DALLAS_The Winnipeg Jets got what the Dallas Stars wanted Thursday.
Exactly what they wanted.
Winnipeg took a 4-3 win over Dallas at American Airlines Center and gained its first three-game winning streak of the season. In doing so, it took points from the Stars in the battle for playoff positioning in the Western Conference and seized the potential for serious momentum going forward.
Dallas, meanwhile, slipped back to the all-too-comfortable .500 mark in the NHL standings at 21-21-10 (52 points) and lost center Jason Spezza for at least a few games due to injury.
Talk about deja vu all over again.
This Stars' season has been about missed opportunities, crucial mistakes, and injuries.
It's still about all of that.
"It was a hard game," said Stars coach Lindy Ruff. "We had an empty net to put it in, we had Jamie Benn's crossbar, you look at the attempts at the end of the night and we're writing the same story again."
It would be easy to argue that the Stars were the better team. They had an 83-43 advantage in shots attempts and a 42-29 advantage in shots on goal. They won the hit battle at 26-16. They won the faceoff battle at 33-26. They did a lot of things right.
But Benn was stopped on a shorthanded breakaway in the second period and Winnipeg scored right after that save, and Benn hit the crossbar late in the third period with a chance to tie, and Brett Ritchie slipped a puck just wide with an open net and a chance to tie in the dying seconds.
And because of that, the Jets were the better team. They have been during this season series as they now lead 3-1-0 with the final meeting Valentine's Day in Winnipeg. That could be huge, because the Stars are in a fight with six teams trying to get the two wildcard playoff spots in the West, and the Jets are one of those teams.
And while Winnipeg has played two more games and is only two points ahead in the standings (25-25-4, 54 points), it has been dominant within the Central Division. The Jets are 13-4-1 in games against Central opponents, while Dallas slips to 8-10-4 within the division.
It's been like having a gif of a missed shot rolling on your Twitter feed for the entire season.
"We had our opportunities, but we gave them their opportunities too and they made the best of it," Benn said. "That's a tough one. I thought we were going pretty good tonight, actually."
Pretty good is fine when you're leading the division like the Stars did last season. It's not so great when you're trying to dig yourself out of hole.
"We had plenty of good chances to make a difference," Ruff said. "It seems like a common theme but I like the work that went into it."
Also a common theme has been injuries. Spezza took a huge hit from Adam Lowry and immediately left the game. Ruff said he would have more on the injury Friday but that, "He's going to miss some time. It's probably more than days."
Days in which the Stars need to find way to respond.
"We have to let this one go," said winger Patrick Eaves. "We can't sit on this one too long. We will learn from our mistakes and be ready for Saturday."
