Burnside: No time for Stars to dwell on tough loss in New Jersey

NEWARK, N.J. -- The Dallas Stars saw their two-game road win streak come to a disappointing end Friday night in New Jersey as they were dumped 5-2 by the Devils.
Here are some musings and mutterings on a game that seemed to get away from the Stars, and how there is no time for lamenting this loss with the finale of the four-game trip set for Saturday night in Philadelphia

Video: Stars drop first night of back to back

1. A breakdown in two acts

After being the pace setter in wins against the Rangers and Islanders to start this road trip, the Stars chased this one from early in the first period. That, however, in the end, wasn't the deciding factor, because they actually caught the Devils, tying the game at 2-2 on a fine individual effort by Alexander Radulov before the middle of the second period.
But it was what transpired after that, with a series of penalties by the Stars, including a double-minor assessed Stephen Johns in the last half of the second period that allowed the Devils to get back up off the mat.
The Devils did not record an even-strength shot on goal in the middle frame, but they did score what would turn out to be the game-winning goal with just nine seconds left in the second Johns penalty, a solid effort by a falling Brian Boyle on the edge of the Dallas crease. The double-minor, combined with an earlier John Klingberg cross-checking penalty and a Julius Honka slash after the Devils' third goal, redefined the game in favor of the Devils.
You may not like the calls -- both the Klingberg and Johns calls were dubious -- but you play the game that is put before you, and the Devils took advantage.
"Halfway through the game, they had nine shots on goal, which is exactly what you want," said Dallas head coach Ken Hitchcock. "Klingberg's penalty, whether it was a penalty or not -- thatallowed them to take a breather."

2. Second act

The Stars, whose power play has been as dry as the Gobi Desert, having failed to deliver a goal in six straight games and just one goal in the past 12 games, had delivered in the first period to tie the game at 1-1. But with a chance not just to tie the game early in the third, but wrest control of the game from the Devils, the Stars could not deliver.
They began the third period on the power play, thanks to a call against Pavel Zacha at the end of the second period and then were given 53 seconds of 5-on-3 time when John Moore was called for a high stick.
Twice in succession, a cross-crease pass from Jason Spezza to Radulov set up what should have been sure goals. Radulov hit the post with the first one and Cory Schneider somehow got across to block the second.
Tyler Seguin had a chance, Jamie Benn did, too. But the puck wouldn't go, and the Devils closed out the game with a loose-puck goal by Nick Lappin and an empty-netter from Boyle.
"I think it's mostly on us," Radulov said. "We had chances to come back, really good chances. I mean 5-on-3 for a minute. We didn't put the puck in the back of the net. Then we get scored on."
Hitchcock has tried to simplify the power play during its recent woes, altering the personnel on the two power-play units and encouraging players to put pucks on net. On a night when a power-play goal would have changed the complexion of the game, it didn't get done.
"We had our good looks," said Seguin. "Couple of bad breaks. Couple of them I'm sure we'd all want to bear down. I had a one-timer. Benny had a chance in the slot. Goalie made some good saves, but other plays we'd like to have back and bear down on them."

3. Live by hard work, die by lack of it

In the wins at Madison Square Garden and in Brooklyn that began this four-game trek East -- both, by the way, very difficult places to steal points -- the Stars dominated the puck battles.
They forced the Rangers and Islanders into long defensive zone shifts that in turn created quality scoring chances for the Stars. But the Devils were the ones, on this night, who used their speed to their advantage, creating problems for the Stars they hadn't encountered earlier in the week.
"I think the thing that we're missing, too, is we weren't as good in our end as we have been," Hitchcock said. "We weren't as determined. It's a second-and a third-effort league and we didn't have it in our zone.
"That's probably the one thing we'd be guilty of."
When your team is doing it, there is a misguided sense that it's somehow easy -- that this kind of thing should happen every night. But the effort it takes to play this way for 45 or 50 or 60 minutes is almost incalculable.
But the teams that win consistently do just that. The Stars weren't that team on this night.
"(The way) we play today in our zone, we can't do that," Radulov said. "All of us. It's just not acceptable. (Saturday's) another game, so we've got to regroup and bring in our A-game."
Seguin knows well the hostile environment into which the Stars travel. He knows that it's not a place where a lack of effort will be tolerated.
"That's one thing going in there it's compete," he said. "Up and down the lineup, you've just got to go in there and work and compete. They come out hard and they play a hard style in that building. So just going to have to work."

4. Philly time

This loss in Newark and how it occurred becomes meaningful, or more meaningful, if the Stars can't find a way to very quickly revert to the form that was so impressive in the first two games of this trip.
The Stars have proven themselves to be a resilient bunch, and by any measuring stick, a win over Philadelphia and a 3-1 Eastern road trip would be cause for, if not celebration, then certainly optimism heading into a prolonged stretch of play at home.
But here's the thing. That will mean not just being a different, more committed team, but reverting to form to become such a team in less than 24 hours.
We thought Devils head coach John Hynes had an interesting comment before Friday's game. The Devils were coming off a difficult overtime loss in Montreal on Thursday night, while the Stars were resting up in suburban New Jersey.
Back-to-back games are players' games, Hynes said. In short, they're not so much scheme and system and matchup games; they're dig-deep games.
The Devils dug deep.
They got terrific performances from their youngsters like Pavel Zacha and Plano native Blake Coleman, who scored off a rebound in the final minute of the first period to restore a New Jersey one-goal lead. And they got a superlative effort from their emotional leader Boyle, who scored on the power play and into an empty net, and added an assist on the Devils' fourth goal.
"I think we're playing good hockey on the road," Klingberg said. "I think, sometimes, today, we played pretty good, as well. We're going to bring all the good stuff and the positive stuff in to (Saturday). We know that's going to be a hard game, as well, with some good pace and they got a good power play, too. So it's going to be fun game (Saturday) and we're sure excited to get back on track right away again (Saturday)."

5. Back to Ben

This has been an interesting week in the life of Dallas goaltenders with Kari Lehtonen starting the first three games of this trip. He had not started so much as two games in a row this season prior to the trip. But he'd earned that right and was certainly not to blame for this loss.
But it's also fair to say that Schneider, who stopped 28 of 30 Dallas shots, won the goaltending battle. His stop on Radulov on the 5-on-3 and stops on Seguin and Benn, were game-changers, if not game-savers.
In Philadelphia, Bishop will return to the net in an unusual spot as the goaltender charged with playing the back end of back-to-backs, which often means having to be the best player on the ice to support his weary teammates.
And the Flyers, after going winless in 10 straight games, have now won five in a row to pull themselves back to within a couple of points of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
So, if ever there was an opportunity for Bishop to reassert himself as "the man" between the pipes for the Stars, then a star turn in Philly would be it.
This story was not subject to approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club. You can follow Scott on Twitter at @OvertimeScottB, and listen to his Burnside Chats podcast here.