The Dallas Stars traveled to western Canada tonight to take on the Calgary Flames on their home ice. The Flames have been having a rough start to the season, currently 2-6-1 at the start of tonight’s game, 19 goals and 33 goals against.
In days gone by, this is the kind of game the Stars end up losing, whether it’s psychosomatic or they just like making other teams feel better about themselves, they tend to play down to their opponents instead of forcing their opponents to play up to their level.
It’s a time honored tradition. But first, a roster update. Radek Faksa was announced as a game time scratch due to upper body injury, though it’s been reported that he practiced yesterday with the team.
First Period
The Stars had an atrocious start to the first period, only one shot on goal five minutes in and allowing the Flames to drive momentum and puck possession. Which of course led to the most logical conclusion of Connor Zary getting his first NHL goal.
Jake Oettinger lost his stick, Zary got into the paint behind Robertson, a lot of things went wrong here.
Esa Lindell gave the Flames their first power play of the game with a hooking penalty against Nazem Kadri. The best look on that power play was a short handed rush by the Stars that ended up with a penalty called against the Flames. The Stars managed two shots on goal but couldn’t take advantage of the power play.
The early period woes weren’t as evident in the middle part of the frame and the Stars started controlling more of the puck, but still ended up with a late period delay-of-game penalty.
The Stars cleared the puck just under a minute into the power play and Roope Hintz ended up on the other side of the Calgary defense. He cleaned up his own rebound against the boards and found Jamie Benn all alone in front of Jacob Markstrom.
And the Stars go into the first intermission with a tie game and two seconds left to kill on the delay-of-game penalty.
Shots: Stars 11, Flames 12
Goals: Stars 1, Flames 1
Second Period
The second period was a little bit of down and then a whole lot of up. It started rough again, the Stars just don’t like beginning things. As Daryl Reaugh was saying “there’s a little too much drifting in the Stars defense” the Flames scored, because Razor knows what he’s talking about and the Stars got sloppy.
Andrew Mangiapane, who scored twice in the Flames opening game against the Jets and then not again until late October and then not at all since then, scored his fourth of the season on a sloppy turnover in the Stars zone. The Stars defense was caught flat footed and Mangiapane was alone in front of the net.
Around three minutes later, the Flames get caught on a change as a long pass to Roope Hintz in front of the net ends in a goal from Jason Robertson, his second of the season.
It’s hard to express how much better this period really went for the Stars, even with the opening Flames goal, but please note that there was one shift in the middle of the period where the Flames got caught in their own end for over two minutes. It felt like a power play that eventually ended in Markstrom catching a shot and the game going to a commercial break.
Evgenii Dadanov scored his third of the season a little over halfway through the middle frame. It started with beautiful puck control through the neutral zone and some passing work from Nils Lundkvist and Jamie Benn.
The period ended with a quick goal from Mason Marchment right on Markstrom’s front door step.
And the Stars carried a two goal lead into second intermission.
Shots: Stars 25, Flames 24
Goals: Stars 4, Flames 2
Third Period
Starting off the third period . . . interestingly with a tripping penalty against Dadanov. Mackenzie Weeger shot through three Stars to hit the back of the net to bring the Flames within one.
The Flames very much do not want to lose this game. Six minutes in, they’ve got 8 shots on goal to the Stars’ 2.
Robertson to the box. Stars almost lost their lead on the penalty kill but luck, the hockey gods, or Ryan Suter kept them ahead.
Ten minutes in, the Stars still only had 2 shots on goal to the Flames 12.
Esa Lindell made up for all previous mistakes by keeping the puck out of the net with 40 seconds left to go in the game while the Flames had the extra attacker on the ice.
Shots: Stars 30, Flames 46
Goals: Stars 4, Flames 3
TL;DR
Listen, would it be nice if the Stars played like the team they are? Yes, yes it would. Will they take wins in any form they come, even if they’re basically stolen out of the hands of a team that outplayed them two of three periods? Yes, yes they will.