Heika’s Take: Stars drop “frustrating” 5-3 loss to Maple Leafs

The Stars’ seemingly impenetrable fortress crumbled a bit at American Airlines Center on Wednesday.

The result was a 5-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Jake Oettinger, who had been the hottest home goalie in the NHL, allowed four goals on 12 shots and was pulled after two periods to take the loss. Mix in the fact that Maple Leafs goalie Joseph Woll was spectacular at the other end of the ice, and you pretty much had the reason for the Toronto win.

Dallas had a 39-19 advantage in shots on goal, a 67-35 edge in shot attempts and more than twice as many scoring opportunities as the visitors.

“We had some looks we didn’t score, and they had some that they did,” said center Matt Duchene. “It’s frustrating, for sure. We played a lot better than the score showed. You’re going to have some of those in this league.”

Oettinger had a tough night, but Stars coach Pete DeBoer said his teammate contributed to the scoring chances.

“They have some elite shooters over there and they don’t need a lot of looks,” DeBoer said. “I thought we played a pretty good game but if you give them a couple free looks, which we did, an early 2-on-1, a little bit of a miscommunication on a 2-on-2, if they get a look then there’s a good chance it’s going in. They have those types of shooters.”

Sam Steel got the Stars off to a great start when he broke free in the neutral zone five minutes into the first period and then made a deft manipulation of the puck and beat Woll over the right shoulder for his fourth goal of the season.

“Just two good plays,” Steel said of work by Logan Stankoven and Oskar Bäck. “I think Stank and Bäck are just two nice plays. Just kind of a chip. I had a lane, didn’t think I could get far, so I tried to shovel it.”

Max Domi came back a minute later for Toronto. Stars defenseman Brendan Smith lost a puck in the neutral zone and Domi came down in transition and beat Oettinger to the far post. The score stayed that way through the first intermission, and then Evgenii Dadonov put Dallas back in front to start the second.

Dadonov took a pass from Wyatt Johnston in transition, faked to the outside and then slipped a shot in from a hard angle.

At that point, the Stars had a 17-4 advantage in shots on goal and seemed to be in total control of the game, but Toronto then scored two goals in 16 seconds, and all of the air went out of the building. The first was a breakdown in transition and the second was a chaotic shift where Nick Robertson surprised Oettinger with a shot that went five-hole. It was the third goal in five games for Robertson against the Stars and his brother Jason.

Toronto then made it 4-2 when Nick Robertson stole a puck and fed Bobby McMann, who fired under Oettinger’s arm for what would turn out to be the game-winning goal.

Casey DeSmith took the crease in the third period and stopped all six shots faced. In the third period, Miro Heiskanen came in on a two-on-one and had a spectacular shot that Woll stopped to keep the score 4-2. That also took a lot of wind out of the Stars’ sails.

“The Miro two-on-one, he makes a hell of a save,” DeBoer said. “If we get on there, then maybe it’s a different story.”

Colin Blackwell scored with the goalie pulled to make it 4-3 with two minutes remaining, but then William Nylander scored his second of the game – into an empty net – for the final score.

The Maple Leafs move to 20-10-2, while Dallas falls to 19-12-0. Toronto has won seven straight against the Stars.

Dallas is now 3-2-0 on this six-game homestand and has struggled to score, despite dominating the shot clock on several nights. The Stars went 0-for-4 on the power play and now ranks 31st in home power play at 11.8 percent.

“We’re thinking about it. We’re always thinking about it as offensive guys,” Duchene said of the frustration. “You’re not producing. You’re not scoring. That’s our job. We have to find a way. It’s as simple as that. Whether it’s adjustments, or tactically, or getting some swagger in our game. One of the hardest things to do in hockey is to have confidence and swagger when you’re not getting results. We’ve got to find a way to find that right now.”

The Stars have one game left in the homestand – Friday against the Rangers – and could really use a win before heading to Utah for a one-game road trip before the Christmas break.

“We’ve played some good hockey,” Duchene said. “Tonight didn’t go our way, but we’ve got a team that has spent a couple of days here, and we know how that goes. They’re going to be hungry to get out of the funk they’re in. We’re going to have a desperate team, so we’ve got to be at our best.”

Dallas was missing defensemen Thomas Harley and Nils Lundkvist because of flu and may have lost forward Mason Marchment in the game because of an injury.

“We’ve got to get healthy,” Duchene said. “We’ve got to keep plugging away. We did a lot of good things tonight, there’s a lot to hang your hat on, and we need to take the positives.”

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on X @MikeHeika.