Dallas Stars Narrowly Escape with a Win Against St. Louis Blues
The Dallas Stars were able to secure a narrow win against one of the worst teams in the league, the St. Louis Blues. The Stars won the game 3-2 at American Airlines Center on Friday night, thanks to a goal from leading scorer Jason Robertson with just one minute left in regulation.
“A minute left, you try to score a goal,” Robertson said. This goal was his 30th of the season, and it came directly off a faceoff.
Sports Roundup
Game Recap
The Stars have been struggling to win games lately, with only four wins in their last 15 games. Their power play, which was once hot, went cold in the second half of the game, and their 5-on-5 offense was barely able to find any production, even with the return of Mikko Rantanen from an illness. The team was held to just 19 shots on goal.
Robertson’s goal helped the Stars avoid going to overtime, where they have struggled this season with a 4-9 record. They have lost their last four games that went beyond regulation.
“It’s a huge goal for us,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. “It’s not always how many you score. It’s when you score, and that was a big goal for us from him.”
Power Play Performance
The Stars’ power play started off strong, thanks to Wyatt Johnston, who scored his 17th power play goal of the season off a rebound in the first period. This brought him one shy of the Dallas Stars record for most power play goals in a season, set by Mike Modano in 1993-94.
The Stars started with a 7-0 shot advantage in the first 11 minutes of play but couldn’t build any more cushion before Dalibor Dvorsky tied the game on a St. Louis power play.
Second Period Turnaround
The tide started to turn in St. Louis’ favor early in the second period, as the Blues started with a 6-0 shot advantage and took the lead 4:04 into the period. Jake Neighbours hit a trailing Pavel Buchnevich, who beat Jake Oettinger glove side.
Matt Duchene tied the game just under four minutes later on another Stars power play, snapping a five-game scoreless and four-game pointless streak.
However, after a 2-for-2 start on the man advantage, Dallas’ power play went cold. The Stars had 2½ power plays in the final eight minutes of the second period and recorded just three shots on goal.
Final Minutes
Meanwhile, the Stars couldn’t find a 5-on-5 goal until the final minute of the game. But it was ultimately enough to earn the win.
Oettinger made a few timely saves down the stretch, finishing with 20 on the night.
Injuries and Returns
Dallas returned its points leader, Rantanen, to the lineup, who had missed the last two games with an illness. He was a game-time decision and didn’t take pregame line rushes, but ultimately played. However, the Finnish phenom didn’t look full strength and registered just one shot on goal.
“Rants has been sick for four days,” Gulutzan said. “I give him a lot of credit. He’s down weight. He didn’t feel great this morning. I didn’t think he was playing, and he just came and said, ‘I’m gonna play.’ It was a true game-time decision. We knew with about six minutes left in warmups.”
The Stars also lost defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin to a lower-body injury early in the second period. He never returned.
Upcoming Games
Throughout the skid, the Stars have struggled to stack wins. The Stars have not won multiple games in a row since Dec. 21.
They’ll need to beat the Blues twice in a row to do so, as Dallas will face St. Louis at its home rink Tuesday. The two division rivals will meet twice more before the Olympic break, including a Feb. 4 meeting at AAC.
“I think we’ve stacked three [good games] in a row,” Duchene said. “Overall, I think the last three games have been a way better step in the right direction and some of the best games this team’s played all year.”
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Black and blue: See photos as Stars smash St. Louis for clutch win
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