The Stars scored four goals in the second period, and special teams got a workout as the Central Division rivals made their regular-season debuts.
The Dallas Stars began their series on the road, and on national television. They brought the burden of hope and expectations to a divisional rival that ended its summer as possibly the single most improved team in the NHL. It was, as The Kids say, A Lot. (The Kids still say that, right? …Right?)
Let’s take another look, shall we?
First Period
If you took the side bet on Mason Marchment getting the first penalty of the game, please step up and claim your prize. Mush got busted for interfering with Roman Josi less than two minutes into the first frame.
That said, the whole period was practically nothing but penalties, and I mean that all too literally. This included a 4-on-4 stint when the Stars and the Preds were in the box at the same time, and Steven Stamkos Himself sitting for two minutes after he hooked Thomas Harley.
The Victory Green Gang may have looked disjointed and unsettled, but it wasn’t as if Nashville could do anything about it. The Predators led the period in shots, hits, face-off wins, blocked shots, takeaways, and penalty minutes. But Jake Oettinger was Jake Oettinger, and for 20 minutes, that was enough.
There’s little else to recount, so here is a picture of Scott Wedgewood talking good-natured trash with his former team.
SHOTS: DAL 4 – NSH 8
FACE-OFF %: DAL 41.2 – NSH 58.8
No score
Second Period
BOO-YAH! The Stars went to the dressing room and apparently decided it was time to get to work. And they got serious right away. If you placed the side bet on Roope Hintz scoring the first goal of the regular season, you might have won as much as three U.S. dollars. (It did seem as likely a result as anything, didn’t it?) But just look at the Ace of Spades – and the Stars’ newly anointed assistant captain – planting this beautiful feed from Logan Stankoven off a big breakaway queued up by Wyatt Johnston.
And 19 seconds – seconds! – later, Jason Robertson told you not to worry about a thing. Here’s the rocket that got the Stars on the board again, fed from a Stankoven slapper retrieved by Hintz for the primary assist.
Of course, these are the Predators, and this is the #MDK Division, and this aggression would not stand as far as Filip Forsberg was concerned. When Sam Steel entered the sin bin after a high-sticking call against Luke Evangelista, it took Forsberg about 35 seconds to hit the back of the net on the power play. Jonathan Marchessault and Josi got the helpers.
But remember how Marchment can take an exasperating minor in one period and then deliver on a power play in the next? Yeah, that guy is back, too. Pity the Perds for incurring hockey’s dumbest penalty, because that’s all Mush needed. Stanky, clearly getting down to work on his own case for the Calder Trophy, gathered his third assist on the Stars’ third goal of the game. Matt Duchene earned the primary.
But Marchment wasn’t done. With less than two minutes left in the frame, he extended the Stars’ lead to three with a nice wrister just under Wedgewood’s glove. Tyler Seguin and Thomas Harley got the assists.
And that was the second act. The Stars still lagged significantly in SoG, but their shots were going in. Even more importantly, they were holding their own on special teams. Could they hold the fort for one more period?
SHOTS: DAL 7 – NSH 13
FACE-OFF %: DAL 28.9 – NSH 71.1
GOALS: DAL 4 – NSH 1
Third Period
We did mention that this is the Central Division, right? Yeah, it’s almost never going down that easy. Veteran center Tommy Novak stepped up for Nashville less than five minutes into the period. Evangelista and Forsberg provided the assists.
And when Dallas got its own dumb too-many-men penalty, barely three minutes later, you could probably feel a single shock of apprehension shoot through the entire Stars fandom. But the PK bore up, and the battle continued.
The Preds pulled Wedgewood for the man advantage with two minutes left in the game, and almost immediately Ryan O’Reilly rewarded them for the risk. Marchessault and Forsberg earned the assists on the wrist shot that got over Otter’s blocker.
With nine seconds left in regulation, Nashville took a time out, clearly looking to improve their chances at taking the game to overtime. Dallas held firm, and the game ended with a 4-3 Stars win.
SHOTS: DAL 8 – NSH 14 (game total: DAL 19 – NSH 35)
FACE-OFF %: DAL 35.1 – NSH 64.9 (final)
GOALS: DAL 4 – NSH 3
The Stars come home for their next bout. They’ll take on the New York Islanders at 7 PM CT on Saturday, October 12, and you’ll be able to watch on Victory+. See you in the threads.