Photo Credit : Nathan Denette / Associated Press
Despite heroic efforts by goaltender Scott Wedgewood and right winger Evgenii Dadonov, the Dallas Stars dropped the second game of the month’s first back-to-back series, falling 5-4 to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
It was a drastic change in game play from last night, which saw goaltender Jake Oettinger saving an astonishing 47 of 48 shots on goal. The matchup tonight, by statistical standards, was more balanced, with both teams recording 31 shots on goal, but the Stars uncharacteristically struggled on special teams, which ultimately was the team’s downfall.
Five and a half minutes into the first period, Dallas’ Joel Hanley went to the penalty box for high sticking Toronto’s Nicholas Robertson.
Halfway through the Maple Leafs power play, Toronto right winger William Nylander sent a scorching shot from the top of the right faceoff circle that ricocheted down from the crossbar and into the goal, putting the Maple Leafs on the board first.
With 9:06 remaining in the period, the Leafs went on their first penalty kill of the game when defenseman Jake McCabe headed to the box for high sticking Dallas’ Mason Marchment, but the Leafs killed off the Stars’ attempts on the advantage.
Four minutes later, Toronto’s Tyler Bertuzzi headed to the penalty box for high sticking Dallas defenseman Miro Heiskanen, and the Stars gained the man advantage yet again.
Just eight seconds into the Stars power play, Jamie Benn scored the tying goal. Benn won the faceoff to Toronto goalie Ilya Samsonov’s right and sent the puck to Jason Robertson on his left. Robertson dropped the puck to Heiskanen at the blue line, who passed it back to Robertson as the winger reached the top of the faceoff circle. Robertson sent the puck to center Joe Pavelski, who was on the goal line to Samsonov’s right, and the instant the puck touched his stick, Pavelski tapped it to Benn, who elevated the puck up and over the Toronto goalie and into the net.
With 2:37 remaining in the period, Dadonov gave the Stars their first, and final lead of the game. Dallas defenseman Ryan Suter stole the puck in the Stars zone and sent it to center Ty Dellandrea in the neutral zone. Dellandrea passed it to a quickly advancing Dadonov who launched into the Leafs zone, skated around sole defender McCabe and sent the puck through the legs of Samsonov, giving the Stars the 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission.
Dallas’ special teams was first to make an appearance in the second period three and a half minutes into the frame when center Tyler Seguin was sent to the box for hooking Toronto’s John Tavares.
Just five seconds into the power play, Tavares brought the Leafs and the Stars even yet again. Tavares won the faceoff in the circle to Wedgewood’s right and dropped it behind him into the zone. Nylander recovered the puck and skated it around the faceoff circle before passing it back to Tavares in the middle of the zone. Tavares slammed the puck toward the net and past Wedgewood.
Two minutes later, Toronto returned to the penalty kill after having too many men on the ice, but the Leafs held the Stars advantage off yet again, and even peppered the Dallas goaltender with a few shorthanded shots of their own.
With 8:05 remaining in the period, the Stars headed to the box yet again, with Heiskanen taking a holding penalty on Toronto’s Pontus Holmberg.
32 seconds into the Leafs power play, Auston Matthews regained the lead for the Leafs. Matthews took control of the puck along the boards in the Dallas zone after recovering his own rebound from Dallas defenseman Jani Hakanpää and skated the puck toward the Dallas net. Defenseman Esa Lindell sprawled onto the ice between Matthews and Wedgewood in an attempt to block Matthews’ shot, but the puck bounced off Lindell’s leg and behind Wedgewood who had anticipated a pass to Wedgewood’s far side, sending him to the opposite end of the net as Matthews’ shot soared into the net.
The Stars went on the final power play of the period with 2:53 left on the clock, but the Leafs shut the Stars down yet again, closing out the second period with the Leafs up 3-2.
The first half of the final frame, by the standards set from the previous two periods, was largely uneventful.
Until, with 8:55 remaining in the match, Toronto’s Mark Giordano held Dadonov as he skated into the Leafs zone and toward the goal, resulting in a penalty shot for the Russian. Dadonov advanced into the zone slowly, dangling the puck on his stick until he reached the faceoff circle to Samsonov’s right. He began tapping the puck from forehand to backhand, waiting for the goaltender to make a move, and as Samsonov dropped to the ice, likely in anticipation of another shot through the five-hole like in the first period, and as he did, Dadonov lifted the puck up and over the right shoulder of the goaltender, tying the game 3-3.
The joyousness of the moment would be short-lived, though, when just 30 seconds later, Toronto’s Mitch Marner retook the team’s lead. Marner took control of the puck in the faceoff circle to Wedgewood’s left and passed it to Matthews at the Stars blue line. Matthews sent the puck back to Marner, who played the puck off his skate before regaining control of it and shooting it past Wedgewood.
But hopes for a comeback for the comeback-notorious Stars began fading even more rapidly just 20 seconds later when the Leafs score yet again. Tavares skated the puck out of the Leafs zone, through neutral ice and into Dallas territory. As he reached the faceoff circle to Wedgewood’s right, Tavares pulled up and held the puck before tapping it to Nylander, who had entered the Dallas zone on the opposite end but sped across to support Tavares. Nylander dangled the puck slightly before shooting it toward the net and under the right leg of Wedgewood, putting the Leafs up 5-3.
Dallas pulled Wedgewood from the net with 3:02 remaining in the game in an attempt to send the match to overtime, and the effort nearly paid off.
With 1:25 remaining in the game, center Wyatt Johnston brought the Stars within a goal of forcing overtime. Heiskanen had control of the puck just inside the Leafs blue line and passed it to Johnston at the top of the right faceoff circle. Johnston launched the puck between the left arm and leg of Samsonov, who nearly gloved the puck, but instead since it bouncing down and across the goal line.
But the Stars couldn’t pull out an equalizing goal, and closed the night out, short just one goal too many. The loss drops the Stars to second place in the division, behind the Colorado Avalanche, matching the Avs in points, but lagging one game in wins.
The Stars continue their first road trip after the All-State Break and head to Montreal on Saturday to take on the Canandiens in the final matchup between the two teams for the 2023-2024 season.
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