Final
Dallas Stars 2 – San Jose Sharks 5
The Stars fell to the Sharks 5-2 last night in a game in which the outcome was pretty much decided within two minutes. San Jose scored twice on Andrew Raycroft in the first minute and a half of the game, setting the tone for the rest of the night. Raycroft was actually doing a fine job stopping the first shots that the Sharks had. The problem was that he was giving up juicy rebounds on each shot and it wound up costing the Stars.
Raycroft just couldn’t block the puck over to safe areas and the defense was beaten to the loose puck by the Sharks forwards. Dallas fell behind 2-0 after the first couple of minutes but were able to fight their way back into the game. Brenden Morrow made his return memorable with an assist on a Mike Ribeiro goal late in the first period and then scoring a power-play (power-play!) goal of his own in the second.
Things went awry again after that PP goal though as Raycroft once again couldn’t control rebounds. The Sharks scored three goals later in the second period and just iced the game away as the Stars got frustrated.
The most exciting part of the night for Dallas after that point was when Richard Bachman took over for Andrew Raycroft in the third period. Bachman looked solid in what is pretty much his career debut. He was inserted in a game last season that lasted just nine minutes, but this game was his first full period as a Dallas Star. He stopped all 11 shots he faced (he’s 15 of 15 for his career now), even making a few dazzling stops that I’m sure Raycroft would’ve had trouble with.
The most important part was that he wasn’t letting those pucks get away from him. I would expect Bachman to get the start against the Kings on Saturday. If he doesn’t, I’m sure there will be a large contingent of Stars fans that will be angry with Gulutzan. It’s just time for a change and see if Bachman can become the new backup goalie to Kari Lehtonen.
Notes and Thoughts:
- Three Stars made their returns last night. Brenden Morrow, Trevor Daley and Alex Goligoski.
- Morrow had a fantastic game, probably his best of the season. He assisted on Mike Ribeiro’s goal, one that was pretty much all his doing. He shot the puck towards the net and Anttii Niemi blocked the shot right into Ribeiro’s chest. The puck bounced off Ribs and into the net and was credited to him. Morrow would get a goal of his own later on a power-play. It’s good to see the captain finally playing healthy and well. He had 14:27 of ice time, 2 SOG and 2 PIM.
- Trevor Daley immediately got big minutes in his return, getting 22:59 of ice time which was the most on the team. He had 2 SOG, 1 hit, 2 blocked shots and finished -1.
- Goligoski had the second most minutes on the team yesterday, playing 22:53. He had 4 SOG, 2 blocked shots and a hit. He finished with a -3 rating.
Game Stats and Scoring Summary
| Dallas | San Jose | |
| Score | 2 | 5 |
| Shots | 20 | 36 |
| Penalty Minutes | 22 | 12 |
| Power Plays | 1 of 3 | 0 of 3 |
| Blocked Shots | 12 | 24 |
| Hits | 25 | 14 |
| Faceoff Wins | 23 | 31 |
1st Period:
- 1:07 Logan Couture (11) Dallas 0 – San Jose 1
Assist: Ryane Clowe
- 1:22 Jamie McGinn (5) Dallas 0 – San Jose 2
Assists: Michal Handzus, Justin Braun
- 13:37 Mike Ribeiro (3) Dallas 1 – San Jose 2
Assists: Brenden Morrow, Steve Ott
2nd Period:
- 6:30 Brenden Morrow (4) (Power Play) Dallas 2 – San Jose 2
Assists: Mike Ribeiro, Stephane Robidas
- 11:53 Ryane Clowe (6) Dallas 2 – San Jose 3
Assists: Joe Thornton, Martin Havlat
- 13:48 Brad Winchester (3) Dallas 2 – San Jose 4
Assists: Joe Thornton, Brent Burns
- 17:57 Torrey Mitchell (3) Dallas 2 – San Jose 5
Assist: Jamie McGinn
3rd Period: No goals
