DALLAS _ After capping their road trip with a shutout loss to the New York Islanders, the Stars were desperate for points.
But instead of starting their six-game homestand with a bang, they blew a two-goal lead in the final period then lost in overtime to the Washington Capitals, 4-3, before a sellout crowd at American Airlines Center.
The Caps' first victory over Dallas since 2008 was a punch in the gut to the home team.
The Stars gave coach Lindy Ruff what he wanted, a strong physical game against one of the NHL's hottest teams. The Caps had scored at least five goals in five straight games.
"We emptied the tank. It was a disappointing loss," Ruff said. "It was a heck of a hockey game from the standpoint of physicality. They gave me everything they had."
The Stars at least managed to get one point, but after going 3-6-1, they direly need to start stacking wins.
Special teams again worked against them. After starting the third period with a 3-1 lead, the Stars surrendered two power play goals, then allowed the game winner by Jay Beagle just 19 seconds into the extra period.
Ruff wanted stronger play on the puck, stressing the need to win one-on-one battles.
He put Brett Richie and Curtis McKenzie in the lineup, hoping to spark more physical play.
Ruff got that, and then some.
Midway through the first period, Ritchie made his statement, dropping the gloves with Caps winger Tom Wilson. After they traded blows, Antoine Roussel squared off with Daniel Winnik on the ensuing faceoff, and then McKenzie traded slashes with Evgeny Kuznetsov by the benches.
Although the physicality increased, the Stars suffered the same fate that has been the bane of their recent existence, surrendering a goal on the Caps' second shot.
Andre Burakovsky took advantage of the Stars' inability to clear the puck, finding the puck on his stick in the crease. He fired the shot past Kari Lehtonen, giving the Caps the lead just 2:17 into the game.
But the chippy play sparked the Stars. Adam Cracknell and McKenzie muscled their way behind Washington's defense, and McKenzie redirected Jordie Benn's rising slapshot over Philipp Grubauer's shoulder and into the top of the net.
Tied 1-1, the Stars dominated the second period, outshooting the Caps 10-4 and 25-13 overall.
They took the lead 6:26 into the period when Patrick Eaves cleaned up the rebound of Patrik Nemeth's backhand shot.
The Stars added a power play goal after Caps winger Brett Connolly was flagged for boarding, knocking Jordie Benn headfirst into the boards behind Dallas' net,
Jamie Benn, positioned beside the Caps goal, alone and undetected, easily tapped in the rebound of Eaves' shot.
"We've played better hockey at home," Ruff said. "We've got to establish a game that allows us to win, which I think we've done for the most part when we've played here. This is our home building and we want to dictate play."
