Stars fall 5-2 to Oilers
/Andrew's Dallas Stars Page
The last thing the Dallas Stars needed to do Wednesday night in Edmonton was fall behind early, but that's what they did and the end result was a 5-2 loss to the Oilers.
Playing for the second straight night with a injury depleted lineup and being caught up in the storm over suspended forward Sean Avery, the Stars were likely low in the fuel department.
"I think we were certainly lacking mental and physical energy tonight," said Stars coach Dave Tippett. "We got down early, which is much tougher to get yourself back in the game."
A good start was a priority for the Oilers, who have been struggling with poor starts recently and have found themselves having to playing catch up a lot of the time.
"We wanted to make sure that the first couple shifts we played better than the last game," said Oilers forward Marc Pouliot, whose second period goal ended up being the game winner. "That's what we did. We came out and played hard and we got the first goal."
Edmonton took the lead 1:11 into the game when Shawn Horcoff took a drop pass from Dustin Penner off the rush and beat Stars goalie Marty Turco with a blast from just inside the blue line. The Oiler extended their lead to 2-0 late in the first on a Lubomir Visnovsky power play goal.
"We were a little flat at the start," said Stars center Mike Modano, who scored both Dallas goals in the game. "When you have to play catch up early, it's tough to win."
The Oilers made it 3-0 with Pouliot's goal early in the second period. But the Stars made things interesting in the third period.
Tippett, who again had to only 11 forwards available for the game, juggled his lines, moving Modano back to center and putting defenseman Doug Janik at forward so he could roll four lines.
Modano scored off the rebound of a Fabian Brunnstrom shot at 1:07 of the third to make it a 3-1 game. The Stars' struggling power play, which ended up 0-4 on the night, missed on a couple of chances to cut into the lead, but Modano scored again late to keep the pressure on the Oilers.
Toby Petersen got to a puck in the corner and set up Modano, who beat Oilers goalie Mathieu Garon from the right circle to make it a 3-2 game with 1:40 remaining.
But the Stars, who had a two-game winning streak end and saw their record drop to 9-12-4, weren't able to get the equalizer.
The Stars pulled Turco, but Ales Hemsky scored into the open net with 51 seconds remaining to make it a 4-2 game. With Turco back in goal the Oilers got a goal from Andrew Cogliano off an odd-man rush with 13 seconds remaining to make it 5-2.
Still, Tippett liked the resolve his team showed.
"The mental energy we've expended the past couple days, the physical energy of playing a hard game [Tuesday night] and not having a full bench, it takes a toll on you," Tippett said. "I give our guys full credit. We tried to push back as hard as we can, but we didn't get there. We've got to get a day of rest [Thursday] and Friday get back at it."
Notes: Stars forward Mark Parrish was hit in the head by a Stephane Robidas shot in the third period, but remained in the game.
| Game Recap |
| First Period |
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The Oilers scored 1:11 into the game when Shawn Horcoff beat Stars goalie Marty Turco with a blast from just inside the blue line off the rush. The Oilers were able to extend their lead to 2-0 with 11.1 seconds left in the period when they cashed in on their third power play chance of the game. Andrew Cogliano sent a pass from behind the net to Lubomir Visnovsky, who beat a screened Turco from the high slot. Score after first period: Edmonton 2, Dallas 0 |
| Second Period |
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The Oilers made it a 3-0 game early in the second period. Rob Schremp sent a cross ice pass to Marc Pouliot, who beat a Turco as the Stars goalie as he tried to stack the pads at the 3:41 mark of the second period. Score after second period: Edmonton 3, Dallas
0 |
| Third Period |
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The Stars made it interesting in the third period thanks to two goals by Mike Modano. The Stars center scored off a rebound of a Fabian Brunnstrom shot at the 1:07 mark to make it a 3-1 game. The Stars missed on a couple of power play chances that would have cut the lead to one, but Modano scored with 1:40 remaining to 3-2. Toby Petersen got to a puck in the corner and fed Modano, who scored from the right circle. But after the Stars pulled Turco for the extra attacker, Matt Niskanen turned the puck over at his own blue line and Ales Hemsky put it into the empty net with 51 seconds left to make it 4-2. With Turco back in net Andrew Cogliano scored on an odd-man rush with 13 seconds left to round out the scoring in the game.
Final score: |
| Official Scoresheet | Official Super Stats |
