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Dallas breaks the streak in Boston

Vaseline October 25, 2024

The Stars are getting back into the win column in a big way.

There was a lot of talk during tonight’s game about the Dallas Stars losing streak in Boston. And as Brad McDonnell so accurately pointed out here, the power play was a big reason for that.

Coming into tonight’s game, the Stars had scored two power play goals this season. Two. That’s it. Tonight they had three. In one period. But we’ll find out.

First period

From the opening faceoff, this game had a tendency to have something crazy happen. Early on, neither team could handle the puck or make clean passes. Both ensured that there were plenty of scoring opportunities.

Less than a minute and a half into the game, Dallas called one through the post. Thomas Harley found himself open in the slot with the puck. His wrist shot beat Jeremy Swayman but clattered against the post and ricocheted out.

A few minutes later it was the Bruins’ turn. A bad turnover by Matt Dumba created a chance for the Stars net. Luckily, Casey DeSmith was playing tonight. This remained true for most of the first period. Logan Stankoven had a phenomenal opportunity five minutes into the game, but Swayman kicked the puck aside. He also smothered Roope Hintz’s rebound.

At the 12:49 mark of the first period we saw the first of what would become a plethora of penalties in the first two periods. Four penalties were taken in the first period: three for the Stars and one for Boston. However, nothing would come out of them.

The first score happened while both teams had a player in the penalty area. Skating four-on-four, Dumba turned the puck over from behind his net. The puck went straight to Matthew Poitras. He set up David Pastrňák for a shot that found its way into the back of the net.

Dallas tried to answer with several short-handed chances, but couldn’t get the equalizer. Wyatt Johnston and Hintz were both denied scoring opportunities. Finally, with 3:30 left in the period, the Stars were on the board. Matt Duchene took a pass from Thomas Harley, weaved through the defense and tied the score.

Score: Stars 1 – Bruins 1
Shots on target: Stars 13 – Bruins 11

Second Period

In the second period, all I heard was Oprah yelling, “You’re getting a power play goal. You get a power play goal. Everyone gets a power play goal.”

It started eleven seconds into the period. Hintz drew a penalty after a breakaway. Twenty seconds later the Stars took the lead. Jason Robertson took a pass from Jamie Benn and fired it past Swayman in front of the goal.

Less than four minutes later, the Bruins found themselves in the penalty box for interference. While Parker Wotherspoon watched from the box, Logan Stankoven made him pay. This time the goal was set up by Duchene.

However, Dallas wasn’t done yet. Exactly four minutes after Wotherspoon’s penalty, Pastrňák had to take his seat due to tripping. It was his second penalty of the match. The Stars already made him pay for their first power play goal. They made him pay this time too. Tyler Seguin took a Mason Marchment pass and destroyed it from the top shelf to put the Stars up 4-1.

Currently, Dallas has scored three goals in the second period on seven shots. The final goal of the period came from Boston. Sam Steel was handed a hooking minor and watched Justin Brazeau score a power-play goal for the Bruins. In the second period there were four power plays and four power play goals.

Score: Stars 4 – Bruins 2
Shots on target Stars 25 – Bruins 17

Third Period

The Stars are a team that prides itself on holding its own in the third period. It was talked about throughout the postseason the past two seasons. They like to get ahead and then play lockdown defense in the third period. This makes for boring hockey if you like lots of scoring opportunities. But it makes for great hockey if you like defense.

Tonight was no different. Dallas resorted to defense and allowed DeSmith to make saves. And he made saves. The Bruins couldn’t get anything past him in the third period despite putting ten shots on net. Dallas’ defense did a good job of clearing rebounds and not allowing second- and third-chance scoring opportunities.

Finally, when the goalie was pulled, Hintz froze the game for Dallas with an empty-netter.

Final score of the game: Stars 5 – Bruins 2
Last shots on target: Stars 32 – Bruins 27
Three stars of the game ⭐️Matt Duchene ⭐️⭐️Tyler Seguin ⭐️⭐️⭐️David Pasternak