The Dallas Stars made a quick trip to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night. The Stars beat the Blackhawks 3-1 at the United Center. Dallas improved to 25-12-5, while Chicago fell to 12-29-2.
The Stars’ starting lineup featured Radek Faksa, Joel Hanley, Craig Smith, Thomas Harley, Sam Steel, and Scott Wedgewood. Wedgewood stopped all 14 shots he faced before leaving the game with a lower-body injury.
The Stars got a power-play opportunity early in the first period but couldn’t capitalize on the man advantage. Seth Jones was called for tripping Jason Robertson at 3:58 of the first.
The Stars managed to survive all four minutes of the penalty kill after Mason Marchment was called for roughing Seth Jones at 9:24 of the first.
The Stars and Blackhawks were in a scoreless tie at the end of the first. Dallas outshot Chicago 8-6 after 20 minutes.
The Blackhawks erased the scoreless tie midway through the second period. Boris Katchouk buried a backhand shot into the Stars’ net for a 1-0 lead at 12:56 of the second. Zach Sanford collected the lone assist on Katchouk’s fourth of the season.
The Stars trailed the Blackhawks 1-0 at the end of two periods. Chicago outshot Dallas 25-17 through 40 minutes.
The Stars finally got on the board. Matt Duchene capitalized on the man advantage with a snap shot that led to a power-play goal that tied the game 1-1 at 2:32 of the third period. Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson collected the assists on Duchene’s 14th of the season.
The Stars took the lead. Mason Marchment fired a shot into the Blackhawks’ net to give the Stars a 2-1 lead at 14:54 of the third period. Evgenii Dadonov and Joel Hanley collected the assists on Marchment’s 14th of the season.
The Stars scored an insurance goal. Joe Pavelski fired a wrist shot into the Blackhawks’ empty net for an empty netter and a 3-1 lead at 19:37 of the third period. Roope Hintz and Jamie Benn collected the assists on Pavelski’s 17th of the season.
The Stars beat the Blackhawks 3-1 in regulation. With the win, Dallas won six straight games against Chicago at the United Center. Dallas outshot Chicago 35-30 after a full 60 minutes.
Notes
Three Stars of the Game
1. Mason Marchment (1 point: 1 goal)
2. Matt Duchene (1 point: 1 goal)
3. Boris Katchouk (1 point: 1 goal)
Three Takeaways from the Game
1. Stars goaltender Scott Wedgewood sustained a lower-body injury and was questionable to return to Saturday’s game, according to Dallas Stars PR. Stars backup goaltender Jake Oettinger entered the game and started back-to-back starts after being out for a month.
2. Stars fans shouldn’t blame Jake Oettinger for allowing the Blackhawks’ goal in the second period. Stars veteran defenseman Ryan Suter was arguably responsible for knocking in the Blackhawks’ goal.
3. The Stars pulled off a not-so-pretty win that they likely didn’t deserve.
Up Next
The Stars will return to Dallas for a one-game tilt against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Central.
