NASHVILLE, Tenn. _ Devoid of flow or rhythm, and peppered with missed opportunities and wasted chances, the Stars' 2-1 overtime loss in Nashville during Game 2 on Saturday night won't be known for its beauty.
It'll be remembered for the penalties _ 11 in total. It'll be remembered for the playoff-level animosity _ for Craig Smith's sucker punch, for Ben Lovejoy's crosschecks, for Roope Hintz laughing in the face of P.K. Subban's jabs. It'll be remembered for an inability to create offense at even-strength.
But most of all, Game 2 will be known for Nashville tying the first-round at 1 with the Stars.
Craig Smith scored five minutes into overtime to give the Predators the win. Jamie Benn scored for the Stars, finishing a smooth saucer pass from Tyler Seguin after a turnover by Mattias Ekholm in the Nashville zone. Ben Bishop made 41 saves.
The loss evens the first-round series at 1 heading back to Dallas for Game 3 on Monday night. Despite the loss on Saturday night, the trip to Nashville this week was still fruitful due to Dallas' Game 1 win on Wednesday night. The Stars stole home-ice advantage with a 3-2 win, and now have to protect it at the American Airlines Center.
The relative ugliness of Saturday night's game was something the Stars have grown accustomed to living in during the regular season. They were responsible for the league's third-worst offense this year. They were buoyed by the league's second-best defense. Low-scoring, tight-checking games were Dallas' forte.
It's a style that led them through the end of the regular season, when they consistently erased deficits by trusting their system and the goaltending duo of Bishop and Anton Khudobin. In the playoffs, it'll have to be a formula that leads them. But they also need to score.
The Stars went 0 for 6 on the power play on Saturday night, tossing aside the many opportunities gifted to them by undisciplined and chippy penalties taken by Nashville. During regulation, Dallas generated 12 of their 21 shots on goal while on the power play, but few challenged Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne.
Dallas' power play was so poor that the Stars coaching staff even moved John Klingberg off the top unit during the final power play in the third period, replacing him with Miro Heiskanen. They tried switching Tyler Seguin and Mats Zuccarello in the circles. Nothing cracked Rinne and the Predators.
Not much did at 5-on-5 either.
Benn's goal was the lone highlight during regulation, and continued his trend of solid playoff performances. Benn had a secondary assist on Wednesday, setting up Mats Zuccarello's goal. Benn now has 22 points in 21 playoff games.
Rocco Grimaldi scored the only goal for Nashville, beating Bishop after Austin Watson won a puck behind the net from Taylor Fedun and centered a pass through Tyler Pitlick. Grimaldi was a new addition to the Nashville lineup in Game 2, replacing the sick Brian Boyle.
