TORONTO _ The schedule-maker tried to hand the Stars a win Tuesday night, but they refused to take it.
The Toronto Maple Leafs were returning from a six-game road trip that ender in an overtime loss against the Islanders Monday, while the Stars were coming off of two days rest and were snug in their Toronto beds when the young Leafs finally touched down early Tuesday morning.
Yet a Toronto team that had allowed 22 goals in its previous four games took a 3-1 win over a Stars team that desperately needs points to stay in the shooting distance of the second wildcard playoff spot in the Western Conference.
"We played well for long stretches, but the other team is getting timely goals and we're not," defenseman Dan Hamhuis said.
Dallas falls to 21-23-10, loses three games in regulation for the first time this season, and has just 28 games remaining to make a move on the final wildcard playoff spot in the Western Conference, which sits six points ahead in the standings.
Yes, you could blame a controversial hand on the faceoff call against Radek Faksa for handing the Maple Leafs a five-on-three goal in the third period, and the Stars did.
"The Faksa call is a tough call, I don't think he even touched the puck," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said.
But it was right in line with how the Stars have lost in the past.
"It's been the story of the season," Hamhuis said. "The way we have been finding ways to lose is taking penalties. When they got their goal, it really sunk us."
The Stars entered New Year's Eve vowing to make a serious run and have gone 5-7-3 since. They vowed to make hay in a six-game homestand and went 2-2-2. They vowed to dig in on the road and now have lost three games in regulation for the first time this season. They are losing ground at 21-23-10, and they are losing time to make up ground with 28 games remaining in the season.
If you want to add to the pile, Dallas is now 7-14-4 on the road, among the worst in the NHL. It is now 5-9-4 against the Eastern Conference, among the worst in the West. They gave up a power-play goal for the seventh consecutive game and have allowed 48 power-play goals against, worst in the league.
The stats say this isn't a good team, but the irony is that the Stars rarely are out of a game. The Stars simply find different ways to lose.
On Tuesday, it was another frustrating day for the offense, as they were all around Maple Leafs back-up goalie Curtis McElhinney, but simply couldn't find any puck luck. Meanwhile, Antti Niemi rebounded from a truly horrendous run to gain a little confidence with some nice saves.
It wasn't enough.
Niemi also allowed a Jake Gardiner shot from distance to sail past him, and an Auston Matthews tip to elude his glove. Could he have stopped either? Possibly. Was this better than getting pulled in three straight starts while allowing 11 goals on 36 shots? Heck yes.
In fact, Niemi might have even earned start Thursday in Ottawa, that's how strange this season has been. Jiri Hudler also came back into the lineup after six healthy scratches, and he probably earned another game, as well.
The Stars weren't bad, they just found a way to lose. They've done that a lot this season.
Tyler Seguin had eight shots on goal and scored his 20th goal of the season, but the Stars simply came up short once again.
"I'm just so sick of talking about it," Seguin said. "We have to look in the mirror, dig deeper, we have to all be professionals and try to get out of this together."
