Photo Credit : Tony Gutierrez / AP Photo
It was a drastic contrast to the 6-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night, and a much-welcome shift at American Airlines Center for the Dallas Stars as they defeated the Metropolitan Division-leading New York Rangers 6-3 on Hockey Fights Cancer night.
It was a battle of special teams, with the second-best power play unit in the NHL taking on the second-best penalty killing team in the league, but the difference maker of the night was the Stars offensive push halfway through the second period and into the third.
Stars Head Coach Pete DeBoer made some last-minute line changes tonight, switching captain Jamie Benn to the team’s first line and left wing Jason Robertston to the second. It was a move that proved to be a wise one as the game wore on.
The first half of the first period was largely uneventful, with both teams taking shots on each other’s goalies but neither finding the net.
Thirty seconds into the second half of the period, the pace of the game began to change though, with the Stars facing down their first penalty kill of the night. Center Matt Duchene was called for tripping former Dallas Star Tyler Pitlick, and despite the Rangers getting a couple of good looks at the net, the Stars killed off the man advantage.
Two and a half minutes later, the Stars would get their first opportunity on the power play when the Rangers were called for too many men on the ice, but New York held off Dallas’ efforts, also.
With just under four minutes left in the period, the Stars would go on yet another penalty kill when center Sam Steel took his first penalty of the season for tripping Rangers center Vincent Trocheck.
Trocheck made quick work of showing why the Rangers have the second-best power play in the NHL, scoring just 23 seconds into the man advantage. Trocheck took the puck into the Stars zone to Stars goalie Scott Wedgewood’s left and passed it to left wing Chris Kreider across the center of the Stars zone. Kreider took a shot on net but sent the puck wide and behind Wedgewood. The Stars, including Wedgewood, anticipated the puck continuing its trajectory around the back of the net to the opposite side of the ice, but it instead took an odd bounce off the boards and settled behind the net. Trocheck, continuing through the zone after passing to Kreider, picked it up off the boards and wrapped it around the net and behind Wedgewood, giving the Rangers the first lead of the game.
The second period began the same as the first, with both teams taking some promising shots on goal, but neither team getting the puck beyond the crease.
But with six and a half minutes left in the period, the Rangers increased their lead to 2-0 with a deflection off the stick of Dallas defenseman Ryan Suter. Suter was trying to defend against both New York center Nick Bonino and right wing Kaapo Kakko to Wedgewood’s left. Kakko passed the puck to Bonino in the center of the left circle, who sent it right back to Kakko. Kakko attempted to pass it back into the center of the zone, but Suter’s stick tipped the puck, and it sailed past Wedgewood.
The Stars cut the Rangers lead in half just 45 seconds later though, with a three-on-one offensive push by the newly created line of Jamie Benn, Joe Pavelski and Roope Hintz. Hintz took the puck into the zone with Benn pushing in at center and Pavelski entering the zone to Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin’s left. Benn drifted to the left in front of Pavelski as he approached the net and Pavelski took Benn’s place in the middle of the zone. Hintz passed the puck to Pavelski who sent it to Benn who elevated it over Shesterkin and into the net.
Where the Stars had been outshot by the Rangers 16-7 in the first period, they flipped the script and outshot the Rangers 11-7 in the second.
A minute into the third period, Pavelski passed the puck to defenseman Miro Heiskanen at the Rangers blue line. Heiskanen launched the puck at Shesterkin, who couldn’t control it as it him in the chest and bounced to the right circle, directly in front of Pavelski who had skated into the zone after Heiskanen’s shot. Pavelski elevated the puck over the skate of Shesterkin and into the net, tying the game at two.
Four and a half minutes later, Rangers center Barclay Goodrow took a high sticking penalty with a stick to the face of Dallas left wing Mason Marchment. With just 32 seconds left in the power play, Stars center Wyatt Johnston took a shot on net that Shesterkin couldn’t stop but managed to slow in speed underneath him. Marchment pushed the puck through Shesterkin’s legs, and it trickled into the net, seemingly giving the Stars their first lead of the night.
The goal was called off by the on-ice referees for goalie interference, but the call was immediately challenged by DeBoer and ultimately overturned by the officials in Toronto, putting the Stars ahead 3-2.
With 11:36 left in the game, the powerhouse line of late of Tyler Seguin, Matt Duchene and Marchment crashed the net in an offensive onslaught in front of Shesterkin. Marchment took the puck right up to the Rangers goalie, but lost control of it just in front of him. Seguin was right behind Marchment to recover it and send it toward the net. Shesterkin deflected it away, but not far enough away to avoid the reach of Seguin, who stretched his stick out and over Rangers defenseman Zac Jones underneath him, just barely knocking the puck back toward the net and narrowly through the legs of a sprawling Shesterkin. The Rangers challenged the call on the ice of a good goal, but lost the challenge, putting the Stars on a power play and giving Dallas a 4-2 lead.
The Rangers killed the penalty following the failed challenge, and with 7:21 left, got the man advantage back off a holding penalty called on Stars right wing Evgenii Dadonov, which the Stars killed also.
Three minutes later, the Stars would go on the penalty kill again after Johnston was called for tripping New York’s Alexis Lafrenière, and pulled Shesterkin from the net at the same time, putting the Rangers on a 6-on-4 power play.
But 36 seconds later, Steele, shorthanded, shot the puck from just outside the Dallas blue line and into the empty net, putting the Stars up 5-2.
The Rangers sent Shesterkin back into the net, but not for long, pulling him back out within seconds of the faceoff at center ice after Steel’s goal.
With 50 seconds left in the game, Hintz took a pass from Seguin and skated the puck to just inside the center ice line before shooting it toward the yet again empty net, pushing Dallas’ lead to 6-2.
It looked as though that would close out scoring for the night, but with 15 seconds left, Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba took a shot from the Dallas blue line that defected off defenseman Braden Schneider to Wedgewood’s left. The puck trickled through Wedgewood’s legs and into the crease, and Goodrow tapped it across the goal line behind Wedgewood, closing out the game at 6-3.
Next up for the Stars is another battle against the Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights at American Airlines Center on Wednesday night.
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