Heika's Take: Rough third period serves as learning lesson for Stars

DALLAS -- Results, for the most part, aren't a big deal in preseason.
Learning, however, really is.

So, when the Stars blew a third period lead Wednesday and lost in a 4-3 shootout to the Florida Panthers at American Airlines Center, there was a little sting from last season. Dallas is now 0-0-2 in the preseason and that smarts after leading the league in OTL last season at 14. The Stars went 2-6 in shootouts and 4-8 in overtime games, and that's a huge reason why they missed the playoffs.

BOXSCORE / GAME HIGHLIGHTS

When they repeated a few of the same mistakes on Wednesday, there was just a taste of bitter déjà vu'.
"It's cliché to say it's a preseason game and you get it all out, but we're a team where that's unacceptable right now and you can't just say it's preseason," said forward Jason Robertson. "We want to be a team coming into the regular season feeling great, feeling good, and certainly this doesn't make us feel good. We have stuff to do and stuff to build on."

The Stars put together a solid lineup and won most of the battles in the first 40 minutes. While they squandered a few scoring chances, they had a 30-15 advantage in shots on goal and a 3-2 lead. With goals from Robertson, Jamie Benn and Alexander Radulov, the Stars looked like a team that might be ready to make a statement even if it was in preseason.

But then a scrappy Panthers team filled with several players who likely won't make the opening night roster started to push back. Florida controlled much of the play in the third period, and when the Panthers pulled the goalie in the final two minutes, Serron Noel was able to pot the tying goal at the 19:16 mark.
"I really liked the first two periods, I thought we did a lot of good things," Stars head coach Rick Bowness said. "I hated the third period, very disappointed in the third period. We just stopped playing, we made it very easy for that team to play, and I hate to see that. We got what we deserved."
Which can be a good lesson. The two teams battled through a scoreless overtime, but Dallas saw too many shadows from last season. Florida had a 3-1 edge in shots on goal in the extra period, and the Stars took a penalty for too many men on the ice. Bowness said it was his fault for pushing Wyatt Johnston onto the ice too early, but it just stirred memories of mistakes from last season.

"We were what, two or three 2-on-1s where we fanned on a pass or missed the net, which is what it was last year," Robertson said. "Similarly, we take a penalty like last year. We didn't get stung on it in overtime, but you can't put yourself in those positions."
Dallas won 64 percent (39-of-22) of its faceoffs but had 18 giveaways. It saw great returns from Radulov and Tyler Seguin, but also saw Radulov get stuck on the ice for the goal against late in the game. In a lot of ways, it was a typical preseason game, where there was good and bad, and a lot to learn from.
"I think we got a lot out of it," said defenseman Ryan Suter, who played his first game with the Stars and first game with new partner John Klingberg. "The more we play together, the more we'll be familiar. All of those little details are what make such a big difference and, until you're actually out there and in the battle, you don't really know what the other guy's going to do. I thought we were a little sloppy in our own end. We didn't come out clean. We didn't make plays. I don't think we were efficient. I think we can keep it a little more simple and we'll have a lot more success."

Bowness said he believes there's much to learn and much time to do it.
"That's last year. We're just working now on this year," Bowness said when asked about the overtime and shootout woes. "We'll fix it."
Notes: Johnston played 19:22, tallied an assist, had three shots on goal and won 12-of-15 faceoffs…Klingberg logged 26:14, while Suter had 25:56 in time on ice. The Stars are looking to play the two together during the regular season…Jacob Peterson played on a line with Seguin and Radulov and contributed an assist and five shot attempts…Jake Oettinger played the entire game and allowed three goals on 28 shots. He was beat in the shootout by Noel…Florida goalie Christopher Gibson stopped 35 shots during the game, and then stopped Robertson, Seguin and Radulov in the shootout.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika, and listen to his podcast.