Canes Fall Short Versus Stars To Start Road Trip

DALLAS - The Carolina Hurricanes' trek west began on a sour note Tuesday, as they fell to the Dallas Stars by a score of 4-2.

Pesce Returns To The Lineup...

Beginning a three-game stint away from home, the Canes were able to get another piece back on their blue line as they met the Central Division's best.

Brett Pesce, who had missed the last two games due to an illness, made his return to the lineup, returning to his familiar spot alongside Brady Skjei.

Although the Canes got the first scoring chance of the night, the Stars made the start to the night difficult for Pesce and company.

Midway through the first period, Dallas forced a turnover off of #22 at center ice, sending Roope Hintz in all alone on Pyotr Kochetkov. After pump-faking a slap shot, Hintz fit one five-hole on the Canes' netminder to give the home side a 1-0 lead.

Hanging Tough In Texas...

Hintz's 23rd goal of the year was the lone tally of the first period, although Carolina had opportunities late.

A little too passive in their approach, Rod Brind'Amour's group was in need of a more direct attack to the net.

They rectified that just 13 seconds into the middle stanza.

Off the opening faceoff to begin the second period, Seth Jarvis worked into the zone and fluttered a backhand feed to a streaking Jordan Staal, who did not miss.

Evening the game before fans were even back in their seats, the goal gave the Canes new life after trailing at the end of 20.

As the two sure-fire playoff teams maintained a high-tempo pace of play, the next tally in the contest was not far behind. 4:51 after Staal's marker, Mason Marchment quickly put Dallas back in front.

Forcing Carolina to play from behind once again, their game seemingly got better as the period progressed, but they remained trailing as the second period wound down.

However, before they could go back to the intermission down again, Jordan Martinook sent one off the skate of Jesper Fast, making it a 2-2 game.

Win A Period, Win A Game...

With a feeling that the next goal could win the game, both Kochetkov and Jake Oettinger came up in major ways for their team to start the third period.

Each coming up with a highlight reel save of their own, they held down the fort before Dallas continued the back-and-forth scoring.

Amid a line change for Carolina, Stars forward Jason Robertson worked into the zone during the middle stages of the period.  As Pesce defended a potential two-on-one, the space provided to the high-scoring star allowed him to pick his spot and fire on Kochetkov for the eventual game-winner.

Matt Duchene would then hit the empty net to close out the scoring, 4-2.

They Said It...

Rod Brind'Amour on what he thought the difference was in tonight's game...

"We gave up breakaways. A couple of unfortunate bounces in the neutral zone led to them getting odd-man rushes and they capitalized. We had some odd-man rushes in the first period and we passed it, passed it, passed it, instead of firing at the net. That put us behind the eight ball.  Overall, I thought we had a really good game.  We were doing a lot of really good things.  [Oettinger] made some really great saves down there, including the one on Pesh with a chance to tie it up.  The bounces weren't going our way tonight."

Jordan Staal dissecting the result...

"It was a good game, it could have gone either way.  We made a few mistakes and they made us pay.  They did a good job of capitalizing on their opportunities.  We were working for some breaks and had some looks to tie it up, but came up short.  It wasn't a terrible game.  It wasn't our best.  There were some mistakes out there.  We gave them a few.  The first one was a tough one for me too, but it was a good battle and a good game.  We've got to find a way to get points."

Jesper Fast echoing a similar viewpoint...

"Overall, I think we played a decent game.  It was a very tight game out there.  Small details went in their favor.  We just have to reload and get ready for the next game."

What's Next?

The Canes are scheduled to be off on Wednesday and fly to Arizona. They'll then practice at Mullett Arena on Thursday before taking on the Coyotes and Vegas Golden Knights back-to-back on Friday and Saturday.

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