WINNIPEG, Manitoba _ The Stars' five-game team-building foray through seven cities ended in disappointment Thursday.
But there was a silver lining.
Dallas (7-6-0) lost a 5-2 game and finished 2-3-0 on the trip. They also drop to 1-4-0 in the Central Division and fall behind the Jets (7-3-2) in the standings. But, they showed a lot of heart and battle after a rough start _ and that's sort of what this road trip is all about.
Winnipeg dominated early play, drawing two power plays and scoring twice against the Stars' heretofore impenetrable penalty kill. The offensively loaded Jets, who typically run the score up against Dallas at Bell MTS Centre, were doing just that as they a had a 3-0 lead just 15:16 into the game.
"It's not what we wanted," said defenseman Marc Methot. "We dug ourselves a huge hole. We were definitely prepared prior, but doing it on the ice is a different ballgame."
Mark Scheifele had a goal, so did Patrik Laine, and Tyler Myers scored on the power play. It was exactly what the Stars didn't want to see, as the old villains looked happy to see the Dallas green on the ice.
But the Stars fought back ... quite literally.
Gemel Smith had a spirited scrap with Brendan Lemieux in the first period, and then Stars captain Jamie Benn challenged big Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien, and sent a message to his teammates in the second period. Byfuglien made a hard hit, driving Alexander Radulov into the boards, and Benn decided he wanted to make a statement.
While Benn had to sit in the penalty box for five minutes while the Stars were trying to battle back from a 3-1 deficit, linemates Tyler Seguin and Radulov dialed up the intensity and helped tilt the ice back in the Stars' direction.
"Smitty and Benn did a great job there. It's not easy to fight like that," Methot added. "It did change the game for us."
Dallas was the benefactor of a successful challenge for goaltender interference that wiped a Brandon Tanev goal off the board. They also were helped when Kyle Connor fumbled a penalty shot chance. But that was all part of the drama of the game.
Then, when Mattias Janmark whistled in a shot late in the second period, the Stars had life.
"There's lessons to be learned, and I'm sure we're going to hear about it when we get back," Methot said. "That's part of the process."
Now, the Jets still had plenty of life, too, and Scheifele picked up his second goal of the game on a deflection that went high in the air and bounced behind goalie Ben Bishop, and that helped Winnipeg win the game on the scoreboard.
But the Stars learned a lot in the process.
"We weren't ready to play," Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said. "I'm not sure we were surprised, but we were surprised. I'm disappointed. That's on me, and it's my job to fix it."
