The Dallas Stars ripped off another huge second period in a blowout 6-1 win against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday.
Stars lines
Robertson – Johnston – Bourque
Steel – Duchene – Benn
Erne – Hryckowian – Blackwell
Bäck – Hyry – Bastian
Lindell – Heiskanen
Harley – Lundkvist
Bichsel – Lyubushkin
Scratches: Alex Petrovic (happy birthday!), Kyle Capobianco
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Good hockey and loads of offense.
Matt Duchene is absolutely lighting it up offensively and has found some real chemistry with Sam Steel. The depth forwards are adding goals. The defense has found some consistency, especially with Thomas Harley playing closer to his usual self and Lian Bichsel returning. Goaltending has been good. The physicality has ramped up. And they have now won 10 games in a row, extending the franchise record.
How far can they take it?
This is a great time to be playing this way. The key for teams is to find their game at the right time. It doesn’t matter if you get off to an incredible start if you lose to Dallas in the second round or get swept in round one. You have to be playing not only your best hockey, but the right style of hockey, as you inch closer to the playoffs. Dallas was winning games early, but didn’t look great. They had to reset after losing the final six games last spring. It took them some time to get going against Colorado.
I know we still have 21 games left, but these are all good signs for the Stars, who are still without Mikko Rantanen, Roope Hintz, Radek Faksa, and of course, Tyler Seguin.
It is really going to be interesting to watch this deadline. They still have their needs, but have they slightly shifted? Do they have more faith in some players like Mavrik Bourque to grab a role? And really, when is Rantanen going to be back?
Live game notebook
Period 1
Remember this guy??
Dallas has had a lot of trouble identifying and solving Calgary Flames off the rush.
Bourque made a nice pass to send Steel in on the power play, but then Bourque decided to run over Dustin Wolf in the crease, and the power play was no more.
Bourque with another excellent pass through the middle entering the offensive zone. I repeat, I have loved his game lately.
Steel deflected Duchene’s shot off a body and in. I thought the entry was way offside, but Calgary did not even challenge, and the goal stands. Looks like the puck never actually came out of the zone. According to the broadcast, Dallas has not lost a game in which Steel has scored. That is pretty hilarious.
Calgary answers very quickly on a nasty deflection by Morgan Frost. Dallas did not pick him up in front, and Frost somehow bunted the shot out of mid air right on top of Casey DeSmith.
There is not a lot of defense or goaltending going on in this game. Duchene collected a puck and while facing the boards, tossed a sweet little saucer pass right onto the tape of Jamie Benn in the left circle. The shot should probably not go in. But the pass was pretty nifty for the Dallas Stars with maybe the biggest turnaround this season.
Weird period. Stars lead after 20.
Stars 2, Flames 1
Period 2
Remember that guy Mavrik Bourque we were talking about earlier? He had his motor going in the offensive zone and got a hand on a long point shot by Jason Robertson after a great forecheck by Dallas. The Stars forecheck has been a problem for opponents during this streak.
As Razor said on the broadcast, Wolf is able to “touch his cup on the ice” in full splits. He did it to make two saves in tight. Calgary is holding on to try and keep this within reach right now.
Duchene and Steel have really developed some chemistry since Duchene found his game. They have scored a few pretty goals, and they did it again with a spin-o-rama and saucer pass by Duchene. Duchene is feelin’ saucy tonight, and Steel has two goals. Funny that the better scoring chance really would have come from Duchene just taking it to the net on a mini breakaway. Team is rolling. Dustin Wolf has been pulled for Devin Cooley.
It will not stop. Calgary is doing a whole bunch of nothing to defend around its own net. Lethal goal scorer Nathan Bastian easily deflects a point shot up into the top corner from the high slot. The Stars are, for the second game in as many nights, running a Western Canadian team out of its own building. 5-1 with a power play upcoming and lots of time left.
I am not sure where the ratio is of how well Dallas is playing vs how bad Vancouver and Calgary are/are playing… But I also don’t care. The important thing is that the Stars are doing what they should be doing to lesser opponents, even without three forwards.
Future Star Blake Coleman shot through the middle and took a nice pass into the slot. The first real test for DeSmith in a while. How good has he been this year?
Wyatt Johnston is now one away from the franchise record for power-play goals in a season. Duchene continues to rack up points. Dallas is well on its way to a 10th straight win. Wow.
Stars 6 (SIX), Flames 1
Period 3
Do y’all remember when Benn and Seguin exploded against Calgary in 2013?
That was awesome. I remember “studying” kinesiology with a group of of classmates in a booked room in the library out in Orange, California. I pulled my weight, as usual, by watching Benneguin vs Calgary and doing absolutely no work. I did not pass the test the following day.
But school is for fools. Everybody knows that.
Joel Hanley has taken two delay of game penalties in a short span. That’s not great.
Cooley made a diving save — shades of Marc Andre Fleury — and Benn told him so afterward. Cooley said, “thank you.”
This game has faded away in the third period.
Bourque went after 6-foot-8 Adam Klapka, who had just hit Adam Erne in front of the Dallas bench. Bourque knocked him down. And while it was a penalty, I don’t care because I absolutely love it.
The bench reaction may have been even better than the hit.
What a back-to-back set for Dallas.
Time for the trade deadline and a real test against the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche on Friday.