Epic Collapse Dents Stars Hopes for First Place Finish
It all looked good for the Dallas Stars after Mikael Granlund scored an empty net goal to make it 5-2, but the Vancouver Canucks had other ideas.
Vancouver scored three goals in 53 seconds in the final minute of regulation to come storming back out of nowhere and force overtime, where Kiefer Sherwood ended it with a 4-on-4 goal to win it 6-5 for the Canucks.
The Stars have suddenly lost three in a row after rattling off seven in a row, with a point gained in Minnesota and Tuesday against the Canucks, but now four points behind Winnipeg with each team having four games remaining.
Winnipeg comes to town Thursday for a must-win showdown if Dallas still wants to fight for first place in the Central Division. The Colorado Avalanche almost certainly await the second place finisher, and the Avs will be a very tough first round opponent for any team.
Dallas Stars center Matt Duchene (95) scores a goal past Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko (35) as left wing Jamie Benn (14) looks on during the second period at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn ImagesThe Canucks, who are down to their last hopes and prayers for a Wild Card, chasing the red-hot St. Louis Blues and sliding Minnesota Wild for the final spot in the playoffs, were also playing for a lot and the intensity of the game showed it.
It started great for Dallas, who rattled off three play goals in the first three opportunities and was cruising to a 3-0 lead after two periods. Mikko Rantanen got his first home goal since being acquired at the deadline, and beautiful passing was on display for two second unit power play goals.
But the third period started with a Vancouver power play goal that banked in off of Casey DeSmith's pad to end his shutout bid.
Then down 3-1, Vancouver drew a double minor high sticking call with Mason Marchment headed to the box, and cashed in on a power play goal to cut the lead to 3-2.
Mavrik Borque put what seemed like the dagger in the Canucks heart with a goal with under five minutes to play to extend the lead to 4-2, and Granlund added the empty netter mere seconds later to send most fans home early, expecting a win to be all but sealed.
The Canucks Arttu Raty scored to make it 5-3 at exactly the 19 minute mark, and with nothing to lose, Vancouver pulled Thatcher Demko once more to see if a miracle could happen. They gained possession and suddenly Pius Suter snuck one past DeSmith and it was a one goal game once more.
There wasn't much time left, and Vancouver didn't gain possession of the puck until less than 15 seconds were left to the final horn, but once again the puck found Suter who buried it to the back of the net for the unlikeliest of comebacks.
In overtime, Dallas took a slashing penalty but was able to kill off the power play for Vancouver, but in the ensuing 4-on-4 action, the puck found a wide open Sherwood in front of DeSmith, who ended it and kept the Canucks slim playoff hopes alive.
An epic collapse for Dallas now puts all the pressure on Thursday's Central Division showdown, and the team still needs some more help from the Jets in the three games afterwards. That is not a loss anyone will forget soon, and the best hope is that it wakes the team up as playoffs loom less than two weeks away now.
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