Game 38 AfterThoughts: Not the Best, but Better than the Rest
The Stars did not play their best game in this one, but they did play better than the other team. Turns out, that will get you two points.
Specifically, the skaters played well enough to win in the first period, when they were the better team by a decent margin despite 20 minutes passing with no goals by either side. It was not the first time the Stars have had less than they earned on the scoreboard, but in this one, they got enough when it mattered most.
Jake Oettinger was a big part of that for the rest of the game, making a huge glove save on Lawson Crouse’s one-timer on a 3-on-1 rush in overtime before flinging the puck up the ice to Logan Stankoven, who nearly had a storybook breakaway, only for the puck to bounce on him with Jamie Benn joining a potential 2-on-0. The hero would follow up shortly, but Oettinger’s great work in the third period and overtime got the Stars far enough for Matt Duchene and Thomas Harley to finish things up.
The decision to go with Jake Oettinger instead of Casey “Utah Kryptonite” DeSmith was an interesting one, given Oettinger’s heavy workload lately. This week seemed to shape up ideally for Oettinger to get a slightly lighter burden before a long road trip, and for DeSmith to play against a team he’s dominated, but that’s not how Jeff Reese and the coaching staff drew things up. And in this game, when the Stars were struggling to generate much in the third period, Oettinger proved to be the right call.
Matt Duchene was also the right call, as he channeled his own move from the overtime win against St. Louis, though this time he would need to call for backup in order to get the puck past the goalie. But fortunately enough, Thomas Harley’s overtime instincts remain keen, and he made sure Dallas finished up their homestead with two points that have eluded them on other occasions.
“I love it,” said Harley of the opportunity to play on 3-on-3. “It’s a little different, but I love it. There’s so much space, you get to just kind of roam, and it’s just man-on-man on the ice, so it’s good.”
Jason Robertson also understands how to play in the weirdness of 3-on-3 overtime, and his chance came just before the counterattack that drew Oettinger’s save. Robertson just saw the ice opening up for him, and he busted into the open runway to test Vejmelka on a chance the crowd begged him to convert. A lot of narratives missed Dallas tonight, but mercifully, a good one found them in the end.
It was a weird game, though. Maybe that’s the result of a long homsetand, or maybe it’s just the nature of playing an underdog team looking to hang in the playoff race. This one felt like Dallas would be lucky to get through the third period, and they were, and they did.
The Stars also scored a beautiful goal thanks to Jamie Benn, as their best line’s forwards completed a beautiful passing play. Then they scored an extremely scrappy goal by Arttu Hyry and Oskar Bäck on a pinball shot by Nils Lundkvist, because sometimes you just go “TAKE THIS, GOALIE!” and fling the puck on net. Both times, Utah punched right back with a goal of their own, and that’s usually a concerning sign. Dallas also didn’t get any power plays in this game, and frankly, they never really earned one. Utah was a careful team looking for its opportunities, and they found them on a couple of breakdowns by Dallas in the neutral zone, and in front of their net. For the Stars to still win this game was a blessedly different experience than the one this very good team has too often found a way to manufacture in the first half of the season.
So, Dallas tiptoed around most of the mines in this field, and that allowed Harley to make a great play after Duchene made a convincing one to get the puck to the net. And don’t overlook Duchene’s little bunt back to Harley after the puck sits on the doorstep, either.
We've gotta take another look at that one pic.twitter.com/znMuQkgq3Q
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) January 5, 2025
Look, there have been a ton of games this year where Dallas ought to have had more, but the opposition burned them with every chance Dallas gave them. Tonight, perhaps because it was a team who can’t even figure out their own name, the Stars got away with it. Karma always tends to arrive, if you’re patient enough.
Jamie Benn’s goal was that sort of justice, too. After two games ago, when he deserved probably a hat trick but got nothing, he’s got goals in back to back games. That’s partly a testament to how solid that trio has been, with Duchene and Johnston, but it’s also a sign of Benn’s own invigorated play. He’s genuinely looked like a top-six forward since being moved up there, and the Stars are desperate for top-six forwards these days. Captains take care of the things that have to be done, I am told, whether that’s reminding someone to tie a shoelace or scoring a huge goal. That embroidered letter isn’t only for decoration. Few things in hockey are for decoration anymore.
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By the way, if you want to talk more than we already did today about what DeBoer wants to build his team around, look no further than Oskar Bäck. The big Swedish forward got a goal by bulling his way to the net, then having a quick Lundkvist shot richochet off Hyry’s skate, his own skate, and Lawson Crouse’s skate before sliding into the net.
"Hockey can be a funny game."
