AHL Report: With 17 games left, Texas Stars in tight playoff race

The Texas Stars dropped three of four games over the past week as they battle three teams in a tight race for the final two playoff spots in the AHL's Pacific Division.
Texas, which went 1-2-1 in the four games, is 30-21-8 on the season and is in fifth place in the division and out of a playoff spot, but they are just .002 percentage points out of third place. Percentage points will determine the final standings because teams in the Pacific Division play a different number of games.
Here's more on the AHL affiliate of the Dallas Stars.

Tuesday, February 27: Chicago 4, Texas 3 (SO)

Denis Gurianov scored with 4:28 remaining in the third period to tie the game and force overtime, but Texas fell 4-3 to Chicago in a shootout Tuesday to open a two-game road trip. Roope Hintz and Brent Regner also scored for Texas, and Landon Bow stopped 41 of 44 shots in regulation and overtime and one of three in the shootout.

Wednesday, February 28: Rockford 2, Texas 1

Texas lost its second straight game on the road trip, falling 2-1 at Rockford Wednesday. Rockford scored late in the first and then early in the second to build a 2-0 lead in the game. Greg Rallo scored the lone goal for Texas, cutting the lead to 2-1 at 12:23 of the second. Mike McKenna got the start in goal and stopped 26 of 28 shots.

Saturday, March 3: Chicago 4, Texas 1

The Stars returned home for the weekend and lost their third straight game, falling 4-1 to Chicago at H-E-B Center Saturday night. Max French gave Texas a 1-0 lead midway through the first period, but Chicago tied the game 49 seconds later and then took a 2-1 lead late in the second period. The Wolves sealed the win with two empty-net goals in the final minute of the third period. Landon Bow got the start in goal and stopped 17 of 19 shots.

Sunday, March 4: Texas 2, San Antonio 1 (OT)

Brent Regner's goal with 32 seconds left in overtime lifted the Texas Stars to a 2-1 victory over San Antonio at AT&T Center Sunday. Regner scored on an odd-man rush to snap Texas' skid at three games. Greg Rallo also scored for Texas, and Mike McKenna stopped 33 of 34 shots for his 14th win of the season.

Notes

Texas Lineup

Here is the Texas lineup from the last game.
Denis Gurianov - Roope Hintz - Matt Mangene
Travis Morin - Sheldon Dries - Colin Markison
Tommy Thompson - Austin Fyten - Greg Rallo
Samuel Laberge - Max French - Steve McParland
Dillon Heatherington - Brent Regner
Andrew Bodnarchuk - Michael Paliotta
Andrew O'Brien - Gavin Bayreuther
Mike McKenna
Landon Bow

Week Ahead

Wed., Mar. 7, Iowa at Texas, 7:30 p.m.
Fri., Mar. 9, Texas at Tucson, 8:05 p.m.
Sat., Mar. 10, Texas at Tucson, 8:05 p.m.

Transactions

3/6: G Philippe Desrosiers recalled to Texas (AHL) from Idaho (ECHL)
3/6: G Mike McKenna recalled to Dallas (NHL) from Texas (AHL)
3/6: C Roope Hintz recalled to Dallas (NHL) from Texas (AHL)
3/5: C Roope Hintz assigned to Texas (AHL) from Dallas (NHL)
3/5: C Roope Hintz recalled to Dallas (NHL) from Texas (AHL)

Idaho Steelheads

The Idaho Steelheads went 1-1-0 last week and are 33-19-6 on the season. The Steelheads are in second place in the ECHL's Mountain Division. Stars goaltending prospect Philippe Desrosiers started both games for Idaho, stopping 51 of 55 shots. Desrosiers is 23-9-3 with a 2.51 goals against average, and .913 save percentage.
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 him on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.