Nino Niederreiter scored one for Nashville, but the Preds couldn't outrun or outplay a tough Dallas team.
The Nashville Predators headed to Dallas for a rematch against the Stars after dropping Thursday night's game 4-1. The Predators looked out of sorts in the home loss and needed a spark to change the outcome tonight at American Airlines Arena.
Nashville's roster had a few changes from Thursday. Jeremy Lauzon came in for Mark Borowiecki on the third defensive pair, and Zach Sanford slotted in on the fourth line in place of Kiefer Sherwood who was a healthy scratch. Juuse Saros took his place in net.
The Stars line up remained unchanged from Thursday night. Jake Oettinger, who had an outstanding performance in Nashville, started for the Stars in net.
Game Recap
Dallas continued their heavy forechecking from Thursday as the game began. It took a few shifts for Nashville to settle into the pace. The Preds had a chance thanks to an interference call on Radek Faksa, but it was the Stars who capitalized with a shorthanded goal at 4:46.
As the power play expired, Cody Glass earned two minutes in the box for hooking, giving Dallas the man advantage and the momentum. The Stars puck movement on the power play threatened, but Saros was able to cover the net well, and the two minutes expired. Nashville slowly gained momentum back towards the end of the first period with hard fought offensive time, but the Preds headed into the first intermission down one goal.
Dallas started the second period with a little luck and a goal at :39 as Mattias Ekholm's effort to interrupt a two on one resulted in the puck bouncing off Ekholm's stick and into the net. The Stars had a second goal waved off just twenty seconds later because the puck slipped under the side of the net as Saros inadvertently lifted the net as he sealed the side.
Nashville had a chance to dig back into the game with a power play chance at at 2:26 but neither the first nor second unit could get anything past Oettinger. The Stars scored quickly after the power play ended on an odd man rush, but the goal was called off after John Hynes challenged for offside.
Matching calls resulted in two minutes of four on four play. Dallas used their speed to score at 7:48 putting Nashville in another three goal deficit. Head coach John Hynes began changing up the lines partway through the period trying to spark something - anything - with Nashville. After bouncing the puck off the post, Matt Duchene headed down ice and committed a hook. Duchene's protest earned him a bonus ten minute misconduct as well. The Preds killed the penalty but played the remainder of the second and the start of the third without Duchene. Nashville was handed a gift with a penalty call at 16:18 and, with :35 remaining in the penalty, Niederreiter drew a tripping call. Nashville finally made it on the board with a tip in by Niederreiter.
Any momentum from Nashville's second period goal was erased with a goal by Jason Robertson at 3:13. The Stars outmuscled the Preds, and tempers and the hit count began rising. Nashville tried to pick up the pace halfway through the period, but Dallas kept pace well and gave up very little space on the ice. With 4:40 remaining in the game, Hynes pulled Juuse Saros and the Preds went empty net. The extra man did Nashville no good , and Dallas buried an empty net giving Dallas a 5-1 win.
Game Notes
Dallas ran Nashville ragged. The Predators couldn't match the speed of the Stars, especially in transition. Nashville was playing catch up this game on the ice and on the scoreboard.
Get that power play plugged in. Nashville was finally able to take advantage of one power play, but in a game like this, special teams can be a difference maker. Getting the power play firing needs to be a priority.
Nino Niederreiter is proving he is a good fit for the Predators. Niederreiter finished the game with one goal (his fourth goal in four games) and several teeth rattling hits. He and Saros were the two noteworthy performances in the game tonight.