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In a meeting of conference powerhouses it was the Western Conference’s second place Stars besting the Eastern Conference leading Capitals 4 to 3 in Dallas. Washington hasn’t beaten Dallas since October of 2008 and the Stars brought their A game against the Capitals once again.
First up, here’s Saturday night’s Plus/Minus:
Ten more notes on the game.
- Both Jason Chimera and Nate Schmidt had great opportunities to score early but the former was forced off his angle and the latter fired a one touched shot off the cross bar. The game could’ve started much better for the visitors but both chances just missed.
- It would be the Stars tallying first though with Mattias Janmark firing home an Ales Hemsky pass on an odd man rush. An unfortunate giveaway from Justin Williams at the offensive blue line sprung the Stars and Janmark put home his eleventh of the season with ease.
- Less than five minutes later Jamie Benn stashed a snap shot past Braden Holtby that came from a pretty Patrick Eaves backhanded saucer pass. After whiffing on his initial attempt Benn beat Holtby over his right shoulder to increase Dallas’ lead to two.
- Tyler Seguin would keep the home team rolling at the game’s 34 minute mark with a sharp shot along the ice. The quick release and puck placement were too much for Holtby and it put Dallas ahead by three.
- With Tom Wilson and Brooks Laich in the penalty box Seguin scored his second of the game, and thirtieth of the season, to put the Stars ahead by four. A John Klingberg rebound had Holtby out of position and allowed Seguin to put the puck home upstairs.
- That would spell the end of Holtby’s night at 21 saves through forty minutes of work. Philipp Grubauer took the starter’s place and made 10 saves over the final twenty minutes of play.
- Alex Ovechkin would get Washington on the scoreboard a little more than four minutes into the third period with a power play shot that beat Lehtonen through the five hole on the ice. John Carlson and Nicklas Backstrom tallied the primary and secondary assists, respectively.
- Three minutes and seventeen seconds later Williams shoveled home a farside shot from just outside the crease that cut the Stars’ lead to two. Williams’ goal was scored on the first Washington shot after Ovechkin’s tally, his eighteenth of the year. They weren’t done there.
- After just missing on a power play chance Andre Burakovsky and Evgeny Kuznetsov gained the offensive zone and Burakovsky touched the puck up and over Lehtonen to decrease the lead to one with six minutes left to play.
- Unfortunately the comeback would be cut short as the Stars muscled up and held on for the 4 to 3 victory. Wilson rang a final shot off the left post with thirty seconds left but Washington’s hope would end with that unfortunate bounce.
Game highlights: