Dallas Stars

The Best for Last: Stars Edge Caps 4-3

Photo: Ronald Martinez

This weekend’s game between the Washington Capitals and Dallas Stars had the makings of an epic Saturday night bout. The Caps and Stars are the two highest scoring teams in the National Hockey League. They boast three of the league’s top four goal scorers and five of the top 15 point producers. Both teams are the best in the respective conferences, making this a possible, albeit premature Stanley Cup Final preview. Instead of a title fight, we got an episode of Tiny House Hunters as we sat stupefied, trying to make sense of the madness — at least for most of the game.

The first period wasn’t pretty, but the Caps made it to the dressing room with the score nil-nil.

In the second, the carnage began. Mattias Janmark opened the scoring on a two-on-one less than two minutes into the frame. Despite Braden Holtby’s best efforts, Dallas’s deadly Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin went to work, hitting the back of the net three more times. By the time the period was over, the the Capitals were getting outshot 25-11 and Seguin was just four goals behind Alex Ovechkin for the league lead.

Ovi added a PPG in the third to ruin Kari Lehtonen’s shut out and put Seguin back in his place. The next shot the Capitals took hit back of the as well as Justin Williams made it a two goal game, somewhat making up for his idiotic turnover that cost the Caps a goal earlier in the game. Resident good at hockey lately person Andre Burakovsky added his 15th point in 12 games to make it a one goal game. But the hole was just too big. Dallas held on with despite ending of high drama. Stars edge Caps, 4-3.

(more…)

Ovi Did The Thing, but Stars beat Caps 3-2

For all intensive purposes, the Caps and Stars are both great teams–to the point that their talent is basically one in the same. In Thursday’s match-up, each team basically had the puck at their beckon call irregardless of the other team’s wishes. It was firewagon hockey. “I could care less,” each team basically said of the other’s attempts at defense, which was a mute point. Instead, offense basically wrecked havoc.

Tyler Seguin gave the Stars some leadway after a daring stretch pass and some net-front fury from Patrick Sharp, which wasn’t goalie interference after all. Nick Backstrom extracted revenge with a big bounce from the back boards to tie the game up before the first intermission.

A scoring pause began in the second period, but ex-Cap Cody Eakin nipped that in the butt in the third period with a heatseeker. In response, Alex Ovechkin became the best Russian scorer ever with a tip-in to tie the game. The Stars restored the lead by stripping John Carlson and getting Jason Spezza to rip a quick shot on net.

Stars beat Caps 3-2.

(more…)

Loss Weekend: Stars beat Caps 5-4

Photo: Glenn James

What were your expectations for Saturday’s Caps game? Seriously, I want to know. Two games in as many nights, a deflating loss against the league’s most winning team on night one, a backup goalie in night two facing one of the fastest improving teams– I can think of lots of reasons this one could have gone really badly, but here’s how it really went:

Badly, at first at least. Tyler Seguin scored a power-play goal after Brooks Orpik blew his assignment on Jason Spezza, then Erik Cole got a deflection in front of Justin Peters to make it 2-0 going into intermission.

Spezza converted a three-on-one before the Caps finally woke up. Eric Fehr responded with a goal assisted by Joel Ward, then Andre Burakovsky put a zipper of a shot behind Kari Lehtonen. Alex Ovechkin converted a breakaway to tie the game early in the third period, but then the wheels came off.

Within twenty seconds, Antoine Roussel and Jamie Benn scored– the former with a lucky bounce and a layup, the latter with a rush goal against a slower defense.

Nick Backstrom got a one-timer off a brilliant pass from Alex Ovechkin in the final four minutes to make it a one-goal game. The Caps had some fireworks in the final ticks, but couldn’t hit the back of the net.

Stars beat Caps 5-4.

(more…)