Game Recap: Stars Lay An Egg In Yet Another Disappointing Divisional Loss

For the second straight game against the St. Louis Blues and the fifth straight game overall, the Stars lost in regulation on Friday night. After an uneventful first period, St. Louis seemed to find their game while Dallas struggled to put two passes together or simply clear their own defensive zone.

Then, just 3:35 into the second period, the Blues took their first lead when Logan Brown snuck a wraparound through the legs of Braden Holtby. The remainder of the middle frame was dominated by St. Louis with Holtby being the only reason the score remained close. To put salt in the wound, a sloppy defensive play in their own zone by Dallas led to the second goal in two games for Vladimir Tarasenko with just 10.4 seconds remaining in the period. The 2-0 lead dropped Dallas to a minus-12 goal-differential (34-22) in second periods this season.

"A little bit more effort, heart, emotion," Stars captain Jamie Benn said. "It's hard to win in this league, and you need to bring it every night."

As the story continued into the third period, Dallas showed very little sign of attempting any sort of comeback.

However, they delivered some hope when Jason Robertson found a loose puck on the backdoor and pulled the Stars within a goal. In the next few minutes, Dallas dominated play with extended shifts in the offensive zone and multiple scoring chances.

Unfortunately, as has happened far too many times this season, they took an unnecessary penalty late in the third, steepening the hill even further. On the ensuing power play, the Blues displayed impressive passing and Tarasenko found the top corner over a sprawling Holtby to extend the lead to 3-1.

St. Louis would add an empty netter after Jamie Benn mishandled a puck at his own blue line, ending the night in just about the worst possible way for the Stars.

The loss drops Dallas to 13-12-2 on the season, marking their fifth straight loss in regulation and ninth loss in the last 10 road games. Keep in mind, this losing streak came on the heels of a season-long seven-game winning streak that had Dallas rocketing their way up the Western Conference standings.

"How do you find motivation?" Rick Bowness asked in disbelief. "My God, we're trying to fight our way back into a playoff spot. Is that not enough motivation? What else is there? You play the game to win, you play the game to make the playoffs. Listen, I believe in this team, I believe in this group. I know we're having a tough time right now and I also believe we'll play our way out of it."

The Stars will look to rebound immediately as they take on the Chicago Blackhawks at home on Saturday night. Although it is only December, things are becoming desperate as they continue to fall further behind the playoff line. A loss on Saturday could bring the panic to a new level.