Sam’s Story: Stars Show Signs of Fatigue in Lopsided Loss to Senators

The Stars looked to run out of gas on Monday night in Ottawa. It was the third game in five days for Dallas, including travel from Toronto to Montreal to Ottawa. That travel and schedule looked to wear on them as they allowed four straight goals in a 4-1 loss to the Senators. 

Hot start, cold finish. 

Similarly to Saturday in Montreal, Dallas began the game on their toes and got the game’s first goal, this time from another depth guy in Joel Kiviranta. But late in the first period, Ottawa began to take over, and if it were not for another impressive performance from backup Scott Wedgewood in net, it would have likely been a blowout far earlier. 

"We came out of the gate really good," Stars Head Coach Pete DeBoer said. "As the game wore on, their commitment and energy increased and ours decreased. They were the hungrier team for most of the game tonight and it's tough to win in this league if that's the case."

On the flip side, Senators goaltender Magnus Hellberg was fantastic, stopping 29 saves of 31 shots, and keeping his team close while the Stars were pushing early. It was the first game in Ottawa for Hellberg after the Sens have begun to have some injury trouble in the pipes. 

Special teams reversal.

Penalties caught up to the Stars again as the Sens scored their first on their fourth power play late in the second period (1-4 in the game). The goal gave the Sens the boost they needed and from there, the Stars were outplayed in all areas of the ice and chased Ottawa for the remainder of the game. 

"I thought we were going to get out of the second with the lead, and it probably does make a difference," DeBoer said.

It was a reversal from what we have seen so far as the Stars allowed a power-play goal and their own power play struggled to enter the zone with possession, recording very few shots on three unsuccessful man advantages. 

The Sens goals came in quick succession in the third. In just about seven minutes, Brady Tkachuk, Shane Pinto, and Derrick Brassard all beat Wedgewood down the wing off the rush and put the game out of reach. 

In his first game this season, Jacob Peterson was minus-2 in 12:19 time on ice. But in his defense, not many outside of the crease played a good game for Dallas after the first 12 minutes or so. 

Quick Turnaround: The Stars will need to bounce back quickly as they travel to take on the Boston Bruins on Tuesday in the final game of the road trip.

Sam’s Three Stars 

• First Star: Brady Tkachuk, OTT (1 goal, 1 assist)
• Second Star: Magnus Hellberg, OTT (29 saves on 31 shots, (.935%)
• Third Star: Alex DeBrincat, OTT (1 assist, 6 shots)

He Said It 

"We didn't do enough anywhere on the ice to win a game," DeBoer said.