The Dallas Stars traveled to the Music City to take on the division rival Nashville Predators in a Saturday matinee. The Stars secured a regulation win, 3-2, over the Predators at the Bridgestone Arena. Dallas improved to 20-8-4, while Nashville fell to 19-15-0.
Stars goalie Scott Wedgewood made 19 saves en route to an eventual win, while Predators goalie Juuse Saros made a whopping 31 saves in a losing effort.
The Stars’ starting lineup featured Miro Heiskanen, Tyler Seguin, Ryan Suter, Matt Duchene, Mason Marchment, and Scott Wedgewood. Saturday was a homecoming for Duchene, whose seven-year, $56 million contract was bought out by the Predators on June 30th, who received a standing ovation in Nashville.
The first period was unpleasant, to say the least, and probably concerned Stars head coach Pete DeBoer. A Predators defenseman caught a puck and illegally threw it to a teammate, but no penalty was called. Stars forward Wyatt Johnston would’ve had a goal if it wasn’t for the Predators’ questionable play.
The Stars and Predators were scoreless after the first period. Nashville outshot Dallas 12-8 after the first 20 minutes.
The second period was the Nashville Predators show.
The Predators finally got on the board when Michael McCarron tipped in a shot for an early 1-0 lead just 23 seconds into the second period. Ryan McDonagh and Philip Tomasino collected the assists on McCarron’s fifth of the season.
The Predators doubled the lead when Colton Sissons capitalized on the man advantage with a wrist shot past Scott Wedgewood for a power-play goal. Gustav Nyquist and Ryan O’Reilly collected the assists on Sissons’ 11th of the season.
Matt Duchene’s shot, which wasn’t a good shot, was denied by Juuse Saros late in the second period. The Predators hung onto their 2-0 lead at 15:29.
The Stars trailed the Predators 2-0 after two periods. Dallas outshot Nashville 23-19 through 40 minutes.
The third period was the Dallas Stars show.
After being a back-to-back healthy scratch, Evgenii Dadonov found the back of the net and fired a wrist shot past Juuse Saros’ five-hole to make it a one-goal game, 2-1, at 8:22 of the third period. Esa Lindell and Roope Hintz got the assists on Dadonov’s eighth of the season.
The Stars tied the game, 2-2, late in the third period. Craig Smith scored on a wrist shot for a game-tying goal at 19:15. Jason Robertson and Joe Pavelski got the assists on Smith’s third of the season.
As if Smith’s goal wasn’t enough, Jani Hakanpää ripped a slap shot for an unassisted, go-ahead goal — his first of the season — for a 3-2 lead at 19:56.
The Stars avoided overtime by securing a regulation win, 3-2, over the Predators. Dallas outshot Nashville 34-21 after a full 60 minutes.
Notes
Three Stars of the Game
1. Roman Josi (0 points: 0 goals and 0 assists)
2. Colton Sissons (1 point: 1 goal and 0 assists)
3. Craig Smith (1 point: 1 goal and 0 assists)
Dogs and Pups
The 2024 Dallas Stars calendar is available for preorder here.
Up Next
The Stars will travel to the Gateway to the West to take on the St. Louis Blues on December 27th at 7:00 p.m. Central.
ITR 46: Offseason Chaos – Inside The Rink
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