Heika’s Take: Stars keep it interesting in narrow loss to Blues

They do make it interesting.

For the sixth straight game, the Stars played an intense battle of back-and-forth hockey that included some of their most entertaining moments of the season. For the first time, in that span, Dallas lost in regulation. Despite a spirited push until the final second, the Stars fell 2-1 to the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center on Wednesday.

“We were chasing it all night,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “We did some good things. You have to give their goalie some credit, but you get in a 2-0 hole on the road in any building in this league and you’re going to have some trouble.”

Dallas was the better team early, but St. Louis was more opportunistic. While the Stars held a 2-to-1 advantage in shot attempts at one point and had failed to cash in on two power plays, the Blues collected a 2-0 lead on a nice shot through a screen and a pretty cycle play. And as if the hockey gods were punishing Dallas for its wastefulness, the Blues were given every opportunity to put the game away.

Craig Smith took a double minor for high sticking, and while killing the penalty, Wyatt Johnston shot the puck into the stands. That delay of game meant that St. Louis had a 2-0 lead and six minutes of power play time, including a full two minutes of 5-on-3.

The Blues were able to put 11 shots on goal, but goalie Scott Wedgewood came up with all 11 saves. Esa Lindell and Jani Hakanpää logged almost all of the penalty kill time, and you could feel the building get nervous as the final seconds ticked off. Then, momentum on their side, Roope Hintz found Jason Robertson breaking in, and the slippery winger popped in his 11th goal of the season to make the score 2-1 heading into the second intermission.

It was a belated Boxing Day miracle.

“We did a good job of giving up what we give up and there’s at least a sight line for me,” said Wedgewood, who was acrobatic in some of his saves. “Five-on-three is just giving your all, and these guys know what they’re going to get from me is a little bit of road hockey goalie. You’re on your stomach, no stick or nothing, that brought me back to my road hockey days with my brothers, throwing some Grant Fuhr legs up in the corner to keep it out.”

Wedgewood has been standing in for an injured Jake Oettinger and suffered his first regulation loss since taking over. He falls to 9-2-2 on the season. Wedgewood had plenty of help on the long penalty kill from the likes of Lindell, Hakanpää, Radek Faksa and Sam Steel, among others.

“Wedgy made some key saves, and those penalty killers - Faksa and Steel and Hakanpää and Lindell - they have done it all year for us,” DeBoer said. “They gave us a chance to stay in the game.”

And Robertson took that momentum and made things really interesting.

“Absolutely. It’s a big moment in the game,” Robertson said. “A two minute 5-on-3 in the NHL, you’re not looking good, but our PK has been excellent all year. The wall [Wedgewood] made some saves. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t tie it up.”

Still, there were some great moments. Dallas is now first in the NHL in penalty kill success at 86.9 percent. It was third in the league last season.

“We’ve got a lot of confidence on our penalty kill,” DeBoer said. “You never want to give up a full 5 on 3 for two minutes, that’s what we were staring at. We knew if they scored it was probably game over, so there was a lot of desperation on our part.”

While the Stars lead the NHL in comeback victories with 12, they realize that’s not a winning formula. Scoring first is a huge statistical advantage, and Dallas has allowed the first goal 19 times, eighth most in the NHL. Yet, they have posted a .579 points percentage on those games, second best in the league. They allowed the first goal in five of the past seven games, but still went 5-1-1.

“It’s hard,” said Robertson. “We’ve been doing it all year, but it’s not going to happen every game.”

So as the Stars settle into a nice stretch where seven of the next eight games are at home, maybe it would be good to get back to a more traditional game plan where they score first and protect the lead. Getting the power play going could help. It’s in an 0-for-16 slump, including two crucial fails on Wednesday that could have helped set the tone early.

“I don’t think our breakouts were executed properly,” Robertson said. “It’s just one of those things where you have to work through it like we did in the beginning of the year. You’ve just got to find your footing.”

DeBoer agreed, saying the unit has a history of success and can get back to that level.

“It’s been a little bit cold the last few games,” DeBoer said. “You’re going to have ebbs and flows, we’ve talked about that. It’s won us a lot of games over the last two months. They just got to find their mojo again.”

The Stars fall to 20-9-4 and out of first place in the Central Division. The Blues are 18-15-1, including 5-1-0 under new coach Drew Bannister.

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.