Stars Fall 3-2 to Bruins, Despite Late Heroics

Julio Cortez/AP

The Dallas Stars welcomed the Boston Bruins to the American Airlines Center for Military and Veterans Appreciation Night. The Stars fell to the Bruins 3-2 on Monday, despite Wyatt Johnston’s and Joe Pavelski’s late-game heroics. Dallas fell to 7-3-1 and lost two games in a row, while Boston improved to 10-1-1 and avoided a two-game losing skid.

Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman made a whopping 35 saves for a win.

The Stars’ starting lineup featured Nils Lundkvist, Thomas Harley, Jamie Benn, Evgenii Dadonov, Wyatt Johnston, and Jake Oettinger. Oettinger made 26 noteworthy saves in a losing effort.

The first period was all Bruins and was highlighted by two firsts for two NHL rookies.

The Bruins drew first blood in Stars territory midway through the first period. John Beecher scored a fierce wrist shot goal for a 1-0 lead at 10:21. Hampus Lindholm collected the lone assist on Beecher’s first of the season.


The Bruins doubled the lead towards the end of the first period. Mason Lohrei fired a blistering wrist shot into the Stars’ net to make it a 2-0 game at 14:09. Danton Heinen and Ian Mitchell collected the assists on Lohrei’s first of the season.

The Stars trailed the Bruins 2-0 after the first 20 minutes. Boston outshot Dallas 14-11.

The second period saw zero goals from these two teams.

The Stars still trailed the Bruins 2-0 after 40 minutes. Boston continued to outshot Dallas, but by 25-21.

The Stars finally got on the board early in the third period. Wyatt Johnston scored a nifty tip-in goal at 5:09. Esa Lindell and Miro Heiskanen collected the assists on Johnston’s fourth of the season.

The Bruins extended the lead midway through the third period. Brad Marchand fired a backhand shot on the man advantage for a power-play goal at 9:51. James van Riemsdyk and David Pastrnak collected the assists on Marchand’s sixth of the season.

The Stars made it a one-goal game late in the third period, but it was too little, too late. Joe Pavelski scored a sweet tip-in goal to cut the Bruins’ lead to 3-2 at 19:32. Jason Robertson and Miro Heiskanen collected the assists on Pavelski’s fifth of the season.

The Stars fell to the Bruins 3-2 at home. Dallas, however, outshot Boston 37-29 after a full 60 minutes.

Notes
Three Stars of the Game
1. Jeremy Swayman (2.02 GAA and 0.946 SV%)
2. John Beecher (1 point: 1 goal)
3. Wyatt Johnston (1 point: 1 goal)

Warmup Time
The Stars went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen, according to The Athletic’s Saad Yousuf.

Jason Robertson – Roope Hintz – Joe Pavelski
Mason Marchment – Sam Steel – Tyler Seguin
Jamie Benn – Wyatt Johnston – Evgenii Dadonov
Craig Smith – Ty Dellandrea

Ryan Suter – Miro Heiskanen
Thomas Harley – Jani Hakanpää
Joel Hanley

Jake Oettinger

Window to Victory
Do you want to win a team-signed, game-used glass from the American Airlines Center? If so, enter to win here.

Up Next
The Stars will start a three-game road trip at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Central.

ITR 40: Headed For A Repeat? Inside The Rink

Join Chris and Conrad as they get you up-to-date on the Stanley Cup Playoffs!
  1. ITR 40: Headed For A Repeat?
  2. ITR 39: Conference Finals
  3. ITR 38: Quenneville is a Duck
  4. ITR 37: Round Two
  5. ITR 36: Coaching Carousel

Discover more from Inside The Rink

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Ana Kieu

Ana Kieu is a journalist by trade. Her love for sports shows in her writing, editing, and podcasting work. She writes about the NHL for Inside The Rink.

Leave a Reply

AHL: Eric Dubois Heads Overseas to ERC Ingolstadt

The Manitoba Moose announced on Friday, May 30th, that Eric Dubois has joined the DEL club ERC Ingolstadt as an assistant coach. Dubois, 55, served as an assistant coach with the Manitoba Moose for nine seasons when he joined the club back in 2016. The Moose posted a 292-264-34-23 record in Dubois’ nine seasons as […]

Read More
Kashawn Aitcheson physicality

2025 NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Kashawn Aitcheson

Kashawn Aitcheson is a 6-foot-1, 198-pound left-shot defenceman from Toronto, Ontario. Born on September 21st, 2006, Aitcheson narrowly missed the cutoff for the 2024 NHL Draft, and is one of the oldest prospects in the 2025 class. Aitcheson has spent the last three seasons with the Barrie Colts of the OHL. He was also selected […]

Read More
Stuart Skinner

Opinion: Oilers’ Stuart Skinner Showing Some Steadiness Between the Pipes

When it comes to Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner, one never knows what they are going to get. On one hand, one might see a version of Skinner, 26, who stands tall, comes up with big saves, does not get out of position, and does not allow soft goals. When this version of Skinner is […]

Read More