Heika’s Take: Stars miss the mark on special teams in loss to Hurricanes

The Stars lost a game both early and late on Monday night.

They also lost on both the power play and the penalty kill.

Dallas had ample opportunity to beat the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center, and yet they found a way to lose a 6-4 contest that they led 3-1 after two periods.

It was a tough night all around.

“I liked most of our 5-on-5 game all night, but the special teams were a disaster,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “Two shorthanded goals, two power play goals by them. You’re not going to win if your special teams look like that.”

The Stars scored in the first minute of the game and then had two power play opportunities when the Hurricanes were whistled for too many men and delay of game in the first period. But instead of building on their lead and putting the game out of reach, Dallas allowed Carolina to get right back in it.

Matt Duchene made a great play to start the scoring by stealing a puck in the offensive zone and feeding Mason Marchment for a scoring chance. Tyler Seguin cleaned up the trash in front for his eighth goal of the season and Dallas was up 1-0 just 18 seconds into the game. The Stars then had a chance to add onto it two minutes later when Carolina took a too many men penalty. However, Duchene and Logan Stankoven miscommunicated at the offensive blue line, and the Hurricanes went the other way. Seth Jarvis beat Stankoven and Miro Heiskanen back and slipped a puck past Jake Oettinger to tie the game.

The Stars came back when Thomas Harley ripped home his second goal of the season on a pretty shot, and that had Dallas sitting up 2-1 after 20 minutes. The Stars made it 3-1 early in the second period when Seguin found Marchment on the doorstep for his seventh goal of the season, and it seemed as though Dallas was in perfect shape to pull off a big win.

Carolina made some adjustments and controlled a lot of the possession in the second period, but then took a second too many men penalty late. Another golden opportunity was offered to Dallas to put the game away. Instead, the Stars broke down late in the power play as the third period started. Harley was unable to stop a cross-ice pass in transition, and Sebastian Aho darted the other way and made it 3-2 a minute into the third period. While the goal technically came after the power play expired, it sure felt like a shorthanded goal.

“We’re up 3-1 going into the third and we’re on the power play,” DeBoer said. “Even if we don’t score, if we don’t give up a shorty there, we’re still in a good spot. It can’t happen. You’re not going to win in this league giving up two shorthanded goals on any night.”

The special teams woes then got worse. Carolina tied the game at even strength four minutes into the third period on a big shot by Brent Burns, and then went ahead when Shayne Gostisbehere put in a shot from distance on the power play.

Carolina added an empty-netter, and the Stars dropped to 13-7-0 on the year.

“That can’t happen,” said Seguin. “We would have definitely liked to have done more.”

Dallas was coming off a big third period in a 4-2 win over Tampa Bay on Saturday, and they appeared to have the Hurricanes cornered. However, Carolina moved to 15-5-1 with the victory.

“They’re a great hockey team,” Seguin said. “We had them 3-1 and had a chance to make it 4 or 5, but they’re a good hockey team. Obviously with the third, we’d like to have it back.”

The power play now ranks 25th in the league at 16.1 percent and has scored once in the past six games.

“We’ve got to go out and execute,” captain Jamie Benn said. “The power play can make a big difference on the road. We just need to go out there with the confidence to make a difference in the game.”

They will get the chance to do that with a game on Wednesday in Chicago, before coming home for two huge games against Colorado and Winnipeg. That makes the game against the Blackhawks even bigger.

“The next one is always big after a loss,” Benn said. “We obviously want to end this road trip with a win.”

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.