Photo Credit : Adam Cairns / Columbus Dispatch
The Stars kicked off the second half of a road-heavy week of games with a 5-2 victory against the Blue Jackets in Colombus tonight.
After a delay in the start of tonight’s game because of a lighting issue, the Blue Jackets made quick work of highlighting the struggle the Stars have had in getting a fast start to the game. Dallas is currently the only team in the league to have never led a game after the first period, this season.
Just one minute and eight seconds into the game, Colombus’ Johnny Gaudreau passed the puck in front of the net to Boone Jenner, who was staring into an open net as Stars goalie Jake Oettinger had followed Gaudreau off the right circle. The puck had a bonus bounce off Stars Joe Pavelski’s shinpad as he tried to beat Jenner to it which was ultimately the catalyst for the first goal of the game.
With 11:17 left in the period, Blue Jackets forward Adam Fantilli skated the puck into the Stars zone, facing down Dallas defenseman Thomas Harley. Columbus’ Kirill Marchenko raced into the zone to the right of Fantilli, making it a 2-on-1 against Harley. Fantilli held the puck, drawing Harley toward him as he advanced on the Stars net before slipping it past Harley to an undefended Marchenko, who elevated it over an outstretched Oettinger, and pushed the Blue Jackets lead to 2-0.
But the Stars would rally back, and quickly, scoring just 45 seconds later.
Dallas’ Tyler Seguin held onto the puck at the blue line as the Blue Jackets attempted to clear it from the zone and handed it quickly off to forward Mason Marchment, who spun around to advance back into the Columbus zone. Marchment and Matt Duchene met in the middle of the zone before Duchene floated to the right circle, watching over his shoulder as Marchment sent the puck to him. Duchene picked up the pass and instantly tapped the puck back to Marchment, who sent it speeding into the net, cutting the Columbus lead in half.
With six and a half minutes left in the period, Dallas would get the first power play opportunity of the night when Columbus’ Erik Gudbranson crosschecked Dallas’ Radek Faksa. But the Stars, who are 29th in the league in the power play, having scored on only one of their previous 20 man advantage opportunities, couldn’t score the tying goal.
The Stars would get another power play in the period with three minutes left in the period with a holding call on Columbus’ Dmitri Voronkov but wouldn’t convert on that opportunity either.
Three minutes into the second period, Harley was called for high-sticking Fantilli, while Fantilli was called for unsportsmanlike conduct against Harley for embellishment, putting the teams in a 4-on-4, but neither team would get the edge while playing off the penalties.
Just over halfway through the period, Faksa took a lead out of the Stars zone after forward Craig Smith claimed control of the puck along the boards. Smith passed the puck to the middle of the Stars zone to a waiting Esa Lindell, who pushed it ahead into neutral ice to Faksa. Faksa skated into the Columbus zone with Smith on a 2-on-1 against Columbus defenseman Damon Severson and held the puck before taking a shot on goal that bounced off Blue Jackets goalie Spencer Martin. Martin couldn’t control the rebound and Smith was there to take it, shooting it between the arm and leg of Martin and into the net, tying the game.
With six minutes left in the period, Oettinger was called for tripping against Columbus’ Voronkov; a penalty that would be served by Marchment. But in what has become standard protocol for the Stars, currently the second-best penalty killing team in the league, Dallas denied every attempt the Blue Jackets made to regain the lead while on the man advantage.
Three minutes later, Duchene picked up a loose puck in neutral ice and sped toward the Columbus net on a breakaway before sliding the puck between the legs of Martin, who appeared to stop the puck at first, until it trickled out from underneath him and across the goal line.
The Stars wouldn’t let up in the third period though, with Seguin scoring Dallas’ fourth goal of the night four minutes into the final frame. Dallas defenseman Nils Lundkvist sent the puck from the Columbus blue line straight down the middle of the zone where Seguin was waiting to tip the puck down and through the legs of Martin, into the net.
With 4:40 left in the game, the Blue Jackets pulled Martin from the net in a last-ditch effort to catch the Stars. He’d return to the net a minute and a half later with a faceoff in the Columbus zone after a hand pass was called on Columbus’ Cole Sillinger but would only stay on the ice for ten seconds after the faceoff.
Eleven seconds later, Dallas forward Jason Robertson would claim the night’s final goal of the game with a shot on an empty net from deep in the Stars zone, closing out the game at 5-2.
Next up for the Stars is a contest against the Winnipeg Jets in Manitoba, Canada on Saturday.
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