Fights erupt, goals fly, but a third-period collapse seals the Stars' fate against the surging Mammoth.
The Dallas Stars took on the Utah Mammoth in their last game of a six game home stand. The Stars had the opportunity to beat the franchise point-streak record that is held by the 1998-1999 Stanley Cup winning Stars.
A theme throughout the season has been the "extra 1%" and up until recently, it did not appear that it had really landed, but since the Olympic break, the Stars are now collectively playing with the extra 1% in they physicality department. The first period had two fights. The first one between Adam Erne and Brandon Tanev that derived from getting tangled up at the blue line.
Dallas Stars center Mavrik Bourque (22) and center Mavrik Bourque (22) celebrates a goal scored by center Wyatt Johnston (not pictured) against the Utah Mammoth during the second period at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn ImagesThe other pair that dropped the gloves was Lian Bichsel and Jack McBain in a heavy weight tilt after Bichsel took exception to a late hit that came after the whistle. With the fights came a pair of goals from each side. The Stars got on the board first with a great set up by Jamie Benn to Sam Steel. Steel scored his 12th goal of the season. He broke his career high in goals against Edmonton and with his recent uptick in offense since being paired with Benn and Matt Duchene, it appears he could end the season with 15-20 goals.
Utah tied it up with a sharp angle snipe from Clayton Keller. Coming into the game, Keller had tallied seven goals and ten assists in 26 games against the Stars. That goal put Keller at 20 goals on the season.
While the extra-curriculars seem to have calmed down during the second frame, the Mammoth and Stars are still trading goals. Nate Schmidt got Utah on the board with a deflection, giving the Mammoth their first lead of the game. After the goal, the Mammoth really started to surge. The Stars finally stopped the momentum and got back into their rhythm. And with a shot from the point by Miro Heiskanen, Wyatt Johnston gets his stick on it and notches his 37th goal of the season.
After only allowing the Mammoth to take two shots on goal in the first period, after 40, the shots on goal are 20-13, Dallas and things are all tied at 2.
The Stars had an uncharacteristic third period collapse, giving up four goals. Two that came on odd-man rushes while the Stars were in the Mammoth's zone firing off scoring chances. Erne did score the Stars third goal with two seconds left, but far too late. After the game head coach, Glen Gulutzan, contributed the loss to some mistakes on the Stars end, but gave credit to the Mammoth for capitalizing on every opportunity they got.
Fortunately for the Stars, the Colorado Avalanche lost 7-2 to the Pittsburgh Penguins so there was no change in the standings. The Stars and Avalanche play in Denver on Wednesday for a huge two points.
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