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Tyler Seguin scores a hat trick and Stars douse Flames 6-4

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The Dallas Stars took to the ice in Dallas on Friday evening in front of a capacity crowd that was nostalgic and misty eyed from the Jere Lehtinen number retirement ceremony. The number 26 will hang in the rafters at the AAC and will ring into eternity. In town to spoil the party was the Calgary Flames, who the Stars edged 2-1 in their last meeting in Calgary.

Stephen Johns, slotted as a left defenseman for the game, went to retrieve a puck in the second period and fell awkwardly into the boards. The back of his head hit hard, and he was taken back into the tunnel for evaluation. He did not return for the rest of the game.

The Stars were generating a little of good looks in the early-going by getting to loose pucks. Devin Shore, Tyler Seguin, and Antoine Roussel each had a quality shot from a different area of the ice, and each time Flames goaltender, and former Marty Turco understudy, Mike Smith settled things down. It was a pleasure to see the gray-bearded legend Jaromir Jagr skating for the Flames. He had a chance on Ben Bishop, who handled the wrist shot with a glove deflection. You still cannot move Jagr off of the puck when he has it on his stick.

Seeing his first time for the Dallas Stars in awhile, Julius Honka committed one of those ticky-tack slashes on which the NHL has improved their efforts to remove from the game. The Stars were struggling to clear their zone, and Honka had to commit the minor while battling for a puck. The only thing that came of the power play for the Flames was another wrist shot from Jagr that nailed Bishop in the helmet.

It appeared that both goaltenders would finish the first period on a roll. Bishop had to make two high danger saves with four seconds to go. Smith, probably the best puck handling goaltender in the NHL, gave his team a couple of scares with his decision making behind the net, and it finally cost them. Smith couldn’t get the puck to one of his defenseman, and the puck was intercepted. Roussel went to the front of the net and scored off a pass from Tyler Pitlick that put the Stars up by one heading into the first intermission.

The second period began with a difficult stretch for the Stars. Michael Ferland scored from the high slot after his line won a puck battle on the boards. It was a save Bishop should’ve made with no one screening him. Hamhuis had his pocket picked by Johnny Gaudreau who easily beat Bishop in close to the net.

The teams traded high sticking minors and sent the game to 4-on-4 for two minutes. It was a fruitful turn of events for the Stars, and Tyler Seguin evened the game up. Mattias Janmark sent Seguin a pass in the front of the net, and Seguin attempted a deflection that he had to bat out of the air and in behind Smith. Seguin finished the game with a hat trick, the Stars’ first of the season. Janmark then drew a tripping call to give the Stars their first power play, with some of the time spent on a 4-on-3. The Stars only managed one shot on goal against the 31st ranked penalty kill of the Flames.

The Stars picked up their second power play late in the period when Brett Kulak was caught holding Brett Ritchie’s stick. Gemel Smith worked hard to keep possession and gave Dallas the chance to draw the penalty. Seguin almost scored a second goal from a rebound on the stick side, but the Flames goaltender made an impressive save.

After the power play expired, Roussel was penalized for goaltender interference when he tried a deflection near the side of the net and caught Smith with the body. Bishop was screened by Troy Brouwer, and couldn’t see the rebound from a shot by Gaudreau. Sean Monahan came into the crease to swat the puck in, his first of two goals of the game, and Calgary was back on top.

The lead for the Flames didn’t last long as the Stars had a quick answer. Radulov found a loose puck in front of Smith’s net and scored his eighth goal of the season. To finish the period, Jason Spezza had to throw his body in front of a slap shot that absolutely tattooed his lower back.

In the third period, the Stars had some trouble clearing the zone early, and Bishop had to settle things down by covering loose pucks as Jagr had two more chances. Radulov took a puck off the hand, which stung for a while as he stayed on the bench for a couple of shifts. Monahan scored his second goal of the night on a rush that was set up by Smith. The Stars were caught forechecking and couldn’t recover, though they did draw another penalty soon after.

