The Stars started their recent three-game road trip by beating the best team in the NHL and stopping a 19-game point streak in Colorado.
They ended it Sunday by losing to the worst home team in hockey, the Arizona Coyotes, failing to capitalize on a great opportunity in a 3-1 loss at Gila River Arena.
Heika's Take: Stars let prime opportunity slip away in loss to Coyotes
Dallas has struggled all season against teams well below them in the standings
"Disappointing," said Stars coach Rick Bowness.
"Disappointing," said forward Jason Robertson.
"I would've liked six points," said captain Jamie Benn.
The chance to do that seemed pretty realistic. The Coyotes are struggling this year and were coming off a disappointing loss to the LA Kings on Saturday. Dallas has struggled to score goals in recent games but had won six in a row on the road. Saunter out of Gila River Arena with two points, and the Stars would continue to the chase for a playoff spot and the good vibes that have helped pave over spotty play.
Instead, the Stars take another step backward, and create more remorse over what could have been. Dallas this season has lost four times to three of the worst teams in the league, record-wise (Arizona, Montreal and Ottawa twice). That's eight points they could've banked, helping them be a little more competitive in the race for one of the wild card playoff spots in the Western Conference.
As it stands, they're now three points behind LA with huge games coming up against the Jets, Predators and Kings. So, in essence, they can make up for this game.
Still, they need to feel the sting for a while before they try to take the next step.
"We missed too many scoring opportunities in the third period," said Bowness of a frantic third period in which the Stars threw 17 shots on goal and created 33 shots attempts. "We could've won that game. Missed an open net, had some Grade As. We just didn't capitalize."
That's one way to look at it. Robertson missed an open net and then had an opportunity foiled by Arizona goalie Scott Wedgewood. The 29-year-old netminder was both spectacular and frustrating for Dallas, as the Stars came darn close to tying the game on several occasions but could never finish the job.
Arizona took a 1-0 lead on a puck that was roofed past Jake Oettinger at point blank range because of a couple of mistakes by defensemen Esa Lindell and John Klingberg. Dallas tied the game less than a minute later on a double deflection from Joe Pavelski and Roope Hintz. And then the Coyotes got the game-winner on a crazy power-play goal.
One, Arizona ranks last in the NHL in power-play success. Two, the shot from Nick Schmaltz actually went through the skate holder of Miro Heiskanen and deflected past Oettinger. It was that kind of night.
All of that considered, the Stars could've taken control of the game if they just played the first two periods the way they played the third. Dallas waded into the game and really didn't create many scoring opportunities until the pressure was turned up in the third period. Once they felt they might lose, the Stars became desperate and hungry.
"We didn't play very well in the first two," Heiskanen said. "We have to be at our best when the puck drops, and we weren't. That's why we lost tonight."
While Robertson added, "I think our intensity went up, everyone's urgency. We can't go down by one and start getting urgent."
It's an interesting challenge for the team because they've rallied in past games, and they've found it difficult to maintain intensity throughout a full 60 minutes this season. So, yes, the point is important, but they also have indeed found a way to pull points out of games where they've been less than perfect.
Still, there's a way that these things are typically done in the NHL. Dallas is 21-6-1 when scoring first. It's 14-3-1 when leading after two periods. The numbers say that's a safer strategy.
So, can they learn a lesson and continue on a path that has them 9-4-0 in their past 13 games? Well, that's to be seen.
"Two wins, two really important wins," Heiskanen said when asked to rate the three-game road trip. "Of course, we wanted and need that last one, but we didn't get it. Two first games were good. We have to play better than what we did today."
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.