Can confirm, @Razor5Hole. pic.twitter.com/867EYP1vpo— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) January 5, 2025
Moreover, Bäck continued to see regular shifts even in the third period, when DeBoer admitted that he had to shorten his bench a little bit to “load up” the top guys. Bäck has managed to place himself into that group, unlike Mavrik Bourque, and that’s a pretty clear testament to what sort of player DeBoer thinks he needs to win tough games. And tonight, he wasn’t wrong.
“Tonight, I thought our big guys were going, and we got into the third period,” said DeBoer, “so I loaded them up. We won, so that’s the right decision. If we lost, you can ask me about that,” DeBoer finished with a smile.
DeBoer was pretty clear when asked after the game about the decision to essentially bench Bourque and Hyry in the final period: “Don’t make it easy for the coach to make that decision. This has been the message all year when DeBoer has been asked about players benched or scratched, and it’s hard to argue with the call in this one. The Utah fourth line scored both of their goals, while the Stankoven-Bourque-Steel line got diced up for a rough goal against.
In Stankoven’s case, DeBoer still gave him some looks, including a very encouraging chance in overtime that almost worked out. It seems clear, at this point, that Bourque is trending in the wrong direction in terms of his fortunes right now, whereas Stankoven is still managed to tread water. Right or wrong, coaches want to see players do what they are supposed to do. If they don’t, the coaches will then look to other players, as we saw in the playoffs when DeBoer went with five defensemen.
Utah is a good team, and they’ve pushed Dallas in some interesting ways in all three games they’ve played this year. But they also look very much like a 60-game team rather than an 82-game squad, and you wonder if that will start to set in before long. Utah is now 4-4-2 in their last ten games. That’s not a great way to jump into the playoff picture in the new year.
Over the last couple of games, Dallas’s power play and/or top six forwards had to do all the scoring. Tonight, they got some huge saves by Jake Oettinger (did we mention the great save before the Stars’ second goal?), but they also got a goal from a defenseman, and a goal from a depth forward. That’s a very encouraging sign for a team testing its depth right before a long road trip. And encouraging signs are the only sort I really care to read these days.
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Dallas started out hot in this one after things got going, though the pucks didn’t go in right off the bat. Thomas Harley got a great chance in the slot off a feed from Sam Steel after the forward circled behind the net, but alas, the puck glanced off a stick and went wide. Harley’s last chance would go much better than his first one.
Jamie Benn announced his presence early, holding onto the puck and busting through the entire Utah defense with some vintage work to get in alone on Karel Vejmelka. The puck stayed in the Utah zone for some subsequent chances with Benn on the doorstep, but the Stars’ great run of chances didn’t complete the necessary metamorphosis.
Oettinger was tested early by Ian Cole off a rush chance that became more dangerous than it needed to be for Utah, but he held his ground, as any excellent goaltender ought to do when facing Ian Cole off the rush.
Benn got another break midway through the first, but he just ran out of room when trying to deke around Vejmelka. The invigoration he’s shown since being moved up to Matt Duchene’s line is encouraging. There’s no reason Benn can’t still be a productive top-six forward in this league, when necessary. And with Mason Marchment out for a bit, it has been necessary.
Mavrik Bourque made a great decision to generate a chance of his own, but his shot also couldn’t befuddle Vejmelka. Pete DeBoer said this morning that he is confident Stankoven and Bourque are going to score, but whether that scoring comes tomorrow, next week, or even next year is still to be determined. One wonders how long Dallas can afford to wait.
Nick Schmaltz waited long enough to get a chance of his own, but despite a bit of traffic in the net front, Oettinger was able to spit it back out. He was very good tonight, I may have mentioned.
Matt Duchene got beaned by a Nils Lundkvist slapshot, but it didn’t seem to faze him, as he turned around and collected the puck, then fed it right onto the tape of Wyatt Johnston on the doorstep. But Johnston’s first effort was saved, and his attempt to whack the rebound out of the air went just over the crossbar.
Nick Bjugstad had a rush chance as well that Oettinger blockered away with a minute to go, but that was all Utah could muster before the first intermission. All in all, both teams probably ought to have scored a goal, so a draw seemed fair despite the low goal total.
Jamie Benn decided to adjust that total 20 seconds into the first period, when Matt Duchene and Wyatt Johnston combined to set his table in the deadliest of spots. And unlike everyone else in the game up to that point, Benn knew what to do with that chance, what with half the net being open to him and all.
