More treats than tricks: The Stars win Halloween at home.
The Dallas Stars continued their strong play with a 4-2 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night. Despite a shaky third period, the Stars showcased their talent and depth, dominating the first two periods and earning a well-deserved win before heading to Finland for their upcoming games.
First Period
The game opened with intensity, as both teams exchanged hits in the early moments, most notably the dirty hit by Matt Dumba on Jason Dickinson. The puck was nowhere near Dickinson; Dumba made direct shoulder-to-head contact and basically blindsided Dickinson. It was eerily reminiscent of his hit on Joe Pavelski and could elicit a review from the Department of Player Safety.
Once the game settled in, Dallas established control by dominating faceoffs, making clean zone exits and using accurate crisp puck movement in all areas of the ice. The Stars took an early lead less than 10 minutes into the game thanks to Esa Lindell’s patented high flip (thanks Bones!) that landed perfectly to set up Evgenii Dadonov for a breakaway. Dadonov was finally able to finish one of his many recent scoring chances after out-waiting Petr Mrázek and elevating to beat him blocker side.
Shots: DAL 15 – CHG 8
Score: DAL 1 – CHG 0
Second Period
The Stars carried their momentum into the second period, actively involving their defensemen in the offense. Miro Heiskanen, in particular, frequently joined the rush, creating several scoring opportunities.
Jamie Benn capitalized on one of those chances, extending the lead to 2-0 with just 5:18 remaining in the frame. Showcasing his multi-sport prowess, Benn first knocked the puck down with his shoulder before deftly batting it in out of midair for the goal. The assists from Heiskanen and Thomas Harley were well-deserved, as both players consistently applied offensive pressure throughout the night.
While Chicago created a few scoring opportunities, they were met with staunch defense from the Stars, especially from Heiskanen. Not only did he contribute offensively, but he also returned to the form we expect, playing a crucial role in neutralizing the Blackhawks’ attack. As the period ended, the Stars maintained their two-goal lead and held the edge in shots on goal.
Shots: DAL 25 – CHG 14
Score: DAL 2 – CHG 0
Third Period
The Stars continued their strong effort into the 3rd period, though the Hawks did not seem to be letting up like one would expect on the 2nd half of a back-to-back. The power play seems to be finding its groove, scoring about halfway through the period and giving the Stars a 3-0 lead. Unfortunately, instead of breaking the back of the young Hawks team, it seemed to invigorate them.
Less than a minute later, a familiar face in Craig Smith bludgeoned one home on a questionable play that ruined the clean sheet and put some belief in the legs of Chicago.
After a few more minutes of level play, Heiskanen, as he’d been doing all night, activated in the offensive zone but shot it wide. Pat Maroon then made an excellent read and hit Connor Bedard at the offensive blue line. Bedard proceeded to rip his absolutely wicked wrister from the top of the circles, beating Jake Oettinger glove side, to make it a much more interesting one goal game.
Dallas was visibly on their heels and packed it in defensively to try and ride out the push of Chicago. After a few more Oettinger saves, and a couple of near misses, Tyler Seguin made a great play to get the puck up to Matt Duchene, who ended the excitement with the empty-net dagger.
Shots: DAL 30 – CHG 24
Score: DAL 4 – CHG 2
Three Stars of the Game ⭐️Matt Duchene ⭐️⭐️Miro Heiskanen ⭐️⭐️⭐️Jamie Benn
My Thoughts
The Good
- This was another game with good consistently good effort and play for most of the game and they definitely deserved to win this one.
- The goaltending in this game was excellent. Oettinger has notoriously struggled in games with lighter work early, but he looked solid when needed after only 14 shots against in the first two periods.
- Seguin has looked great since coming back and hit multiple posts tonight. When together, that line has definitely been the most consistently dangerous scoring threat.
- The PK continues to impress, and the PP seems to be hitting its stride. Even the two chances that didn’t score seemed significantly more dangerous than what we saw pre-Boston.
- The third line looked very good for the first time this season. Benn had probably his best game of the year, and when he and Wyat Johnston are on the same page it gives this team one hell of a third line.
- Miro was a dominate force in this game on both sides of the puck. If we see this on a nightly basis, the offense will come.
The Bad
- Dumba continues to make puzzling choices with his puck play and now his physicality. His hit in the first period was entirely unnecessary and dangerous and could (maybe should) lead to a suspension.
- While overall the effort and team play were better than what we’d seen pre-Boston, they still can’t seem to keep those 5 – 10-minute stretches of rough play out of their game. I’m not even asking for a full 60 minutes of perfection, just that those few minutes of rough play not be SO rough to allow multiple goals.
- Pete DeBoer is in a tough spot. Mavrik Bourque needs time to get comfortable, but he hasn’t earned a spot in the top 9 where he’d be more effective, and Oskar Bäck seems to fit better in the 4th line role and with linemates Sam Steel and Colin Blackwell.
- What is up with Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson? Logan Stankoven is doing his high-intensity, never-stop-working thing, but it’s almost like Robertson and Hintz are laying back and waiting for him to go get the puck so he can set them up for a goal. Then, when they do get the puck, they make some low-percentage passes that if they do connect will be beautiful goals, but every other time (which is most of the time) is just a turnover.
Here’s a great graphical summary of the game by MoneyPuck.
