DALLAS -- The Dallas Stars will take a crushing defeat back to the beach or their families or wherever the team will scatter during the upcoming All-Star break.
In the last game before this weekend’s All-Star break, the Stars lost to the Flames 4-3, blowing a two-goal, third-period lead before Oliver Kylington won the game for Calgary with 1:47 left in the third period. Kylington streaked up ice after Calgary killed a penalty and finished a pretty 3-on-1 passing play from the Flames.
Dallas received goals from Joel Hanley, Jason Robertson and Jamie Benn.
Jake Oettinger made 37 saves, including many during the first and second periods to keep the Flames at bay. Trevor Lewis, Andrew Mangiapane and Johnny Gaudreau scored for Calgary, as Mangiapane and Gaudreau’s goals came 37 seconds apart in the third period to unravel a 3-1 Stars lead.
The loss was just the Stars’ second in their last seven games, and leaves them at 23-18-2 entering the All-Star break. Dallas (48 points in 43 games) remain behind the Flames (50 points in 41 games) in the race for the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot.
“We’re going to be battling with these guys all year for a playoff spot,” Stars coach Rick Bowness said before the game. “To have any chance, you have to at least stay in the top five of your division, and then you’re fighting with the other five teams in the other division.”
Calgary might not end up in the wild-card conversation, anyway. By points percentage, the Flames sit in second place in the Pacific Division and the top three in each division earn postseason bids. But, if Calgary slips down the standings, the Stars will own a split with it after Tuesday’s collapse, with a third meeting in Alberta on April 21.
Until the lead disintegrated in the final six minutes of Tuesday’s game, the Stars’ weren’t following their normal path to victory, as the game had a bit more up-and-down than the Stars typically want in their games.
But, the penalty kill continued its rebound, the top line neutralized another one of the league’s best units, and the Stars received the scoring depth that it’s been missing for most of the year.
Hanley scored his first career goal on Tuesday night in his 100th career game, as his first-period shot deflected off a Calgary stick and floated before bouncing between Jacob Markstrom’s legs.
Hanley’s first goal in a Stars jersey came during Game 1 of the 2020 Stanley Cup Final against Tampa Bay. He cruised into the slot against the Lightning and beat Andrei Vasilevskiy clean with a shot.
Benn scored for the second straight game, flipping a puck past Markstrom at the net-front after a nice setup on the rush from linemates Tyler Seguin and Denis Gurianov. It was Benn’s 11th goal of the season.
Gurianov was dangerous as a play-maker, speeding through the neutral zone and setting up Benn twice in the opening minutes and nearly feeding Seguin for a third-period goal.
The Stars won’t play again until Feb. 9, when Nashville visits the American Airlines Center for the first time since beating the Stars into a players-only meeting.
Injury updates: Forward Joel Kiviranta and goaltender Braden Holtby each missed Tuesday’s game with lower-body injuries, Bowness said before the game. Bowness said both are expected to return to action following the All-Star break.
Without Kiviranta, Radek Faksa moved up to the third line with Alexander Radulov at right wing, bumping Jacob Peterson from center to left wing. Riley Damiani entered the lineup and centered the fourth line between Tanner Kero and Luke Glendening.
The Stars recalled Anton Khudobin from the AHL to backup Jake Oettinger. Khudobin has started only one NHL game since he was waived in mid-December.
Bowness reiterated that the Stars are expecting forward Michael Raffl (lower-body) to be ready after the All-Star break. He has not played since the second period in Detroit on Jan. 21, when he blocked a shot off his foot. Raffl participated in morning skate on Sunday.
An AHL trade: The Stars completed a minor-league trade with Tampa Bay on Tuesday afternoon, sending forward Tye Felhaber to the Lightning in exchange for forward Alexey Lapinov.
Lapinov, 22, has spent most of his professional career in the ECHL in Tampa’s organization, but will report to Stars’ AHL affiliate Texas. Lapinov was a third-round pick by the Lightning in 2017 and played with current Stars forward Riley Damiani in 2018-19 with Kitchener in the Ontario Hockey League.
Felhaber was a zero-risk signing by the Stars in 2019, when Felhaber was tearing up the OHL as an overaged player. That year with Ottawa, Felhaber scored 59 goals, earning an entry-level contract with Dallas. Felhaber finished his Texas career with 18 points in 86 games.
Both Felhaber and Lapinov are restricted free agents at the end of the season.