Unfortunately, the same “how about we score this period” speech appeared to have taken place in the Utah dressing room as well, as the HC rushed right back through the Stars’ forwards and diced up Lindell and Lunkdvist with some tic-tac-toe passing to tie the game right back up on a wide-open chance by Matias Maccelli:
It was a rough sequence for everyone on the ice, with Mavrik Bourque and Logan Stankoven not quite finding a way to pick anyone from the neutral zone, effectively surrendering a 3-on-2 that the defensemen never should have had to defend.
Oettinger bailed out his blue line the next time, however, when Lindell couldn’t quite grab a loose puck in the slot, and two Utah forwards pounced on it. But Oettinger made a diving glove save on Logan Cooley to keep the game tied,
That save would look even bigger after Oskar Bäck’s skate deflected a puck into the net off a Nils Lundkvist table tennis shot. It appeared to have glanced very near Arttu Hyry, which would have made it his first NHL point, but the official scorer only awarded Lundkvist an assist at first blush, and who are we to argue with the official scorers? They have the word “official” in their name and everything!
Turns out, that word doesn’t mean all that much, as Hyry would end up being awarded an assist just a couple minutes later. All manner of thing shall be well, as they say.
Well, at least they say that unless you’re a Dallas Stars defenseman on the ice in the minute after going ahead, because the Stars coughed the lead right back up on a pretty rough play where Nathan Kerfoot took the puck behind the net and out in front with Matt Dumba checking him. And just as the puck appeared to be floating onto Robertson’s stick, Harley swept his own carbon fiber composite twig and appeared to knock the puck perfect for Maccelli, who then spun and slid his second goal of the game home in a sequence that Daryl Reaugh summarized as “a mess.” Indeed it was that.
Wyatt Johnston got another chance a couple minutes later on something between a 3-on-1 and a 3-on-2, but he called his own number and shot it just wide. Roope Hintz got into high gear on the wing a bit later to get his own chance alone on Vejmelka, but, and stop me if you’ve heard this one, the Stars continued to make the opposing goaltender look very good.
Through 40 minutes, special teams had been non-existent, which is generally a good thing for Dallas. But this game was on the edge of a knife, with 20 minutes left to go, and only Jamie Benn had really looked decisive throughout the game.
DeBoer shortened his bench to start the third period, putting Bäck up with Steel and Stankoven, while Bourque and Hyry got some extra rest together. It was a bit of a cagey first eight minutes, but Hintz took a tripping penalty on Vejmelka that was pretty tough to argue, as Hintz just swept the goaltender’s leg out from under him in the thick of the blue paint.
Oettinger made a big stop on Dylan Guenther on a high one-timer, and the penalty kill took care of the rest of the business, setting up Dallas for a rare disparity in power plays in the final ten minutes. DeBoer had called Utah “dangerous” during morning media availability, and that was precisely how this game felt with six minutes to go. Dallas played a bit too loose in their own zone, and Utah narrowly missed converting two great looks that easily could have given them the lead. The ol’ HC could smell blood in the water, and the final television timeout presaged heartbreak for one team, deserved or otherwise.
Sam Steel pulled a Jamie Benn shortly afterwards, which is to say he cut right through the middle of the ice and got a great shot on Vejmelka, but the goaltender squeezed everything he had to squeeze, and saved the shot. The remaining time was navigated carefully, and overtime arrived with all the dread the Stars had earned with a pretty underwhelming third period.
Utah employed the old Radek Faksa Special at the start of overtime, bringing out Kevin Stenlund to take the face-off, then switching him off for Dylan Guenther after winning it. But a Clayton Keller shot whistled wide, and the Stars and Utes settled into a careful back-and-forth until Jason Robertson got a breakaway from the blue line in, but Vejmelka stood his ground on the deke. Then DeBoer put out Benn and Stankoven, and Jake Oettinger made a world-class glove save on a one-timer, then immediately flung the puck up the wall for Stankoven to take in alone, but things didn’t come together in time.
Stankoven would fire a shot off Vejmelka’s shoulder shortly afterwards, and the flutter of the goalie’s sleeve testified to how close Stankoven came to getting out of his goalless funk in a huge way. But tonight was another player’s night.
Matt Duchene and Wyatt Johnston took the puck back out to the neutral zone a couple of times, but Duchene would eventually put a shoulder down and get the puck to the net with almost the exact move he used to beat St. Louis. Thomas Harley would then read the play correctly and grab the rebound, putting it away in the manner of Matt Duchene in Game 6 last spring.
It wasn’t the Stars’ best game, as Jamie Benn said afterwards. But it was a victory to cap a very productive stretch for the team, vaulting their points percentage up to a healthy .645 through 38 games. That’s a great place to start a road trip in the new year.