Photo Courtesy: Dominic Ceraldi
The Dallas Stars continue to lead the Western Conference and the league overall now by eight points and one point, respectively.
This week, the Stars went 1-0-2 (4 points) against three Western Conference opponents in Calgary, Vancouver and Edmonton.
The game Tuesday against Calgary was the Stars first extra-time loss as the Flames won in the shootout. The Stars lost a 3-0 lead in the third with the help of Flames young star, Johnny Gaudreau, as he scored two in their comeback. Lindy Ruff talked about the play from both teams in the third period and overall.
“Got to give them full marks, that last 30-minutes they were all over us,” Ruff said. “We got caught just playing in our own end, dumping it out and they just kept coming at us.”
Bizarrely, the Stars came back from a three goal deficit to eventually win a game previously against Minnesota.
Thursday, the Stars traveled to Vancouver to face the Canucks and like their last two games against each other, it was tight throughout. Patrick Sharp scored the game-winner late in the third and Jason Spezza capped it off with an empty-netter as the Stars won 4-2. Kari Lehtonen earned a win in his first start after missing three games with a lower-body injury.
On Friday, the Stars lost their first 3-on-3 overtime game 2-1 against the Oilers. Edmonton’s Jordan Eberle scored the winner in overtime, but the star of the game was Oiler’s goalie Anders Nilsson who saved 42 out of 43 shots. Nilsson’s play helped give Edmonton the extra point and hand the Stars their second consecutive loss in overtime.
Notes:
Brett Ritchie was activated, Saturday, after recovering from his wrist surgery prior to the start of the season. Ritchie was assigned to Texas Stars (AHL) along with goaltender Jack Campbell, as Lehtonen returned.
Upcoming Schedule – All Times Central
12/8 vs Hurricanes 7:30pm
12/11 vs Flyers 7:30pm
12/12 @Blues 7:00pm
