So much of this Stars season has felt undeserved to the organization.
There was the training camp coronavirus outbreak and the blackout-inducing winter storm. There were the schedule changes as a result of both of them. The injuries lingering from a Cup Final run and new ones as a consequence of the tightened slate.
The miserable overtimes have masked decent performances sometimes. Other times, it’s been wretched finishing that have ruined otherwise strong showings. The question “Did we play well enough to win the game?” exited coach Rick Bowness often, quickly followed by a short “Yes.”
Saturday night’s 2-1 overtime win over the Red Wings nearly joined the heap of the unfortunate.
Jamie Benn scored the game-winning goal 32 seconds into overtime, beating a seemingly impenetrable Jonathan Bernier with a shot from the left circle on the rush. With the win, the Stars are two points behind fourth-place Nashville with two games in hand on the Predators.
Dallas outshot the Red Wings 52-17, a beating that failed to show up on the scoreboard thanks to Bernier. He made big saves in close quarters on Stars power plays. He tipped a puck away from an open Roope Hintz that would have been a goal. He received help from three posts that denied Hintz, Jamie Oleksiak and Jason Robertson.
It took the Stars 43:52 to pierce Bernier, as Mark Pysyk pounded home a loose puck after Robertson’s kick hit the post. Pysyk’s goal came on the Stars’ 44th shot of the night.
The Stars were dominant in the face of Bernier’s brilliance. They had 21 shots in the first period. They had 20 shots in the second period. None found the back of the net.
Meanwhile, the Dallas defense stifled Detroit, surrendering three shots in each of the first two periods. Dennis Cholowski painted the upper corner of the goal with a shot that beat Anton Khudobin to give the Red Wings a lead late in the first period.
As the Stars try to make a playoff push, it would have been terribly fitting and familiar for a loss like Saturday’s to wreck Dallas’ postseason chances. It’s been a frequent story for the Stars this season, a tiring routine: play well in all areas except around the net, walk away with a loss, either in regulation or in overtime.
An undeserved loss to make them undeserving of the final playoff spot in the Central Division? It would have been painfully suitable. Benn made sure that didn’t happen.
The captain’s overtime game-winner is the highlight of his best stretch of the season. He now has five goals and six assists in his last 14 games after scoring two goals in the previous 25 games. He’s been a force at center and has deepened the Dallas lineup beneath the top line that Hintz pilots.
In ordinary seasons, a game like Saturday would be a building block in a season, regardless of result. These games happen in a random sport like hockey, and things usually tend to even out across a full season. But in this season and in this point in the season, a loss Saturday would have been devastating for Dallas.
The Stars collected the moral victories in February. Ones in April hold no significance whatsoever.
Saturday’s game was the end of a mushy stretch of the Stars schedule. They played the dregs of the division six straight times, winning the first four games against Columbus and Detroit. They finished their season series with the rebuilding Red Wings on Saturday. From here on out, the schedule stiffens.
The Stars host the first-place Hurricanes in their final two home games Monday and Tuesday. Their final seven games of the season are all on the road. Saturday was a golden opportunity to capitalize on their last golden chance of the season.
Thanks to Benn, they did.
