Photo Credit : Smiley N. Pool / Dallas Morning News Staff Photographer
The Stars fell 4-3 to the division rival Predators tonight, despite attempting yet another late-game miracle that simply didn’t come to fruition. It was the team’s final game of the season’s second five-game homestand, both of which the Stars closed out at 2-2-1.
It was a relatively uneventful first half of the first period with both teams making strong defensive showings and keeping shots on goal low, and both teams avoiding spending time in the penalty box.
But that changed with just eight and a half minutes remaining in the period, when the Predators took their first lead of the game.
Nashville center Gustav Nyquist stole the puck from Dallas veteran center Joe Pavelski in the faceoff circle to goalie Scott Wedgewood’s left, and almost immediately lofted it over the goaltender’s glove, into the net.
Just 20 seconds later, the Stars were faced with their first penalty kill of the game when defenseman Esa Lindell was called for interference against Nashville’s Yakov Trenin. Despite a strong offensive push by the Predators, Dallas killed the penalty off.
The Stars got their first opportunity on the power play with just 57 seconds remaining in the period when Nashville’s Alexandre Carrier was called for tripping Dallas’ Jason Robertson, but couldn’t convert in the first half of the power play, ending the period down 1-0.
Dallas opened the second period still on the power play but were unable to bring the score even with the Predators.
Two and a half minutes into the second period, Dallas center Sam Steel lofted a pass from deep in the Dallas zone to left winger Mason Marchment, who was heading into the Predators zone undefended.
Predators defensemen Ryan McDonagh and Luke Schenn attempted to chase Marchment down, but just as Marchment reached the front of the net and Nashville goaltender Yusi Lankinen, Schenn stretched his stick around Marchment, and brought the forward down to the ice. The move granted Marchment a penalty shot, his second of the season, and a chance for Dallas to pull the game back even.
The opportunity would be for naught though, with Marchment sending the shot all but straight into the glove of Lankinen.
With 13:25 left in the period, it appeared the Stars would finally notch a point on the scoreboard with a goal from Steel. But almost instantly, Nashville head coach Andrew Brunette called a challenge on the goal, and the Stars were determined to be offside 40 seconds earlier when they initially entered the Nashville zone.
One minute later, the Predators extended their lead over the Stars to 2-0.
Stars defenseman Jani Hakanpää lost the puck at the Stars blue line to Nashville’s Tommy Novak, who poked the puck ahead to Predators right winger Luke Evangelista. The two sped into the Dallas zone in a 2-on-1 rush with only Lindell between the pair and the net. Evangelista held the puck through the zone and took a shot from the middle of the faceoff circle that sailed past Wedgewood and into the net.
Halfway through the period, Dallas launched the beginning of what was hoped to be yet another comeback. Seggy from Dutchy –
Marchment took control of the puck along the boards in the Nashville zone while Stars center Matt Duchene was posting up behind the Predators net. Marchment sent the puck to Duchene, who held on to it just long enough to allow center Tyler Seguin to advance through the zone and to the front of the net. As Seguin pulled up in front of Lankinen, all but unimpeded, he slammed a shot over the glove of the Predators goalie and the puck finally found the net for the Stars.
With only 50 seconds remaining in the period, Dallas headed to the power play again when Nashville’s Juuso Parssinen was called for interference against Stars captain Jamie Benn.
Just five seconds into the power play, the captain notched his first power play goal of the season, deflecting a Thomas Harley shot from the blue line, and pulled the Stars even with the Predators 2-2.
Only two and a half minutes into the final frame, the Predators retook the lead. The Stars forwards had been on the ice for a long shift and were attempting to change for some fresh legs, but Nashville took advantage of the lapse in on-ice personnel.
Marchment and Hakanpää bobbled the puck between themselves at the Stars blue line as they pushed to exit the zone but handed it over to Predators center Ryan O’Reilly. O’Reilly passed the puck to Nyquist at the top of the faceoff circle to Wedgewood’s left, and Nyquist sent it across the zone to Nashville’s All-Star team member, Filip Forsberg. Forsberg advanced on the net, goading Wedgewood toward the center of the zone before sliding the puck around behind the goalie’s right foot, putting the Predators ahead 3-2.
With 12:30 remaining in the game, Forsberg pushed the Predators lead back to two with a wraparound backhand tap that sent the puck gliding through the legs of Wedgewood, and the Predators up on the Stars 4-2.
Dallas refused to go down without a fight, though, and just 20 seconds into the final half of the matchup, Robertson brought the Stars back within one. Stars defenseman Joel Hanley sent the puck from deep in the Dallas zone to Robertson, who skated it into the Predators zone and lifted it over the right shoulder of Lankinen, cutting the Predators lead back to one.
With a full two minutes remaining in the game, Stars head coach Pete DeBoer pulled Wedgewood in an effort to score the overtime-assuring tying goal, but the Stars weren’t able to extend the game, or fashion a repeat of last matchup between the teams when Dallas scored a tying and game-winning goal in the final 15 seconds of the game.
Next up, the Stars head up north to face the Minnesota Wild on Monday and Wednesday at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
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