"It was all the play in front of him … I don't blame Anton," Bowness said. "We just didn't play very smart, we didn't play hard enough."
So was that because it was their first road game of the season? Was it because there were no fans in the building after the Stars played before 4,000-plus in Dallas? Was it because the Hurricanes have been playing very well?
"It was a tough night, obviously," said Pavelski. "They were good and we weren't. They seemed to be on top of us all night, so credit to them. That's kind of the M.O. of that team, they work hard, they skate, they've earned that. We knew it was going to be a tough game, but we've got to produce a little more, we've got to be a little better and work a little harder and even the game out a little more."
It was the first real adversity for the Stars this season. Yes, Detroit came back in the third periods of its two games against Dallas, but the Stars always seemed in control. On Saturday, they were in quicksand and fighting the puck all of the way.
Players and coaches said the 11 shots on goal was shocking and unacceptable. Carolina had 26 shots on goal, but also had a 60-35 advantage in shot attempts (on goal, blocked and missed the net). That's usually a pretty good sign that one team has the puck and the other doesn't.