The three game losing skid for the Dallas Stars came to a screeching halt in convincing fashion as they handed the Chicago Blackhawks a 4-0 loss and picked up a career 800th win for head coach Ken Hitchcock. It gave the Stars a 3-0-0 record against their division rival Blackhawks this season. Ben Bishop finished with a 24 save shutout for the Stars, though he wasn’t particularly sharp. They also won the special teams battle going 1-for-3 on the power play, and stayed out of the penalty box until the third period.
The Blackhawks were the superior team in the opening frame and missed a couple of glaring opportunities. They hit two posts on point blank chances, one from Patrick Kane in which Bishop was dead to rights with his net wide open. At 11:52, Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy threw a check on Tyler Pitlick that sent him to the locker room after one additional shift. Though he was questionable, he did return in the second period. Late in the first period, Jamie Benn scored a back door goal late in the first period off a tremendous feed from Remi Elie to break open the scoring and ensure the Stars didn’t have to chase.
Dallas extended their lead on the first shift of the second period when Antoine Roussel got a deflection on a one timer from Dan Hamhuis. Both teams then traded missed opportunities. Attempting to answer the Roussel goal, Brent Seabrook threw a slick wrister from the slot that left the post ringing for several seconds. Pitlick was crashing the net and had the puck on his stick with Crawford unable to recover, but he slightly over-skated the puck.
The Stars whipped the Chicago transplants in the crowd into a stunned silence when Tyler Seguin had two successive goals to temporarily put him on natural hat trick watch. On the first goal, the Stars were on the power play when Jason Spezza fired a one timer from the left circle, and Seguin cleaned up the rebound. The second goal was set up by Devin Shore, who won the puck off the boards and sent it in front to give Seguin a couple of cracks at it before he stuffed it past Crawford.
In a nice change of pace from recent games, the Stars spent the third period out-changing the Blackhawks, staying penalty-free, and keeping Blackhawks out of the slot. They did take their lone penalty with five minutes left in the game.
Play of the Game
Tyler Seguin’s first goal came on the power play and really put the game out of reach for the Blackhawks. There was a serious lull that came over the Blackhawks fans in the building. The play also showcased Seguin’s puck skills as he made a great decision with the forehand to backhand deke to beat Crawford.
The Upset Three Stars of the Game
1. Tyler Seguin (2 G) – Seguin broke out of an eight-game goal drought and had Stars fans thinking hat trick in the third period. His goals put the game out of reach, and the first temporarily pulled the Stars’ power play out of the ditch.
2. Antoine Roussel (1 G) – Roussel scored the second goal of the game to give the Stars some breathing room. As per usual, he was a pest on the forecheck and helped his line be effective all game.
3. Dan Hamhuis (2 A, 5 blocks, 21:05 TOI) – For the second time in two games, Hamhuis was one of the Stars’ best players. He had helpers on timely goals, was responsible and mistake-free in his own zone, and ate up a ton of minutes on the blue line.
The Goals
First Period
17:11 Right after the first power play expired for the Stars, Jamie Benn scored easily from the weak side and was set up with a nice pass from Remi Elie, who had to stay with the play to get it to the Stars captain. Stars 1, Blackhawks 0
Excuse me, the man is trying to celebrate here. #GoStars pic.twitter.com/oNKaRbo8bY
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) December 22, 2017
Second Period
1:07 Antoine Roussel redirected a one timer from Dan Hamhuis on the first shift of the second period to put the Stars up by two. It was Hamhuis’ second point of the night. Stars 2, Blackhawks 0
Roussel with the deflection & it's 2-0 Stars. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/ZR4mY2zr6S
— Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_) December 22, 2017
5:55 Tyler Seguin went forehand to backhand in front of Corey Crawford to clean up the rebound on the power play. Jason Spezza had the initial shot and the primary assist. Stars 3, Blackhawks 0
Seguin snaps an 8-game goal drought. 3-0 Stars. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/eLUxqIzEl4
— Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_) December 22, 2017
16:14 Tyler Seguin scored his second goal of the game by stuffing home a puck that was loose in front of Corey Crawford. Devin Shore worked hard to set up the opportunity. Stars 4, Blackhawks 0
Overhead look at Seguin's goal. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/1jlLBg4y9W
— Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_) December 22, 2017
Third Period
No goals
Blackhawks lineup
Brandon Saad — Jonathan Toews — Alex DeBrincat
Nick Schmaltz — Artem Anisimov — Patrick Kane
Ryan Hartman — Vinnie Hinostroza — Richard Panik
Lance Bouma — Tommy Wingels — John Hayden
Duncan Keith — Jordan Oesterle
Michal Kempny — Brent Seabrook
Gustav Forsling — Connor Murphy
Corey Crawford
Anton Forsberg
Injured: Cody Franson (upper body), Michal Rozsival (concussion)
Scratched: Patrick Sharp, Jan Rutta
Stars lineup
Remi Elie — Jamie Benn — Alexander Radulov
Mattias Janmark — Tyler Seguin — Devin Shore
Gemel Smith — Martin Hanzal — Jason Spezza
Antoine Roussel — Radek Faksa — Tyler Pitlick
Esa Lindell — John Klingberg
Dan Hamhuis — Greg Pateryn
Stephen Johns — Julius Honka
Ben Bishop
Kari Lehtonen
Injured: Marc Methot (knee)
Scratched: Brett Ritchie
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