draw in because its a back to back, and Hanley probably needs the rest after playing a whopping 13:10 on Wednesday night. Heiskanen topped 28 minutes, with Suter playing the second amount of minutes, in spite of being an afterthought on the penalty kill and not getting power play time.
All you haters just need to take a look at that slick Jani Hakanpää setup for Dadonov’s goal. A heater is a heater, and Hakanpää’s on one (Faksa as well?).
Wedgewood has given the team exactly what it needs and expected this season.
Washington Capitals Lineup
Alex Ovechkin (8) – Dylan Strome (17) – Tom Wilson (43)
Aliaksei Protas (21) – Connor McMichael (24) – Anthony Mantha (39)
Hendrix Lapierre (29) – Evgeny Kuznetsov (92) – Matthew Phillips (45)
Beck Malenstyn (47) – Nic Dowd (26) – Nicolas Aube-Kubel (96)
Martin Fehervary (42) – John Carlson (74)
Rasmus Sandin (38) – Trevor van Riemsdyk (57)
Joel Edmundson (6) – Nick Jensen (3)
Charlie Lindgren (79)
Darcy Kuemper (35)
Matt Duchene is playing NHL game 1000, but for the Capitals Kuznetsov is playing number 700.
Throw in Ovechkin (1370), Carlson (950), plus Stars Seguin (926 if he plays), Benn (1055), Pavelski (1275), Smith (876) and of course Suter (1387) and there is a serious veteran presence on the ice. For those keeping tack, 24 year old Miro Heiskanen is at 379.
Ovechkin leads the team in scoring with a 5-9-14 line. Not great. Washington is riding a heater in net from perennial backup Lindgren to pull back into playoff contention.
Watch out for that second line. A Stars killer with a pair of talented prospects. Also, Sonny Milano sitting out is a blessing to the Stars.
Keys to the Game
Don’t be Stupid. Washington is having trouble scoring – don’t give up odd man rushes or spend the whole game on the penalty kill.
Expectations. Early in the season, the Stars won the games that they should win. This is a game the team should win.
Luck. Things come and go in waves. Bad luck (low PDO for you nerds) happens. The cycle usually breaks when a team doesn’t leave things to luck.
Warning – National game at a later time.