Blowing Leads: A Concerning Trend for the Stars
They say a two-goal lead is the most dangerous lead in hockey.
Maybe that was the case Tuesday night against the Canucks when the Stars saw a 2-0 lead at the end of the first period disappear in a 3:26 span early in the second.
But no lead has felt safe for the Stars early this season.
Against Winnipeg, it was a 5-1 lead early in the third that vanished, as the Jets closed the gap to 5-4 and had the chance to tie it on a power play with three minutes remaining in regulation.
Previous Games
Against Colorado, Dallas couldn’t create enough space to ever feel its lead was safe. The three times it took a one-goal advantage, the Avalanche closed the gap, forcing overtime and a shootout.
Against Minnesota on Tuesday, a couple of power plays in the third turned a 3-0 Stars lead into a one-goal game down the stretch.
In Dallas’ first three games of the season, it was able to survive. But the concerning trend of blowing leads was bound to catch up to it eventually.
Coach’s Perspective
“This has been brewing,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said postgame. “Our challenge is to manage the game right now when we’re up. It’s these leads where we tend to flatline a little bit.”
The Stars had seen few issues until the third period in their other games. But Thursday night’s 5-3 loss to Vancouver featured a deadly second-period push by the Canucks that left the Stars looking lost.
Game Against Vancouver
Dallas was cruising through 25 minutes. Mavrik Bourque scored a bit of a fluke goal when his pass to the front of the net was deflected in by Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson. With under a minute left in the first, Mikko Rantanen scored on the power play to give Dallas a two-goal lead. Dallas held a 14-6 shot advantage that period.
But once Vancouver started scoring, Dallas couldn’t stop it.
The Canucks got a jolt of momentum after a penalty kill when Evander Cane found Filip Chytil on a stretch pass that Thomas Harley couldn’t break up. A two-minute minor on Radek Faska immediately after set up Brock Boeser’s power-play deflection that found its way to the back of the net. Then, Max Sasson got some space and capitalized.
Three minutes. Three goals.
Comparison to Last Season
The Stars are facing the opposite problem of what plagued them last playoffs. In Dallas’ 18 postseason games, the Stars sacrificed the first goal 15 times. That included all five games in the series against the Edmonton Oilers.
Dallas made some impressive comebacks — in regulation and overtime. But the Stars always knew it wouldn’t be sustainable.
This season, Dallas has scored first in all four games. It’s outscoring opponents 7-1 in the first period.
But the Stars have been outscored 14-10 in the second and third periods.
Players’ Perspective
“You’ve got to continue to play. You’ve got to continue to push. But they were down. They’re gonna come hard, and they’re gonna take some chances that they might not usually take,” Harley said. “We have to do a better job of winning our wall battles, continuing to forecheck.”
Goalie Jake Oettinger bailed them out in their first few games, posting 30-plus saves in his last two outings. Dallas didn’t have their superstar goalie to save them, as backup Casey DeSmith made his first start Thursday and struggled at times.
Regardless of who is in net, the Stars have shown a trend that needs to be addressed early this season. If it can light a fire, maybe allowing the first goal wouldn’t be so bad after all.
“It’s early in the year,” Tyler Seguin said. “We’re looking for our first full game.”
The Stars lost three consecutive regular-season regulation games just once in Pete DeBoer’s three years in Dallas. They’ve already done so in Glen Gulutzan’s first month.
The Mavericks open up their season against the San Antonio Spurs at home.
