Injuries mount and scoring woes continue as the Stars limp home from a disappointing road trip, falling to the Bruins.
The Dallas Stars will head home battered and bruised after a tough road trip that culminated in a 6-3 loss to the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night.
Their four game Eastern Conference swing ended with only one win and one more point picked up in an overtime loss against Philadelphia. To add to the woes, three players left the trip early with an injury, including both trade deadline acquisitions. Sam Steel and Michael Bunting are about 10 days out for returning, while Tyler Myers is still to be determined.
Dallas Stars center Matt Duchene (95) reacts after scoring a goal against the Boston Bruins during the second period at the TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn ImagesBoston took an early 2-0 lead in the first period off of a couple good bounces. Marat Khusnuditov opened the scoring on a blocked shot that ricocheted right back to him, and he fired the shot past Jake Oettinger before Oettinger could regain his position. This is the eighth game in a row where the Stars have allowed the first goal.
Then on the power play, the Bruins cashed in when a bounce went wide of the net, directly to a waiting player to shove it to Viktor Arvidsson in front of an open net.
The Stars punched back in the second period, with Jamie Benn opening the scoring for Dallas. Benn was elevated to play with Wyatt Johnston and Mikko Rantanen in the absence of Bunting. Then Matt Duchene tied the game out of nowhere when he pulled a puck from the side of the net and roofed it in tight over Boston goalie Joonas Korpisalo. At 2-2, the Stars needed a good third period to give themselves a chance at a win or at the very least a point.
Unfortunately for Dallas, it only took 13 seconds of the third period for that plan to unravel as Boston cashed in their second power play goal of the night. The Stars attempted to push back but soon gave up a back-breaking fourth goal when Henri Jokiharju scored his first of the season.
After that, the Bruins defense was almost impenetrable, and Boston added an empty net goal to take it to 5-2.
Wyatt Johnston added a power play goal on a beautiful individual move to make it 5-3 with around two minutes left, but Arvidsson scored a second empty net goal to complete a hat trick shortly after, finalizing the score at 6-3.
The Stars have a five game homestand and only seven total games left in the season before the playoffs start, and the Colorado Avalanche seem all but uncatchable for first place at this point. The main goal now is to right the ship and regain some momentum from their long point streak before the games are a matter of win or go home.
Dallas battles Winnipeg next on Thursday night at the American Airlines Center.
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