Two of the top three teams in the Central Division faced off on Thursday night, and it did not disappoint. The Colorado Avalanche stormed out of Dallas with a 5-4 overtime victory over the Stars. However, this is a game that slipped out of the Stars’ hands and one they should have closed out.
Tyler Seguin put his team up 4-2 at the 9:07 mark of the third period before the Avalanche’s Jonathan Drouin answered 38 seconds later and then Mikko Rantanen scored into the net empty. The Stars’ inability to close the game out and ultimately lose in overtime was a tough pill to swallow. In a tight Central Division race, seeing the Avalanche pull further ahead is not ideal. It was not all bad, however, so here are some key takeaways from last night’s game.
Jamie Benn Line Was Impactful
A lot of attention has been paid to the top line of Roope Hintz, Jason Robertson, and Joe Pavelski. It is deserved, as they’ve cemented themselves as one of the best lines in hockey. In fact, of all line combinations that have played this season, they are second in goals scored with 23. That top line was good in this game, but the line of Jamie Benn, Wyatt Johnston, and Evgenii Dadonov had the biggest impact.
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It was a sneaky one, but the line grabbed a goal. Off a brutal giveaway in front of the net, Dadonov made no mistake, burying the puck into the net. Aside from that goal, they controlled the shot attempts and finished with the best Corsi for percentage (CF%) of any Stars line with 70%. They heavily outshot the Avalanche 7-2 and had the best expected goals-for percentage (xGF%) of 87.21.
The puck was primarily in the Stars’ possession, and offensively, they did good things with it. Their efforts were rewarded, and it was good to see a line that wasn’t the top line contribute. Aside from this trio, one player in particular had a phenomenal game.
Tyler Seguin Producing
The rise in production from Tyler Seguin has been a delight to see. He is far removed from the 80-point season he set during the 2018-19 season but has been a key contributor in 2023-24. The addition of Matt Duchene has helped tremendously and factored into this game.
Seguin continued his hot streak of five points in the last three games. Last night, he was heavily involved in the offensive attack, scoring two goals, both at opportune times. His first gave the Stars the lead, and his second helped give the team a cushion. Seguin, with great skill and effort, grabbed his own rebound and, with a gorgeous move, buried the puck into the net.
Seguin remains a key player for the Stars and one the Avalanche do not like facing. During the 2023-24 season, he has four goals against them in two games. At 5v5, he finished with the fifth most expected goals (1.1) last night, meaning the Stars were generating that many expected goals when he was on the ice. Individually, he finished with the most individual expected goals (0.61) and had the most shots on goal. Just a tremendous offensive effort, and it was great to see.
Wyatt Johnston’s Relentless Effort
Even though he was on the ice for the Dadonov goal, Wyatt Johnston did not earn a point. He is in his sophomore season and has shown that his strong rookie season was no fluke. Even though he was held pointless in this game, he was noticeable and had a strong showing against a formidable opponent.
Individually, he was one of the strongest players last night. Johnston finished the game with two shots on goal but had seven shot attempts and six scoring chances.
When Johnston was on the ice, the Stars held the Avalanche to nine shot attempts with 27 of their own. Furthermore, they allowed two shots on goal while having eight and had an xGF% of 91.73. The biggest indicator was the high-danger battle – they held the edge in shot attempts 6-0, which is excellent. That’s amazing for a young player.
Stars Let Game Slip Away Despite the Positives
There were plenty of positives to take away from this matchup. The Stars got key contributions from their lines and even had one of their longest-tenured players impact the game in a big way. However, this is one the Stars wish they could have back.
The Central Division is going to be a fight until the end, and these were two points that the Stars let slip away. The Avalanche have proven to be a serious threat in the Western Conference and the Stars’ inability to close out the game saw them gain more ground on them in the standings. The Stars will look to rebound at home on Saturday night against the Nashville Predators.
All Game Statistics Come from Natural Stat Trick