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Thoughts on Stars Power-Play Fueled Win Over Bruins

taylor newby
·5 min read

The Dallas Stars lackluster power play woke up in a big way Thursday night with three power play goals in a 5-2 win over the Boston Bruins.

The Stars snapped their two game losing skid on the road, and the win also marks the Stars first win in Boston since 2018. Dallas has struggled to score against Boston in the last several years, but even facing top goaltender Jeremy Swayman, that was no problem for the Stars last night.

Ahead of the game, the message from head coach Pete DeBoer was to be more intense, physical and win puck battles along the boards. Through the first seven games, the Stars were winning, but they hadn't fully gotten to their game and the power-play had been abysmal.

Dallas opened the season 2-for-21 on the power play, ironically the exact same start through seven games as last year. The power play woke up last season, finishing over 24 percent and top ten in the league. Almost as if on cue, the man advantage started clicking Thursday.

During the first period, the intensity was more elevated than any of the games leading up to this point. It was physical on both sides, and both teams struggled with puck possession, leading to some chaotic plays. But the Bruins were able to strike first just a little over half way through the period, marking the first time this season that the Stars have allowed a first period goal.

During 4-on-4 play, a turnover behind the goal by Stars defenseman Matt Dumba turned into the Bruins making quick work, with Matthew Poitras getting it to David Pastrnak wide open in front of the net. Casey DeSmith had no chance to prepare for the puck that was ripped quickly over his glove hand by one of the league's elite shooters.

The Stars had an answer a couple minutes later following a good penalty kill when Matt Duchene evened up the score on a fade away shot after delaying around defenders.

The second period immediately started off with a Stars power-play, something that leading up to this game would not have given much confidence to anyone. But 31 seconds into the period, Jason Robertson beat Jeremy Swayman bar down, making it 2-1 Dallas.

A little before the five minute mark, the Bruins found themselves down a man again, which is something they have struggled with thus far this season. Boston leads the league in minor penalties taken, racking up 40+ penalty minutes in only seven games. Once again, the Stars wouldn't miss their chance. Logan Stankoven received a pass from Duchene at the edge of the crease and shoveled it in past a helpless Swayman to extend the lead to 3-1.

The bleeding didn't stop there for the Bruins penalty kill, and on Pastrnak's second penalty of the game, former Bruin Tyler Seguin beat Swayman with a hard snap shot from the right dot, giving Dallas a three goal lead.

About a minute later, Justin Brazeau was able to give Boston some life when he cleaned up a rebound from a wraparound attempt after the Stars lost a puck battle behind the net. Brazeau is part of a fourth line for Boston that has been extremely effective early in the season, but the Bruins need their middle six players to match that effectiveness moving forward.

As Daryl "Razor" Reaugh put it, the "conga line to the sin bin" did not end after the Stars three power play goals. Bruins captain Brad Marchand took an unnecessary cross checking penalty early in the third period and the Stars went back on the power-play. Although they were not able to convert into a fourth power-play goal, the Stars squashed any momentum and spent the remainder of the period fending off any push by the Bruins to get back into the game. Trailing 4-2, the Bruins pulled Swayman for the extra attacker with around four minutes remaining, and Roope Hintz put the empty net dagger into the game, making it 5-2. Former Stars coach, Jim Montgomery called his team out after the loss to Dallas.

Three takeaways:

  1. The power-play went from a 9.5% conversion rate, ranked 30th in the league, to a 19.2% conversion rate and all the way up to 18th in the league. It appeared that the Stars had started succeeding on getting the player in front of the net involved, as both the Robertson and Stankoven goals came from right on the door step. Seguin's goal seemed to be a breakdown on the Bruins' end and Mason Marchment took advantage of the penalty killers overcommitting to one side of the ice.

  2. The sentiment of DeBoer's message at practice the day before the game against the Bruins seemed to resonate with the team. Their intensity level was elevated in the areas it had not been, like puck battles, getting to pucks and physicality. His philosophy of making sure the details got executed also rang true. There are still some areas of improvement, especially in the team's puck management, but the game against Boston was a big step in the right direction.

  3. After a less than stellar year with Vancouver, DeSmith has been showcasing that he is a reliable part of the goalie tandem the Stars decided to go with this year. He stopped 25 of 27 shots on goal last night, recording a .925% save percentage. In three games this season, his goals-against average is 1.69.

The positive aspect in the Stars taking time to put their game together is that they are still winning and are currently 6-2-0. Finding ways to win uncharacteristically only means that they will keep building as they find their game.

The Stars come back home for a one game homestand before heading to Finland to take on the Florida Panthers as a part of this year's Global Series.

Make sure you bookmark THN's Dallas Stars site for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.

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