Saturday’s match-up between the Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers was a major one for the players in green, white and black. The Stars just came off a miserable road trip, one that resulted in a 0-2-1 record, and were at home trying to get things back together. The result- a 6-3 victory over the Oilers. The win gave the Stars their tenth of the 2017-18 campaign, giving them a record of 10-9-1 and a home record of 7-2-0.
Shore Finally Scores in Dallas Stars Win at Home
The game was not an easy one, and the 6-3 final score looks much better than what it actually was, but the Stars will take it. Every point matters and if the Stars want to climb the rankings, they need to continue this. The game on Saturday was a roller-coaster of a ride, with the lead constantly changing and goals being scored in all aspects, it was non-stop, edge of your seat action. Dallas jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but allowed a short-handed goal, a power-play goal, and a 5-on-5 goal, giving the Oilers a 3-2 lead. About mid-way through the second and or the rest of the game, however, the Stars broke free and scored four consecutive goals, one of which was on the power-play.
There were several factors tonight that contributed to the Stars win. First off- six different players scored for Dallas. All four lines played well, carrying their own weight. Antoine Roussel, Alexander Radulov, Devin Shore, Radek Faksa, Jamie Benn, and Jason Spezza all hit the back of the net. Looking at those names, one automatically jumps out: Devin Shore. After several weeks of struggling to find his scoring touch, he notched a goal. Lately, the Stars first line has been doing all the work, and it showed on the road-trip last week when they struggled to score. Hopefully, after Saturday’s victory, the Stars can find some momentum and get a win streak going.
SHORESY!!! Devin Shore nets his first of the season and we're back to a square game. 3-3. #GoStars pic.twitter.com/c7bGcK0O4v
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) November 18, 2017
Still Plenty to Work On
Despite a strong offensive presence in Saturday’s victory, there were still a couple concerning things. The first was special teams. The Stars allowed a short-handed goal and a power-play goal, back-to-back. They went 1-for-6 on the man-advantage. Looking at the past five games, the Stars have gone 3-for-18 on the power-play. That number is not impressive, especially for the team who ranks number one in the entire NHL in power-play percentage.
Another area of concern is goaltending. It is an age-old question with Dallas. Kari Lehtonen was pulled in Saturday’s game after allowing three goals on twelve shots. Ben Bishop would come in for relief and would save all 18 shots he faced. The Stars need to be able to rely on both goaltenders to hold their own in between the pipes. Bishop cannot play night in and night out, which means Lehtonen needs to hunker down. This is not entirely on him though. The Stars need to do a better job of playing stout defense in front of their keepers. Saturday, they had 19 blocked shots, which is outstanding. That effort needs to be brought every night. That is the difference between winning and losing, and that was the difference in Saturday’s victory over Edmonton.
The Stars return to action on Nov. 21 when they host the Montreal Canadiens.
After that road stretch, this was exactly the sort of game that you wanted the Stars to have. #GoStars pic.twitter.com/m5XeQ0PRHK
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) November 18, 2017
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
