After being the team's most consistent player through the first eight games, goaltender Ben Bishop lasted just 26 minutes, 12 seconds on Tuesday before giving way to Kari Lehtonen after allowing three goals on 17 shots.
Just not Bishop's night, as the normally sure-handed netminder got trapped behind his own goal on a play that led directly to the Avs' second goal, and then allowed a third goal off a scramble less than two minutes later after the Stars had tied the game.
That was enough for head coach Ken Hitchcock, who pulled Bishop at the next TV timeout.
The move did not sit well with Bishop, who remained upset at the decision after the game.
"I guess that's the coach's decision, but it's a 3-2 hockey game with more than half the game left, so not very happy with the decision," Bishop said. "There's still a lot of hockey left. It's a 3-2 game. I felt good. Not very happy with the decision."
Hitchcock, however, was unapologetic.
"It was time to make a change. We were slow and dozy across the board. Everybody. The whole team needed a wake-up call, so we got it," Hitchcock said.
"It has nothing to do with Ben Bishop," he added. "It has to do with, 'Wake up. Let's get playing,' which is exactly what we did. It had nothing to do with Ben. And I'll do the same with any other goaltender, if I think it's going to help the team and change their mindset. I've got to do whatever it takes, so that's what I did."
Lehtonen, who hadn't played since the second game of the season -- a loss in St. Louis -- was fine, stopping 14 of 15 shots -- although he was beaten five-hole on the eventual game-winner with 9.8 seconds left in the second period, as he couldn't get quickly enough across the crease to block Mark Barberio's blast.