Change the colors. Change the location. Change the opponent.
But not the result.
In what has become a regular occurrence for the Stars this season, they outplayed their opponent and still wound up with an overtime loss, this time a 3-2 setback in Nashville. The Predators erased a one-goal Stars lead in the third period before Eeli Tolvanen won the game 1:29 into overtime.
Tolvanen’s goal came after a head-scratching decision by Denis Gurianov to dump the puck in during overtime, giving the Predators possession and allowing Tolvanen to beat Gurianov back to the Stars zone. Tolvanen received a pass from Viktor Arvidsson and roofed a shot past Anton Khudobin.
“That was a gift,” Stars coach Rick Bowness said. “That’s all I’m going to say on that. That was a complete gift.”
The loss dropped the Stars’ record in overtime and shootout games to 2-10. They have lost the last four games that have extended past regulation. Their only win this season during 3 on 3 overtime came all the way back on Jan. 26 in the third game of the season.
If the Stars were an average team in overtimes and shootouts (and went 6-6), they would be in a playoff position, ahead of Chicago, Nashville and Columbus on points percentage.
“It’s puck possession is what it is,” Bowness said. “Overtime is puck possession. When they’re tired, you bring it back in the neutral zone, you hang on and make some plays. Try to hem them in their zone. You do not give them the puck back.”
Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz continued to carry the Stars offense by scoring goals in the second period. Robertson scored his seventh goal of the season by slipping a shot between Juuse Saros’ legs. Hintz scored on a power play on a rebound of Miro Heiskanen’s shot.
Khudobin made 23 saves in the loss.
The Stars were — by far — the better team in the first two periods of the game. They owned a 26-14 edge in shots on goal. They held a 41-26 edge in shot attempts. Their forecheck was relentless. Their power play scored. They led 2-1 entering the third period.
But it’s been the story of the Stars season this year: play better (at least for 40 minutes) and still leave the rink with a one-point consolation prize. After the game, both Hintz and Robertson talked about puck possession during overtime.
“We just have to hold on to the puck more and get good speed,” Hintz said. “That way, we should get more opportunities.”
“It’s all about maintaining puck possession, and when you don’t have it, you can’t score,” Robertson said. “You’ve just got to keep looking forward to getting the puck, trying to strip it off of them.”
Gurianov’s gaffe comes amid one of his worst offensive stretches since he arrived in North America in 2016. He has just two goals in his last 26 games. His one-timer on the power play hasn’t been unleashed in ages. He’s been hesitant to shoot the puck. Positive signs seemed to emerge when he scored against Florida on Saturday and when he assisted on Robertson’s goal Tuesday.
But his error in overtime may put him further into Bowness’ doghouse, and it meant another lost point in overtime to a team that the Stars are chasing.
“It’s something different every game,” Bowness said when asked about losing in overtime. “That, we haven’t seen that. So it’s something different every game.”
