Heika’s Take: Stars flip the script, roll to impressive win against Rangers

The Stars flipped the script on Monday.

After blowing a lead in a disappointing 6-3 loss to Colorado on Saturday, Dallas bounced back and rallied from a slow start to beat the New York Rangers at American Airlines Center, 6-3.

Not only was the score the same, but the Stars benefited from a successful challenge after losing a challenge on Saturday. What’s more, they also scored six unanswered goals after allowing six unanswered on Saturday.

“It felt a little bit like the Colorado game in reverse,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “We came out in the second and third and played the way we needed to play against a team like that and got rewarded for it.”

The loss to Colorado was a tough one because it came against a Central Division rival and was the fifth loss the Stars had in head-to-head matches against top 10 teams. But New York entered the game 12-2-1, so getting this win helped soothe a lot of aches.

“Obviously it’s a character builder and confidence boost any time you can take down a top team,” said goalie Scott Wedgewood, who finished with 30 saves. “That’s where you want to be at the end of the year and you give yourself confidence when you beat those teams.”

Dallas moves to 5-3-0 at home, so the win was also big for that reason. The Stars play host to the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday, so getting back on track was huge.

“It was our turn to answer,” said Joe Pavelski, who had a goal and an assist. “You want to respond quickly, and we did that tonight.”

Mason Marchment, who also had a goal and an assist, agreed that the entire team wanted to respond to the Colorado loss.

“Last game, that’s not our group,” Marchment said. “We’re better than that, and we know that. We know to come out in this game and do the same thing [Colorado] did to us; it shows the kind of team we are. We have those kinds of people in this room. It’s a big win for us and on to the next one.”

The Stars responded as a team. Coach Pete DeBoer shuffled a couple of lines, taking Jason Robertson off the top line and putting Jamie Benn in his place. Robertson then played on a line with Wyatt Johnston and Evgenii Dadonov.

Benn scored off a play by Pavelski to stop the bleeding in the first and draw Dallas within 2-1. That was a huge goal, DeBoer said. Then, the Stars took control and cashed in with five straight goals in the third. Pavelski tied the game one minute in, and then Marchment made the play of the game when he attacked the net and poked a puck past Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin. Officials called “no goal” because of goaltender interference, but the Stars challenged and won the challenge to take a 3-2 lead.

It was an emotional moment, because Dallas lost a challenge in the Colorado game, and that swung momentum. However, DeBoer said he felt the challenge was obvious.

“I thought it was a fairly easy one,” DeBoer said. “You’re allowed to go into the crease after a loose puck and the puck was loose. That one, there wasn’t any ambiguity to it.”

The Stars have changed their challenge team after Kelly Forbes left to spend more time with his family, so the new video team of Patrick Dolan and Chris Demczuk is going to have to learn on the fly. DeBoer said Monday was a relief.

“We’ve got a couple of young guys in that room and they’re getting their feet wet and learning the league, and they’re not alone in that,” DeBoer said. “The coaches are all a part of that. I know after the other night the way that they were feeling, it was nice to be on the right side of that tonight.”

New York compounded the momentum issue when it challenged for goaltender interference on a Tyler Seguin goal and lost the challenge. It pushed the lead to 4-2 for Dallas and opened the door to two empty-net goals.

It was the perfect answer to Saturday’s game, and it came on a night when the Stars announced a statue will be built for Mike Modano on PNC Plaza.

That's a pretty good feeling for everyone.

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 Twitter @MikeHeika.