Feel-good loss? Though OT defeat 'stings,' Stars find silver linings

I'm a sucker for schmaltz.
Especially sports schmaltz.
So when Jason Spezza scurried to pick up the puck that was the first NHL goal for Denis Gurianov Saturday, the wheels were turning in my head. Here's a grizzled veteran who is being honored for playing in his 1,000th game understanding just what this moment means to a young player. While Bobby Orr and Don Cherry and Sidney Crosby congratulate Spezza with messages on the video board and highlights are played from his career, the 35-year-old is tending to the history of the game.
C'mon, they make movies about this stuff.

Mix in the fact the Stars just had the most ridiculous week regarding injuries, had enough touching stories to fill a Netflix account, and were beating the best team in the NHL thanks to Gurianov's first goal (which, by the way, was assisted by Ben Gleason's first assist in Ben Gleason's first NHL game), and you have Shakespeare visits American Airlines Center.
But a funny thing happened on the way to this article.
The Stars lost, and in a fashion that was quite depressing. Yes, they picked up a point for an overtime defeat, but they allowed the tying goal with 42.5 seconds left after a foolish penalty, and then were unable to win the game in overtime when they had their own power play produce five scoring attempts.

It was a tough way to end this thing.
"It's a disappointing loss for us -- I thought we deserved a better fate," said Spezza. "That one stings a little bit for sure."
If you want to draw it up as a negative, you certainly can. Both goalies had some tough bounces, but Nashville's Jusse Saros stopped the Stars late and Ben Bishop couldn't stop the Predators. There were about five other ways Esa Lindell could have played Viktor Arvidsson on a last-minute rush, but slashing his knee was the absolute worst decision. Not only did Lindell hand the Predators a power play with the goalie pulled, he took himself off the ice. And this mistake was by the player who was supposed to step up as a veteran leader in that game.
Mattias Ekholm took advantage of his late scoring opportunity and cashed in, while the Stars got the puck onto the stick of Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, and they couldn't convert.
If you really want to tear this apart and think "what could have been," there's a lot to digest. If you really want to ponder what it takes to win in the NHL, you can say a team with Stanley Cup aspirations taught the Stars a lesson.
But you can't do that … not on this day.
Because the story really is the schmaltzy stuff. Spezza had his parents, his wife and his four daughters with him on the ice before the game Saturday. It was beautiful. He so values his family and so credits them for getting him to where he is, that it was a perfect moment of reflection. What's more, he had a goal and continues to show that his career is far from over. While he looked back at all he had done, he just seemed to be motivated to keep the story going.

Then you get the whole duct-tape defense story. John Klingberg broke his hand last game and will be out four weeks. That meant Joel Hanley was called up to take his place. Roman Polak was sick Saturday morning. That meant Ben Gleason was called up to take his place. With Klingberg, Polak, Stephen Johns, Marc Methot and Connor Carrick injured, the Stars were icing a defense where five players had a combined 119 games of experience.
It was a challenge of theatrical proportions.
Gleason, who was signed on to a tryout contract to play in the Traverse City prospect tournament back in September, drove up from Cedar Park to make his NHL debut. The 20-year-old, who played in juniors with the Hamilton Bulldogs last season, finished with 18:13 in time on ice, three takeaways and one assist. He even showed his character when he quickly indicated that his shot on goal was tipped by Gurianov.
Gleason would have loved to get his first NHL goal, but he also is teammates with Gurianov in the AHL and knows how important it was for Gurianov to get his first NHL goal.
"I knew," Gleason said, conveying the honesty that is a tradition in hockey. "I am glad he scored, and I was glad to be a part of it."
That's a pretty neat moment right there. Add in Gleason's complete day, Hanley's complete day, and just a real intense memorable experience for the entire team, and you have to figure there's more to this game than just an overtime loss.
When you think about it, Rocky didn't win that first fight with Apollo Creed, The Bad News Bears didn't beat the Yankees, Tin Cup ended the U.S. Open with a 12. There are plenty of stories in sports where you simply learn from a loss, where you pave a better future with a loss.

If you watched Saturday's intense affair, Valeri Nichushkin seemed to take on a bigger role. Same with Gurianov. Gleason and Hanley maybe moved up on the defensive depth chart, or at least proved to management that there is depth here if the injured blueliners continue to sit out.
It might be a game we look back on and say, "This is where it started."
That's a schmaltzy way to look at things, but sometimes that's the best way to do it.
"It would have been such a great game to win with how those guys came in," Spezza said. "Gleason found out this morning, Hanley just got here. They battled and played hard. It would have been a `feel-good' moment for us to win the game."
And yet …
"That's one of the best teams in the league. We played with them and should have won tonight," Spezza said. "That should springboard us knowing with the injuries we have we can still compete every night and be good."
It would be a heck of a story to write.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika,and listen to his podcast.