The goal drought is over for the Stars.
The skid continues.
In the second game of a crucial six-game homestand, the Stars fell 3-2 Thursday to the Columbus Blue Jackets, one of five teams they’re chasing in the Central Division playoff race.
The Stars (6-8-4) have just one victory in their last 11 games and haven’t won at American Airlines Center since Jan. 28.
Tampa, Florida and Carolina have separated themselves in the Central Division and Chicago is playing well ahead of the Stars. Now the Stars are looking up at the Blue Jackets, too.
“The Columbus Blue Jackets are ahead of us in the standings,” Stars coach Rick Bowness said before the game, “and if we want to make the playoffs then we have to catch them.”
After going scoreless for 189:46 dating back to the second period against Florida on Feb. 25, the Stars finally found the net and some confidence.
After Columbus had taken a 3-0 lead, Miro Heiskanen notched his first goal on a shot from the point off a feed from Jamie Benn 7:35 into the third period. Jason Robertson claimed a loose puck in front of the net and lifted it past Joonas Korpisalo with 9:12 remaining to cut the margin to one.
But a late interference penalty call against Andrej Sekera stymied the comeback and incensed Bowness.
Things fell apart for the Stars early in the third period with two goals in 102 seconds.
The Stars’ Joel Kiviranta threw the puck directly to Oliver Bjorkstrand, who beat Anton Khudobin. A Boone Jenner shot deflected off the skate of Eric Robinson and got pass Khudobin for a three-goal lead.
Columbus finally broke through late in the second period. Jenner won a battle for the puck in the corner with Andrej Sekera, got past Kiviranta going to the net and then beat Khudobin between the pads with a wrist shot 18:11 into the period. For Jenner, it was his eighth goal and came after he had a deflection hit the crossbar.
The Stars’ best chance in the period came on the power play. Jamie Benn stole the puck from David Savard in front of net but his whirling shot attempt was denied by Korpisalo.
The two teams played a scoreless first period with the Stars having six shots and the Blue Jackets five, and each team failing to score or even generate much offense on a power-play chance.
-- Last season as a guide: In investing, people caution that past performance doesn’t guarantee future results.
The same is true in the NHL. Even though the personnel may largely be the same, each season is different.
That said, the Stars are drawing parallels between their current early struggles and 2019-20, when they rallied to reach the Stanley Cup finals with largely the same cast of characters.
“We’re been dealing with adversity as a team for a lot of years,” defenseman John Klingberg said before the game. “From that, you get stronger as a team as well. We know how good we can be. We saw how far we went in the bubble playing in the Stanley Cup finals.
“We have a lot of belief in ourselves and within the organization. It’s time to get away with some wins. … You got to start somewhere and build up that confidence that you’re going to be able to put games away.”
Center Radek Faksa said the familiar faces in the locker room help fuel the confidence.
“Most of the group from last year is still here,” Faksa said. “I think we should believe in that, and I believe it will turn around.”
-- Dealing with the schedule: The Stars held an optional practice on Wednesday and morning skate on Thursday.
The compressed NHL schedule has left Bowness with few options other than to draw his players and their bodies.
“We’re in that position right now that we just have to let them tell us how they’re feeling,” Bowness said. “We’re kind of at their mercy with the schedule. If they’re tired, they don’t skate, simple as that.”
Bowness was asked if he might look at other teams for answers to the struggles the Stars might have. He said there were no secrets in the league and that he and his staff was aware of other teams, who face similar challenges.
“At this point, no one has practice time,” Bowness said. “It’s not like people are going to go out and make all these drastic changes to the way they play. There’s just no time to do those things.”
-- Once may be enough: Klingberg experienced his first career fight against fellow Swede Patric Hornqvist in a loss to the Florida Panthers late last month.
He reiterated Thursday that he has no plans to start dropping the gloves regularly.
“I’m probably not going to fight that much at all,” Klingberg said. “I felt we needed a spark. I was trying to do my part.”
-- Injury update: Forward Alexander Radulov, who has been skating, missed his 10th consecutive game with a lower body injury. Forward Roope Hintz was out Thursday with a lower body injury.
