Three Takeaways from Stars 6-3 Loss to Predators

With Jake Oettinger back in net after a month long absence, Dallas fell behind 2-0 to the Nashville Predators for the second time in less than a week, and once again could not come back and win despite scoring three late goals.

After a 4-3 loss last Saturday, the Stars allowed two additional empty net goals Friday to stretch the final scoreline to 6-3.

Dallas cut the deficit to 2-1 early in the third period, but quickly allowed the Preds to regain their two goal lead. Then, the Stars once again cut the lead to 3-2, but soon after allowed a power play goal to make it 4-2. Dallas answered for a third time to make it 4-3, but almost immediately got scored on once they pulled Oettinger for the extra attacker.

Kevin Lankinen recorded his second win over Dallas in as many tries, and looked unbothered for the first two periods before allowing three to a hard-pushing Stars team in the third. Despite allowing three goals in both games, Lankinen looked like a steady presence in net for Nashville.

The game against Nashville marked the halfway point of the season for Dallas, and they currently sit third in the Central Division and seventh in the league. The loss, however, brought Nashville back within six points of Dallas in the division. 

Dallas patiently awaited the return of Jake Oettinger after missing exactly four weeks to the day due to a groin injury. Head coach Pete DeBoer was hoping that Oettinger could reset after some struggles prior to his injury while also getting fully healthy.

The Stars are continuing to miss their number one defenseman, Miro Heiskanen. The defense has struggled at times in his absence, and perhaps no more than Friday against Nashville, doing no favors for Oettinger in his first game back.

While Dallas did score on one of their three opportunities, the Stars only had three shots on goal. The team couldn't really get anything going at 5-on-5 or on the power play until the third period. 

The first power-play for the Stars came down 1-0, and if Dallas had cashed in on this opportunity, they wouldn't have found themselves in a similar situation, down by two and chasing the score for the remainder of the game. 

During their second power-play, Jamie Benn took a double minor high sticking penalty, negating most of their time on the man-advantage and allowing precious minutes to run off the clock.

The gray shapes above represent the shots taken at 5-on-5 that missed the net. This shows that the Stars are getting to the right areas and then flubbing away the high danger chances by not even getting a shot on goal and testing Nashville's backup goalie.

The shots that did get on net were low-danger shots from the perimeter areas that are easy for goalies to stop and use to get in rhythm.

Ironically enough, the goals that did find the back of the net were from the same area the Stars kept missing from. Get a few more of those on target, and it could have been a different result.

In Thursday's press conference, Pete DeBoer talked about not wanting to overload Oettinger with shots on goal in his first game back. But with Heiskanen out, the defense struggled to protect him from high danger scoring chances.

Against the Predators, the Stars essentially left Oettinger out to dry with the amount of shots Nashville was able to take from right in front of the net, two of which went in.

If the Stars want to survive the remaining time without Heiskanen in the lineup, they are going to have to figure out how to keep teams from getting as many quality chances.

The Stars have no time to sulk and even less time to figure it out, as they immediately turn their attention to the second game of their back-to-back against the Chicago Blackhawks. The defense will have to provide Scott Wedgewood with better defending in tight near the crease.

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

Pregames Notes (Game 41): Third Meeting for Stars, Predators

Stars Goalie Finally Healthy

Stars Spreading the Offensive Wealth

Three Takeaways from Stars Season Sweep Over Wild