Stars can't measure up to Predators, fall 5-2

Dallas Stars coach Ken Hitchcock called Tuesday night's tilt against the Nashville Predators a measuring-stick game. It didn't go well. The Stars came up short against one of the league's top teams, falling to the Predators 5-2 at American Airlines Center.

WATCH: [All Stars vs. Predators highlights]
"For us, it's a measuring stick, and we wanted to take the next step. And you look at [the Predators], from the goalie out, their best players were their best players. It's what you need to win," said Hitchcock. "You need your top players to be your top players. That's the measuring stick."
Little went right in the game for the Stars, who were down 1-0 after one period and then saw the Predators blow the game open with four goals in the second to push their lead to 5-0. Nashville scored twice at even strength, twice on the power play and once shorthanded in the game as they put an end to the Stars' five-game winning streak.
"We had a tough night," said Stars captain Jamie Benn. "It started with myself; probably a bad penalty, and then they scored on the power play. We just didn't have it tonight."
Stephen Johns and Jamie Oleksiak scored goals for the Stars who also had a five-game home winning streak come to an end. Ben Bishop got the start in goal but was pulled early in the second after allowing three goals on 15 shots. Kari Lehtonen played the rest of the way stopping 15 of 17 shots.

"It was not what we wanted here tonight," said Bishop. "It wasn't our best effort. It started with me; I wasn't very good. We just have to put it behind us and get ready for another one. "
The Predators (18-7-3) moved into first place in the Central Division and the Western Conference with Tuesday's win. Juuse Saros stopped 43 shots, and Kyle Turris and Calle Jarnkrok each had one goal and one assist for Nashville which is 13-2-1 in its past 16 games.
"I thought that we played a good road game early," said Nashville coach Peter Laviolette. "We were able to cash in on some of those goals. The second half of the game, I don't think we were real sharp, but the score was 5-0 at that point."
The two teams traded power play chances in the first period. The Stars didn't cash in on theirs, and the Predators scored on theirs to take a 1-0 lead. With Benn in the penalty box for cross-checking, Kevin Fiala tallied from the left circle at the 15:49 mark.
Saros made a series of nice saves early in the second to keep it a 1-0 game. Then, there were two fights: Curtis McKenzie vs. Anthony Bitetto; and Jamie Oleksiak vs. Austin Watson. Five seconds after the second fight, the Predators scored to take a 2-0 lead. A Nashville dump-in took a strange bounce catching Bishop out of the net, and Cody McLeod scored into an open net at the 2:48 mark.

"When we give them the big push in the second period when we have all the scoring chances, and to give up that second goal was disappointing for everybody," Hitchcock said. "That seemed to give them the air that they were able to breathe a little bit because we were on top of them pretty hard."
The Predators extended the lead to 3-0 less than two minutes later. After Nashville forced a turnover at the Dallas blue line, Calle Jarnkrok set up Pontus Aberg who scored from the right circle at the 4:26 mark. That ended the night for Bishop who was replaced by Lehtonen.
Nashville made it a 4-0 game at the 7:34 mark of the second by taking advantage of their second power play of the game when Kyle Turris blast a shot through traffic past Lehtonen.
The Stars went on a power play late in the second, and Nashville took advantage of that, scoring a shorthanded goal to push their lead to 5-0. After a pass got past John Klingberg at the Nashville blue line, the Predators got an odd-man rush and Jarnkrok scored on the rebound of a wrap-around attempt by Watson.
The Stars scored twice in the third. Johns tallied from the right point at the 1:27 mark and Oleksiak scored with 42 seconds left, banking a shot past Soros off the skate of Bitetto to make it a 5-2 final.

Notes: Roussel misses third straight game

What's Next

The Stars hit the road again to take on the Blues in St. Louis Thursday. This will be the second meeting of the season between the two teams. The Blues won the first meeting, 4-2, in St. Louis on Oct. 7. The Stars have won three straight games on the road.

Stars Lineup

Jamie Benn - Tyler Seguin - Alexander Radulov
Mattias Janmark - Jason Spezza - Devin Shore
Remi Elie - Radek Faksa - Tyler Pitlick
Curtis McKenzie - Gemel Smith - Brett Ritchie
Esa Lindell - John Klingberg
Dan Hamhuis - Greg Pateryn
Jamie Oleksiak - Stephen Johns
Ben Bishop
Kari Lehtonen
Scratched:Julius Honka
Injured:Antoine Roussel (illness), Martin Hanzal (hamstring), Marc Methot (knee)

This story was not subject to approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club. Mark Stepneski is an independent writer whose posts on DallasStars.com reflect his own opinions and do not represent official statements from the Dallas Stars. You can follow Mark on Twitter at @StarsInsideEdge.