Recap: Chances galore, but nothing to show for it in 4-1 loss to Senators

DALLAS --There's snake-bitten, and then there's the Dallas Stars.
The team in skyline green and black had chances - plenty of chances - but like we've seen through eight games this season, those chances didn't result in goals. It was another frustrating 60-minute performance for Dallas, who lost 4-1 to the Ottawa Senators at American Airlines Center on Friday night.

Goal scoring has been a big eyesore for the Stars, who still haven't scored more than twice in regulation all season. Tonight, their lone goal came off the stick of Joe Pavelski on the power play, but the Stars were already down by three when it happened.

Roope Hintz had about as many scoring chances as the Senators did as a team but couldn't convert on any of them. Twice he used his trademark speed to blow past the Senators defense only to get denied by goaltender Filip Gustavsson. His linemate, Jason Robertson, was robbed twice on Grade A chances. Tyler Seguin hit the post and Dallas had four or five net-mouth opportunities that never found success.
"Well, we gave them three goals with terrible plays on our part, and then, again, 20 scoring chances and one goal," Stars head coach Rick Bowness told reporters after the game. "The chances we're getting should put us back in the game and we don't score. The right guys are getting the chances and it's not going in for them right now. We can't give anybody three goals like we did tonight, but we're generating enough offensive chances to get back us back in the game at the right times, but we don't capitalize on them. It's that simple."

Braden Holtby, who entered the game with an all-time mark of 11-4-1 in 16 career appearances against the Sens, was on the hook for all four Senators goals.
With the loss, the Stars fell to 3-4-1 and were swept in the two-game season series by the Senators, who improved to 3-4-0.
"You've got to find ways to score goals in this league, and we've had some great looks," Pavelski said. "We had second chances, we had breakaways, we had zone time, it's just not going in right now. It's a little frustrating. Some of the looks we had tonight, I would take those all over again. There's a lot of good chances out there, and at the end of the day, you have to score.
"Whether it's more traffic, whether it's some tips, whether it's putting that puck inside a post or making a shot. Sometimes you just have to make a shot. Sometimes that's going off your shin pad. It's frustrating. There's no one thing to goal-scoring, I don't think. There's a bunch of them, and it's got to be a feeling thing as well, and we need to find it."

Josh Norris inflicted damage early with a power-play tally 5:49 into the game - his first of two goals on the night. Brady Tkachuk, who had yet to score in three previous games this season, doubled the lead two minutes later off an ill-advised turnover from Denis Gurianov.
Speaking of turnovers, the Stars committed a lot of them. They finished the night with 21 - nearly three times as many as Ottawa, who had eight.
Connor Brown added insurance in the third to make it 4-1 Senators.
Next up for the Stars is a three-game road trip through Canada that begins Tuesday against the Winnipeg Jets and continues with games against the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks.
NOTE:Prior to the game, it was announced that Stars defenseman Jani Hakanpää was in the NHL's COVID-19 protocol. Joel Hanley took his place alongside Andrej Sekera. "I sent him a text before the game and he got right back to me and said he was feeling fine, so hopefully he'll have a negative test Saturday] morning and he can rejoin us," Bowness said.
*This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.*
***Kyle Shohara** is the Digital Manager for DallasStars.com and writes about the Stars/NHL. Follow him on Twitter **[@kyleshohara*.