Slow start dooms Stars in 4-1 loss to Oilers
/Andrew's Dallas Stars Page
The Dallas Stars had another big night in the shots on goal department, but it didn't add up to a win. The Stars fell behind early and could never catch up, falling 4-1 to the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place Saturday night.
"If we are going to be a good team we have to bring the consistency every night. This is a slap in the face for our team," said Stars coach Dave Tippett. "We didn't compete hard enough. Our top players right through the bottom of our lineup, we didn't push this game hard enough. We should have looked at this like a playoff game and we didn't do enough to win the game."
The Stars and Oilers, both trying to climb into the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, came into the game tied at 37 points, so this was a crucial game. The loss dropped the Stars back to .500 on the season (16-16-5) and dropped them to 13th place while the Oilers climbed into a tie for ninth place.
'The disheartening thing is they gained valuable points on us in the standings," said Stars forward Steve Ott. "We're all fighting for that last playoff spot and it's January now. It's a playoff game and coming up short is something we didn't want to do."
The Stars dug themselves a hole early in the game, giving up two goals in a 56 second span just before the midway point of the first period - both off the rush - to give the Oilers control of the game. Erik Cole scored off a shot from the right circle and Sheldon Souray split the Dallas defense and scored on a wrist shot from close range.
"Early on we weren't even close," Tippett said. "We gave up two goals that started behind their net. Two-hundred feet away you give up two soft goals early and you are chasing the game.
The Oilers added a power play goal in the third period when Dustin Penner scored off the rebound of a Souray blast from the point to make it a 3-0 game. Stars rookie James Neal banged home a rebound late in the second to make it 3-1, but that was all the Stars could get past Oilers goalie Dwayne Roloson, who made 38 saves in the game.
The Stars had a 39-19 advantage in shots, but Tippett didn't feel they were the kind of shots the Stars needed to generate goals.
"Not enough what we call greasy ones around the net," Tippett said. "Lots of outside stuff."
The Stars were 0-5 on the power play goal.
The Oilers snapped a two-game losing streak and improved to 18-16-3 on the season.
"This is a key stretch of games for us to start building something and put some wins together, especially coming off our last two losses," Cole said. "We need to come out every night and show the same kind of enthusiasm that we showed tonight."
The Stars lost another forward in the game. Right wing Landon Wilson was injured in a first period fight with Penner. Wilson was knocked down in the fight and hit the ice hard. The Stars said he has an undisclosed injury and will be re-evaluated Sunday.
| First Period |
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The Stars outshot the Oilers 12-5 in the first period and had four power play chances, but the Oilers had a 2-0 lead when the first period ended. The Oilers took the lead when 8:41 into the game when Erik Cole took a pass from Sam Gagner off the rush and beat Stars goalie Marty Turco with a shot from the right faceoff circle. Just 56 seconds later Oilers defenseman Sheldon Souray joined the rush, took a pass from Shawn Horcoff, split the Stars defense and scored off a wrist shot. The Stars had a chance to cut into the lead in the period, but Oilers goalie Dwayne Roloson made a sharp save on a Loui Eriksson chance. Stars forward Landon Wilson left the game at the 8:07 mark of the first period after hitting the ice hard during a fight with Edmonton's Dustin Penner. Wilson did not return to the game. Score after first period: Edmonton 2, Dallas 0 |
| Second Period |
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The Stars got three power plays early in the third period and scored on the third one. Souray hit the post with a blast from the point and Dustin Penner scored off the rebound at the 7:23 mark. The Stars finally broke through on Roloson late in the period when James Neal finished off an energetic shift by scoring off the rebound of an Andrew Hutchinson shot from the right point with 2:24 left in the period. Score after second period: Edmonton 3, Dallas
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| Third Period |
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Roloson came up with another big stop on Eriksson to keep it a 3-1 game in the third period. The Stars outshot the Oilers 14-6 in the period, but could not get another puck by Roloson. Andrew Cogliano scored off a nice set up by Robert Nilsson with 5;26 remaining to make it a 4-1 game and round out the scoring on the night. Final score: Edmonton 4, Dallas 1 |
| Official Scoresheet | Official Super Stats |
