Game Recap: Pure Chaos Leads To Stars Shootout Victory In First Game of 2022

Chaos. It had been the center of the Stars previous two games before the COVID pause and it remained that way in their first game back. An up and down rollercoaster game ended with a 6-5 shootout win over the Florida Panthers on Thursday from American Airlines Center.

Dallas knew they would likely need to weather the storm early against a red-hot team that had already played three games since Christmas, and that is exactly what they did. After taking on water for the first eight minutes of the first, the Stars were finally pierced when Aleksander Barkov scored a power-play goal to give the Panthers the lead. While they did not exactly find their game after that, they did even the score on a beautiful tip from Michael Raffl off a John Klingberg point shot.

Braden Holtby made 18 saves in the period, holding Dallas in the game and the Stars actually ended the period on the power play with a chance to take their first lead.

The story would not work out that way though, as Barkov stole a puck, beat Miro Heiskanen, and slid a slick backhand past Holtby for the shorthanded goal just 18 seconds into the period. It was the first shorthanded goal the Stars have allowed this season and a rare occurrence of an offensive player getting the best of Heiskanen.

The power play turned out to be equal opportunity, however, as Denis Gurianov found a loose puck behind Serge Bobrovsky to tie the game once again in the final seconds. This sequence was just the first of many chaotic moments that would occur throughout the game.

"There was a little bit of everything out there tonight," Stars coach Rick Bowness said. "Were we a little rusty in the first period? Absolutely. They have a lot of elite players over there so give them a ton of credit because that's a great hockey team. Give our guys a lot of credit for finding a way to win."

The remainder of the second period saw Dallas erase a 3-2 deficit, storm back with two goals in 28 seconds to take a 4-3 lead, and then allow the tying goal just a few minutes later. All four goals came at even strength as neither team was able to solidify their defensive game.

The third period was far more calm…for the most part. Dallas first regained their lead six minutes into the frame when Gurianov took advantage of an egregious turnover by Bobrovsky, finding a wide-open Jamie Benn in front, who ripped a wrister past the sprawling netminder. This line dominated play all night long as Gurianov had one goal and two assists, Benn had one goal and one assist, and Seguin tallied a goal for the second straight game.

The Stars held the lead for the next 13 minutes of the period and looked like they would skate away with a 5-4 victory. But with the Panthers net empty for the final 2:35 of play, Heiskanen missed the left post by an inch and Holtby made two incredible saves in tight before Jonathan Huberdeau ripped a shot by him from the top of the circle to tie the game with only 29 seconds remaining.

The teams headed to overtime, Florida energized with a late comeback and Dallas stunned after coming so close to a victory. Just like the rest of the game, the overtime could be described in one word, chaotic.

First, Dallas controlled the puck for an extended time, threatening but never recorded a high-danger scoring chance. Then, Florida had their chance with a breakaway, odd-man rush, and an extended shift in the Stars zone that saw Seguin, Benn, and Heiskanen on the ice for far too long. Dead tired and gasping for air, Benn finally stole the puck away but was pressured into a sloppy pass back to Holtby that almost blew up in his face.

Holtby was able to push the puck away, however, and the Stars skated up the ice on a 2-on-1 with only seconds remaining in overtime. Seguin made a skilled play on the backhand to slide the pass over the Klingberg, who snapped a shot off the right post as time expired. For what felt like the 10th time of the night, Dallas came so close to winning the game.

In the shootout, the drama finally ended. First, Joe Pavelski beat Bobrovsky through the five-hole to get the Stars off and running. Then, after a save from Holtby, Jason Robertson repeated the process, giving Dallas a commanding 2-0 lead. Holtby remained perfect in the shootout, stopping Anton Lundell and securing a well-earned two points for his team.

"He made a lot of big saves in the first period," Bowness said. "He gave us a chance to win that game with his play in the first period because we were clearly turning the puck over at our blueline and we were giving them way too many scoring chances in the first. He did his job and then did it in overtime. I know we gave up five but a lot of that is on us as a team and we'll fix those things. This guy is a competitor and a battler, and he showed that in the third period and overtime."

Holtby finished the night with 37 saves and the Stars won their third game in a row, snapping a four-game winning streak for the Panthers. Was it perfect? Not even close. But the Stars are happy to take the two points and move on.

“It wasn’t our prettiest but we got the result we wanted and we are going to try to keep building,” Stars captain Jamie Benn said. “First game in 17 days is never easy but we got it done.”

Dallas returns to the ice on Saturday afternoon when they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins, winners of 10 in a row, at home. They will then play travel to St. Louis, to face off against the Blues on Sunday afternoon.