That led to breakdowns in their defensive structure, and goaltender Anton Khudobin was unable to come up with the big saves he had made in recent weeks.
It was a tough night for Khudobin. The Stars entered the game fighting the New York Islanders for the Jennings Trophy, given to the team that allows the fewest goals. The Islanders gave up one on Thursday. The Stars gave up six on Friday. That pretty much gives the award to New York, even before both teams play Saturday.
"You work all year for that, so it was a source of pride for us to be a good defensive team," Spezza said. "So when you give up six goals like that, it isn't a satisfying feeling."
Montgomery considered pulling Khudobin, but said the goalie wanted to stay in. There is a chance that Ben Bishop plays Saturday, so Khudobin will get a break.
Mix into all of this the fact that Montgomery was
hoping he might see some inspired play from L'Esperance, Ritchie, Dowling, Spezza and Oleksiak
, and it makes the game an even tougher read. L'Esperance scored a goal, Ritchie had four hits, Dowling won five of eight faceoffs, Spezza had three shots on goal and won eight of 13 faceoffs. There was some strong individual play.