Radulov set Jamie Benn up for a one-time snipe, but Smith recovered. Travis Hamonic then committed a delay of game penalty by clearing the puck over the glass and the Stars were given 1:20 of 5-on-3. Dallas held the puck in the zone for the duration and hit Smith with a flurry of shots, but couldn’t get the equalizer. The Stars fourth line decided to get it the hard way. They sent bodies to the net, and Ritchie won the puck on a hard forecheck, centered the pass, and Gemel Smith cashed in for Dallas.

Then it was Seguin’s turn again. He intercepted a pass as the Flames attempted a breakout and beat Smith glove side from the slot. The building was as loud as I’ve heard it all year. The Stars couldn’t quite close the door, and Benn committed a tripping penalty to send the Flames to the power play late in the game. The penalty kill was strong thanks to Seguin, and the Stars liberated their captain from the box.

Calgary emptied their net with 1:35 to go, and Seguin finished off his hat trick with an empty net goal. It was well deserved as Seguin outworked everyone on the ice all night. The Stars were punched in the mouth a few times, but had a response at every turn. It was a spectacular way to honor the great Jere Lehtinen with a wildly entertaining game.

The Goals

First Period

18:22 Antoine Roussel got the Stars on the board after Tyler Pitlick centered a pass to him. Roussel finished with a tap-in. Stars 1, Flames 0

Second Period

:39 On the first shift, Michael Ferland scored from the high slot to even the game up. Stars 1, Flames 1

2:53 Johnny Gaudreau stole the puck from an unsuspecting Dan Hamhuis and beat Ben Bishop glove side. Stars 1, Flames 2

4:20 During a stretch of 4-on-4 play, Tyler Seguin scored by batting the puck out of the air behind Mike Smith. Mattias Janmark had the primary assist. Stars 2, Flames 2

17:31 Sean Monahan collected a rebound and scored on the power play against a heavily screened Ben Bishop. Stars 2, Flames 3

18:30 Alexander Radulov found a loose puck in front of the net and scored. The play was set up by an awkward zone entry from John Klingberg, and Devin Shore had the primary assist. Stars 3, Flames 3

Third Period

6:03 Sean Monahan scored his second goal on a rush that was initiated by goaltender Mike Smith. Stars 3, Flames 4

12:12 Gemel Smith scored his second goal of the season to draw even in the game. He set up in front of the net and finished off a centering pass from Brett Ritchie. Stars 4, Flames 4

14:03 Tyler Seguin scored his second goal of the game by intercepting a breakout pass and beating Mike Smith glove side from the slot. Stars 5, Flames 4

19:00 Tyler Seguin completed his hat trick by scoring into an empty net. He withstood a hook from a back checking defender to finish the play. Stars 6, Flames 4

Flames lineup
Johnny Gaudreau — Sean Monahan — Michael Ferland
Matthew Tkachuk — Mikael Backlund — Michael Frolik
Sam Bennett — Mark Jankowski — Jaromir Jagr
Kris Versteeg — Curtis Lazar — Troy Brouwer

Mark Giordano — Dougie Hamilton
T.J. Brodie — Travis Hamonic
Brett Kulak — Michael Stone

Mike Smith
David Rittich

Scratched: Freddie Hamilton, Matt Stajan, Matt Bartkowski

Stars lineup
Devin Shore — Jamie Benn — Alexander Radulov
Mattias Janmark — Tyler Seguin — Jason Spezza
Antoine Roussel — Radek Faksa — Tyler Pitlick
Gemel Smith — Martin Hanzal — Brett Ritchie

Esa Lindell — John Klingberg
Dan Hamhuis — Greg Pateryn
Stephen Johns — Julius Honka

Ben Bishop
Kari Lehtonen

Injured: Marc Methot (knee)

Scratched: Remi Elie, Jamie Oleksiak

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