Dallas beat Columbus 5-3 in an exciting Sunday evening cross-conference matchup.
The Dallas Stars started off the month of February with an entertaining 5-3 win of the surprising Columbus Blue Jackets in what will be their last home game for just under a month.
The Stars played their last game at the American Airlines Center before six road games in a row (three before and three after the Four Nations Face-off) and trailed three different times before pulling ahead in the third period.
Before the game, the team announced that their newest acquisitions from the San Jose Sharks, Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci, would join the starting lineup in addition to Mason Marchment making his long awaited return after missing 17 games due to a facial injury. Granlund and Ceci arrived in Dallas last night, and head coach Pete DeBoer said that new teammate Matt Dumba treated them to lunch before the game Sunday.
The Stars got off to a strong start, and only two minutes in, Marchment made his presence felt when he drew a penalty while heading to the net, nearly taking out the goalie and sending the net off its moorings. Dallas could not convert, and Columbus took advantage soon after.
The Blue Jackets had not generated any shots on goal until Cole Sillinger capitalized on a puck ping-ponging around in front of goaltender Casey DeSmith. The puck got behind DeSmith, who accidentally swept it in the net with his right leg, putting Columbus up 1-0.
The Stars pushed back for the remainder of the period, evening things up 1-1 when Lian Bichsel took a long shot from the point and Marchment tipped it past Columbus goalie Elvis Merzlikins, getting the Stars on the board. Marchment followed it with a passionate celebration that he later admitted was a product of his long wait to get back on the ice with his teammates.
The second frame was well contested between both teams, making for an entertaining back-and-forth period. Less than five minutes into the period, Adam Fantilli was credited with the second go-ahead goal when the puck bounced fortuitously off of Esa Lindell's skate. Lindell tried to sweep the puck out of harm's way before it crossed the goal line, but a quick review confirmed the goal.
A little over a minute later, the Stars evened things up again when Thomas Harley seemed to get away with an obvious penalty just in front of Merzlikins, wiping out Kent Johnson and giving Dallas possession of the puck on a 2-on-1 in tight. Granlund saucered a pass to Logan Stankoven who one-timed it into the back of the net for his first home goal since November. The assist was Granlund's first point as a member of the Stars.
The scoring see-sawed back in favor of Columbus when Ivan Provorov fired a shot from the point that pinged in off the post and into the back of the net, giving the Blue Jackets the lead for a third time.
In the later half of the period, the Blue Jackets started taking on water in their own end, eventually taking a holding penalty which lead to over a minute of the Stars cycling the puck and creating chances on the delayed penalty. The Columbus defensemen had a nearly three minute shift before they got possession, sending the Stars to the power-play. It felt like a Stars goal was imminent, and sure enough, Dallas made quick work. Thomas Harley walked down low and found Wyatt Johnston in front of the crease, who redirected the puck and chipped it over the goalie in one motion. The score heading into intermission finished 3-3, with the third period left to decide the winner.
The third period belonged to Dallas, and more specifically Evgenii Dadonov. Both teams were competing and the breakthrough came on a deflection that was very nearly a high-stick from Dadonov. Merzlikins had no chance, and the review confirmed a good goal and the Stars first lead of the game at 4-3.
Dadonov followed it up with a wrap-around goal that went off a Columbus player in front of the net that put Dallas up 5-3 and gave them cushion for the final stretch. Esa Lindell took an interference penalty that gave Columbus a 6-on-4 advantage with their goalie pulled, but Dallas killed the penalty and finished 3-for-3 on the penalty kill on the night.
The Stars might have won by two goals, but Columbus showed that under the leadership of head coach Dean Evason, they are more than ready to compete and make every team earn a win against the up-and-coming Blue Jackets. Columbus remains firmly in the mix for a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, while the win for Dallas moved the Stars up to third place in the entire league, only trailing Winnipeg and Washington in the overall standings.
Dallas now heads west to Anaheim for their next game against the Ducks on Tuesday night, where they will put their now five game win streak on the line.
Make sure you bookmark THN's Dallas Stars site for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.
BREAKING: Stars and Sharks Complete Two Player Trade
Trade Deadline Pressure Mounts On Stars After Latest Nils Lundkvist Injury News
Pens Defenseman Could Be On Dallas' List Come The Deadline
New Information Released on Injuries to Stars Defensemen
- undefined