DALLAS _ If that was a test, the Stars flunked badly.
Riding a five-game winning streak and getting a home game against a red hot Nashville team that played the night before, the Stars dearly wanted to see how they fared against the better teams in the Central Division Tuesday.
"They're a top dog and they want to take the next step to win the Cup, and we want to measure ourselves to see where we're at compared to them," Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said before the game. "It'll be a good test for us."
Well, the Stars have some more studying to do after a 5-2 loss.
Goalie Ben Bishop allowed three goals on 15 shots and was pulled in the second period.
The Stars' power play looked feckless in an 0-for-2 performance, and the penalty killed allowed Nashville two power-play goals.
Captain Jamie Benn took a retaliatory penalty in the first period that led to the first goal of the game, and seemed to set an undisciplined style for his team.
There was more, of course.
Nashville played back-up goalie Juuse Saros, and the Stars were foiled by a player who entered with a 1-3-1 record, 3.70 GAA and .870 save percentage. The Stars finished with 11 giveaways, including three by defenseman John Klingberg.
It was the team's most embarrassing game of the year, and they have used that word a lot this season.
Nashville is on fire and moves to 18-8-3 (39 points), first in the Central Division. Since obtaining Kyle Turris in a three-team trade with Ottawa and Colorado, the Predators are 10-2-1. Dallas slips to 16-11-1 (33 points). The Stars were hoping to make up some ground on Nashville and win their fourth straight game against a Central Division opponent. Instead, Dallas is now 4-7-0 within the Central, while Nashville is 8-1-1. That can make a huge difference when the NHL's playoff format relies heavily on play within the division.
The first three teams make the playoffs out of a division, and then other teams have to fight for one of two wild-card playoff spots. Dallas currently is in a wild-card spot, so a blowout loss in December has to be taken with a grain of salt.
Still, the team wanted to know where it stood against the best teams, and this was certainly a shocking report card. Nashville played a smart road game on the second night of a back-to-back, got scoring throughout the lineup, and was both more physical and smarter. While Dallas finished with a 45-32 advantage in shots on goal and even broke up Saros' shutout attempt, it was a painful reminder of how much further this team has to go.
"They're a heck of a hockey team," center Tyler Seguin said of last season's Western Conference representative in the Stanley Cup Final. "I think they're first or second in the NHL with Tampa. It's a big test for us. They're coming off a big win at home (Monday). We want to be ready."
The Stars weren't. Now, they have to travel up to St. Louis and see if they can find some redemption in another game that will be called "a test."
"We've got nothing but top teams right now, and I think our players want to measure up and see how we look," Hitchcock said of a run against Nashville, St. Louis (Thursday) and Vegas (Saturday). "We had a difficult time the first go-round we played Nashville and St. Louis. We want to see if we're improved and how close we are to these guys."
