Last night's game was a tailor-made loss the Dallas Stars. They were playing the second half of back-to-back games (a chronic trouble spot this season), going up against a more rested opponent, traveling to a tough road building, and facing a Winnipeg Jets team that faced a must-win game while the Stars themselves had a slight cushion in their own playoff race.
Everything seemed aligned for a loss, and quite possibly a lopsided one, before the opening faceoff even dropped. The results were predictable.
The Jets jumped on backup goalie Richard Bachman early, buried Dallas under an avalanche of second-period goals and then bottled up the road team in the final stanza. The Stars gave into frustration in the chippy waning minutes of the game. Adam Burish punctuated the team's frustration by throwing one of the gloves of Winnipeg's Tanner Glass into the stands as he skated toward the penalty box. Glass made a beeline for Burish, who got a game misconduct for the glove toss.
No team can be good every night, and things had been going so well for the Stars that it's unfair to criticize the club too harshly for one poor performance. That said, Dallas cannot afford another effort like this one anytime soon. The margin for error in the Pacific Division has largely disappeared again, because the Stars' pursuers are winning again.
If the Stars fail to win the Pacific Division and wind up fighting for one of the bottom playoff seeds, they can look directly at their hideous record in the second half of back-to-back games. The team is now 1-10-2 in such games, and far too many of the losses have been of the blowout variety.
Last night's game was both a defensive and offensive disaster for Dallas. Credit Winnipeg for their hustle and execution, but the Stars were also guilty of far too many unforced turnovers and ineffectual forechecking that gave Winnipeg all-too-easy exits from their defensive zone. Bachman didn't help things by allowing two stoppable shots to get by him.
The loss was also costly on the injury front. Rookie defenseman Philip Larsen, who has played very good hockey of late, was lost to an ankle injury. He hobbled off the ice and could not put much weight on his foot as he was assisted to the dressing room.
In the third period, Brenden Morrow was knocked to the ice from behind and seemed to be experiencing problems with his neck and upper back -- the problem that kept him out for 18 games -- as he struggled off the ice and sat on the bench. The captain remained among his teammates, but it remains to be seen how he's feeling today and tomorrow.
The Stars did not get a single power play in last night's game. They really didn't have their feet moving enough to create even more than a couple potential penalties on Winnipeg. That is the third time this season that Dallas has gone without a man advantage.
The lone highlights for the Stars -- both of which happened with the team too far behind in the game for it to matter -- came from Loui Eriksson. The speedy Swede twice got wide open near the net and scored slam-dunk goals against a helpless Ondrej Pavelec.
The Stars return to action tomorrow night against Chicago. Kari Lehtonen, who has recorded back-to-back shutouts, will return to the net for the Stars.
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