(That title might be a grammatical nightmare but roll with it)
Absolutely classic move by the Stars to lose like this. God bless ’em, they’re my boys. But oh BOY if I ever wanna see Tyler Seguin raise the Cup again, I am going to need them to figure their shit out. Tonight they faced the Arizona Coyotes in the hopes of collecting the sacred point that would punch their playoff tickets. And yes, they got that point but it was in a quite embarrassing fashion.
The Stars started off hot with 2 goals in the first period. Jani Hakanpaa scored 5 minutes into the game to break the ice. Then Tyler Seguin added to the lead with his 24th goal of the season.
In the second period, the Stars really put the Yotes in their place. They got one goal on the power play from Miro Heiskanen. They peppered Sateri with shots, putting up 18 in the period. It was a little payback for Scott Wedgewood who had to stop all of Arizona’s 14 shots in the first as well as their 7 in the second.
The third period though is where things get mildly depressing, as they always do with the Dallas Stars. It’s like they see the finish line and the wind flows peacefully out of their sails, never to be seen again. The Yotes answered right back with 2 goals in the first 10 minutes. The second goal was a lucky double-doink into the net so that blows. This was not the time for Dallas to start allowing any bullshit.
And guess what, an unnecessary penalty cost them. A surprise to no one who has been here before. The Coyotes tied things up with a power-play goal at 11:58 into the period. The stellar second has fallen away. Sure, the Stars just need one point to clinch but ya know blowing a 3-0 lead in the third period -to one of the worst teams in the league- is embarrassing. Not to mention the Stars put up a whopping 3 shots in the entire third period. THREE! The remainder of the third was just pins and needles. Meanwhile, the Hawks and Golden Knights were headed to OT in their game. Vegas needed to lose in order for the Stars to officially eliminate them from contention. So yeah, there is another delightful stressor getting added to the situation. Alas, the Stars were able to push things to OT which means that regardless of the outcome, they officially clinch their playoff spot.
This is the most bittersweet I have ever felt. And of course, those guys went and lost in OT. Of course. I know how these guys roll but I am still befuddled. How could you do this to me? Giving up four unanswered goals and now I can’t even be that mad because we made the playoffs? Which, yay, I am happy they’re back in the Cup race after missing last year. Despite what the haters (my dear brother Jake) say about the Stars and how I’m “just getting excited to see them lose in the first round”, I am going into this with hope in my heart. And more than hope, excitement to see how many other ways the Stars can surprise me again with their inability to just win a game in Regulation.
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