The Dallas Stars possess one of the top offenses and rank among the better road teams in the NHL.
When their four-game road trip began with a dud against the Philadelphia Flyers, they were left feeling humbled.
Coming off one of their worst performances of the season and involved in a tight race in the Central Division, the Stars hope to bounce back Saturday night when they face the New Jersey Devils in Newark, N.J.
Dallas is third in the NHL with 159 goals and entered the trip with four wins in five games after a three-game losing streak. The Stars scored 19 goals in those wins but were held to a season-low 15 shots on a goal in a 5-1 loss to Philadelphia on Thursday that dropped their road record to 12-5-3.
It was the seventh time Dallas’ offense was held to fewer than two goals, and the Stars experienced more frustration by getting 20 shots blocked.
“This one is tough,” Stars coach Peter DeBoer said. “It’s a humbling loss. We haven’t been beaten that badly in all facets of the game this year. That’s one that’s going to sting for a couple of days.”
The Stars also allowed 43 shots on goal, marking the fourth time they conceded at least 40 shots, though in the previous three instances they earned one-goal victories.
Tyler Seguin scored the team’s lone goal after Dallas fell 2-0. After Seguin scored, the Stars gave up a power-play goal in the opening minute of the third period and a goal via a penalty shot.
The Stars are coming off their first loss by more than three goals since a 6-1 home defeat to the Vegas Golden Knights on Dec. 9. Dallas responded by going 7-1-1 over its next nine, and DeBoer is hoping for a similar recovery from the tough night in Philadelphia.
“It’s all about your response,” DeBoer said. “You’re going to have some poor games during the year, we’ve had them before. As a group, we’ve got to regroup and respond the right way. I think our group has been pretty good that way.”
The Devils are returning home after one of their better showings since losing Jack Hughes to an upper-body injury. Hughes got hurt Jan. 5 against the Chicago Blackhawks, and New Jersey is 2-3-1 in his absence.
On Friday, the Devils avoided a third straight loss by beating the host Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1. New Jersey allowed the first goal in the opening period, then roared back by scoring four times at even strength in the second period.
It was an improvement after the Devils’ only offense in a 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday consisted of two goals during a four-minute power play.
John Marino and Alexander Holtz scored in the opening 8:40 of the second period on Friday. Nico Hischier and Nathan Bastian scored 72 seconds apart later in the period. The Devils had 13 of their 32 shots on goal in the middle frame.
“We played a solid game all night,” New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said. “We checked well. We created a lot of great opportunities, just being in good positions and created foot races.”
–Field Level Media