Overview:
The last time Dallas came into Boston, Seguin danced through the Boston defense and won the game in OT. This time it was the Bruins Brad Marchand that was the overtime hero. Dallas really did not deserve to win and the hockey gods did not allow it. The Stars were saved countless time by the crossbar and their luck was bound to run out. However, they did scrounge another point and are now 3-1-1 on this road trip. This means they have a total of seven out of ten points so far with one game remaining.

First Period:
The game began pretty rapidly, then slowed down drastically. It started when the Stars Roman Polak took a penalty for interference. Then, while shorthanded, the Stars Radek Faksa took a loose puck and skated out of their own zone. Faksa went around the Bruins defense and threw the puck at the net to just kill more time. However, Faksa’s shot someone surprised Tuukka Rask and snuck right through him to give Dallas their first and only lead. Shortly after, the Bruins David Pastrnak took a pass from Patrice Bergeron and ripped one past Khudobin to tie the game at one. The Bruins kept the Stars held down and dominated the shot stats as well as the time of possession. Luckily for Dallas, their netminder was back to his elite ways and kept the game knotted at one.

Second Period:
The highlights of the second can be summed up in two words. The Crossbar. Dallas was extremely sluggish and allowed Boston to just roll right over them. If it wasn’t for Anton Khudobin and the goal post, Boston may have scored three or four more goals. On other separate rushes, the Bruins got advantages where Khudobin made some brilliant saves. The Stars did play some pretty tough and physical defense that made things tougher for the Bruins but still made things seem too easy for Boston to stroll right in. Thankfully, Boston could not take advantage of the Stars inability to clear the puck.

Third Period:
The final period of regulation was just the same as the second, but this time it was Tuukka Rask that got a little lucky. At moments it seemed as if Rask was trying to help the Stars, causing turnovers. But he was able to bail himself out each time. Boston kept up their sustained pressure but still could not break through Khudobin who was playing lights out. Then about 11 minutes in, the Bruins Torey Krug was called for boarding, giving Dallas the opportunity they needed to take the lead once again. However, the Stars failed to capitalize. Then for the last seven minutes, Boston relentlessly pelted Khudobin, with Dallas occasionally getting a shot in, yet the goalies remained strong.

Overtime:
For the second straight game, the Stars headed to overtime and had their opportunity to grab another point. Dallas controlled the puck for the majority of overtime, and on one magnificent rush, the rookie defencemen almost single-handedly won the game. Miro Heiskanen sped into the offensive zone and blew by the Bruins defense where he then wristed a shot low glove side on Rask. Unfortunately, Rask caught a piece of the puck and bounced wide of the net. After that, the Stars put themselves in a hole they couldn’t climb out of by taking two penalties. The Bruins took advantage of the five-on-three and Brad Marchand sniped one past Khudobin to win the game for Boston.

Review:
The Stars had no business taking the Bruins to overtime, but they did. They have battled hard on this road trip and are getting points in places that are extremely difficult to get any. This OT loss shows a lot of heart and soul on this team, and they are doing this without two key players. With Radulov and Johns still out, this teams has performed admirably, but one can only imagine what this team will look like when those two return from injury. The team depth has stepped up, but this team could still use one more winger that has the capability to put up 50 or more points. With 68 more games to go, we shall see what Nill and Montgomery have in store for this team and if they can bring playoff hockey back to Big D.

What’s Next:
Dallas finishes their season long six-game road trip against the Columbus Blue Jackets.