On Saturday, Mavrik Bourque made his NHL debut in the Dallas Stars‘ game against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Stars lost 3-2 to the Blackhawks at the United Center. Dallas fell to 48-20-9, while Chicago improved to 23-48-5.
The Stars’ starting lineup featured Miro Heiskanen, Mavrik Bourque, Logan Stankoven, Thomas Harley, Jamie Benn, and Scott Wedgewood. Wedgewood made 14 saves in a losing effort.
Meanwhile, Blackhawks goalie Petr Mrazek made a whopping 42 saves for a hard-fought win.
Neither the Stars nor the Blackhawks scored to open the first-period scoring. The game was in a scoreless deadlock at the end of the first period. Dallas outshot Chicago 15-6 after 20 minutes.
The first goal of the game came from the Blackhawks on the power play. Matt Duchene was called for slashing against Connor Bedard at 3:42 of the second period. Bedard seeked revenge with a wrist shot into the Stars’ net for a 1-0 lead just 1:06 later. Philipp Kurashev and Nick Foligno collected the assists on Bedard’s 22nd of the season and first against the Stars.
The Blackhawks wasted little time before taking a two-goal lead. Andreas Athanasiou fired a wrist shot into the Stars’ net for a 2-0 lead at 5:53 of the second period. Lukas Reichel and Wyatt Kaiser collected the assists on Athanasiou’s first of the season.
The Blackhawks went ahead with a third consecutive goal. Seth Jones fired a wrist shot into the Stars’ net for a 3-0 lead at 8:51 of the second period. Ryan Donato and MacKenzie Entwistle collected the assists on Jones’ eighth of the season.
The Stars finally got on the board with a “better late than never” type of attitude. Roope Hintz tipped in a shot to cut the Blackhawks’ lead to 3-1 at 15:37 of the second period. Miro Heiskanen and Joe Pavelski collected the assists on Hintz’s 29th of the season.
The Stars brought a 3-1 lead to the locker room at the end of two periods. Dallas outshot Chicago 37-11 through 40 minutes.
The Stars had their work cut out for them, but made it a one-goal game. Stars captain Jamie Benn tipped in a shot to cut the Blackhawks’ lead to 3-2 at 15:37 of the third period. Miro Heiskanen and Chris Tanev collected the assists on Benn’s 20th of the season.
The Stars pulled their goalie for an extra attacker late in the third period, but couldn’t tie the game to force overtime. The Stars lost 3-2 to the Blackhawks in regulation. Dallas outshot Chicago 44-17 after 60 minutes.
Notes
Three Stars of the Game
1. Petr Mrazek (2.00 GAA and .955% SV%)
2. Seth Jones (1 point: 1 goal)
3. Connor Bedard (1 point: 1 goal)
Up Next
The Stars will visit the Mile High City to take on the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday at 9:00 p.m. Central.
ITR 46: Offseason Chaos – Inside The Rink
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