Before his team’s five-game East Coast road trip over the last 10 days, Dallas Stars coach Pete DeBoer and his players set a goal to improve their road record.
Ahead of the trip, the Stars were an impressive 16-5-1 at home but just 8-8 on the road, a noticeable step back after being the best road team in the league last season.
The Stars took care of business, going 4-1 in the trip. But they fell into a trap in a single home game against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night.
Alex Newhook scored the go-ahead goal for the Canadiens with 10:45 remaining in the game to lift his team to a 3-1 victory in regulation. The Stars had taken an early lead but squandered it in less than a minute and couldn’t find another goal all night.
Sports Roundup Get the latest D-FW sports news, analysis, scores and more. SIGN UP Or with: Google Facebook By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
The game-winning goal was initially reviewed for a possible high stick, but the call of a good goal on the ice stood.
“It felt like it was pretty high in the air, but obviously they have a lot of angles, so I’m sure it was legal,” Stars goalie Jake Oettinger said.
Advertisement
Both the Stars and Canadiens have been two of the league’s hottest teams over the last month. Montreal is 11-2-1 in its last 14 games. Dallas has won 10 of its last 12.
But before the Stars traveled to Colorado for a critical divisional matchup with playoff implications, they couldn’t pick up 2 quick points at home to pass the Minnesota Wild for second place in the Central Division standings.
Advertisement
It didn’t take long for the Stars to take a lead Thursday. Jason Robertson scored just 3:50 into the game when Evgenii Dadonov’s shot rebounded directly to his stick.
Advertisement
Make that 7⃣ points in the last 6⃣ games for the Stars’ Jason Robertson
Dallas strikes first against the Canadiens at American Airlines Center #TexasHockey | @DallasStars pic.twitter.com/J9GbUIkUtu — SportsDay Stars (@dmn_stars) January 17, 2025
But response goals have been an issue for the Stars all season, and they gave up another just 47 seconds later. A neutral zone turnover allowed Cole Caufield to set up Juraj Slafkovsky for the equalizing goal.
“Some of the most important shifts or sequences are right after we score or they score,” Oettinger said. “I think we need to get better at that. I can be better, making a big save after we score to not give it right back.”
Advertisement
That score held through the rest of the first and entire second period. The Stars had a number of opportunities to take a lead, including two power plays and some quality chances in the second period where they held a 15-9 shot advantage.
Dallas created more than enough chances with 33 shots on goal through 60 minutes but couldn’t put it in the net.
Montreal ultimately put the game away, with Newhook deflecting a shot by Lane Hutson from the point.
The Canadiens added an empty netter with 17 seconds remaining.
Advertisement
Both goalies were among the best players on the ice Thursday night. Oettinger made 21 saves, including multiple challenging stops in the first period to keep the game tied. Montreal’s Jakub Dobes made 32 saves in the win.
“It’s one of those games where a goalie steals points, steals goals,” Robertson said. “Tonight was like that.”
The Stars will make a quick trip to Colorado on Saturday before closing out the back-to-back at home Sunday against Detroit.
“It doesn’t get any easier,” DeBoer said. “Over our next week, we’ve got Colorado and Vegas two times. There’s no rest in this league.”
Advertisement
Find more Stars coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.