The Dallas Stars used to be a really fun team, but they’ve gotten kinda boring under Ken Hitchcock. Nonetheless, for some wacky reason, Tuesday’s road date with the Stars was entertaining as hell – in a messy way.

Andre Burakovsky, your player of the game for damn sure, kicked us off with an impressive sequence assisted by Brett Connolly. The Stars fired back with a power play goal tipped by Jamie Benn on a shot by John Klingberg. Gemel Smith made it 2-1 with a rebounder int he second period, but Dmitry Orlov tied it up with a highlight-reel goal we’ll be talking about for a while. Alex Radulov ripped the a go-ahead goal from the slot with under five minutes left in regulation, but the third line responded with a timely tying tally right after.

Andre Burakovsky was your overtime hero!

Caps beat Stars 4-3 in overtime!

• Andre Burakovsky went nearly two months between goals, but he didn’t play much in those two months. Six games returned from a hand injury, Andre looks just fine to me. His two goals and his assist on Connoly’s goals had all the marks of a confident player working on a good line, which are two things the Caps really need in their bottom six right now. A three-point night with two goals, including the OTGWG. Very encouraging!
• This: less so!
• So Tom Wilson is back on his bullshirt. When Antoine Roussel put a late hit on TJ Oshie, in his first game back from his fourth career head injury, it was surpringly Jakub Vrana who took umbrage first. Not long after, Wilson wanted to make sure the message was clear: please don’t be a toilet person to our newly healthy star forward pretty please. Wilson pounded Roussel but got an extra penalty, upon which the Stars scored almost instantly.
• And that sorta set the tone for Wilson’s night. After a few solid weeks of top-line contribution, Wilson racked up eight penalty minutes and missed a little time in the first period after, I presume, he repeatedly hit a vinyl nitrile helmet with his fists like a smart boy.

• Also having a terrible night but with far less fanfare, Evgeny Kuznetsov‘s line got totally caved in, especially when head-to-head against the Seguin line. Linemate TJ Oshie, returned from an upper-body injury, didn’t stand out either way, but he sure did spend the night in his own zone – including a bad block off his lower body in the final five minutes (though he played in OT). Aside from that bad matchup, the Caps owned the puck – though the shot-attempt chart won’t really tell you that.
• And then there’s Dmitry Orlov, who scored the neatest goal of the season so far. He had all the confidence of a superstar forward at the peak of his career in his drive against Klingberg and Bishop. Orlov isn’t always flashy, but when he flashes he can blind you. Ugh I just re-read that and it doesn’t read good, but I’m not changing it now. You know what I meant.

#JoeBSuitOfTheNight #CapsStars pic.twitter.com/RjUruqeM7G

— Ian Oland (@ianoland) December 20, 2017

I’ve been harping on the Caps’ bottom six lately, but this performance might get me to shut up – or at least exclude the third line. Burakovsky-Eller-Connolly had a sublime night. Heading into the holidays, it gives me cheer. Thank you, Dre!

See ya next time.

Full RMNB Coverage of Caps at Stars

Headline photo: Glenn James