Heika’s Take: Stars struggle out of gate, DeSmith shines in shootout loss

The Stars have picked an interesting time to have their worst run of the season.

On one hand, the fact that they are nearing the playoffs and failing to compete and win against some of the better teams in the league is definitely concerning.

On the other hand, they do have 14 games left before things get really intense.

Dallas lost a 3-2 shootout to Tampa Bay at American Airlines Center on Thursday, but that in itself shouldn’t signal any serious warning bells. Casey DeSmith was impeccable in goal, stopping 36 shots, and the Stars were one play away from taking home the full two points. However, this was the third time in the past four games that the Stars have faced a really good team, and it was the third time in a row they were second best in the battle.

“There are no bad points, but I’m really disappointed with our effort,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “We’ve been leaking a little bit over the last couple of weeks, and tonight I thought was about as bad as it has been.”

Dallas was completely outclassed by Winnipeg last Friday in a battle between the top two teams in the Central Division, and also looked shaky in losing to Colorado in overtime two days later. Tampa Bay had a 38-24 advantage in shots on goal, a 61-42 advantage in shot attempts, and simply looked like the more involved team for most of the game.

“We definitely didn’t have our best in the first and we all know that in here,” Stars forward Mason Marchment said. “Casey stood on his head for the whole game, definitely kept us in it in the first and you got to enjoy the push that we gave. I mean that’s a good team over there and we kind of stormed back and took over the game there, I think for the majority of the second and third. So, it’s a great way to battle back but we shouldn’t put ourselves in that spot in the first place for sure.”

Had it not been for DeSmith, the game really could have looked bad. The 33-year-old is 6-0-1 in his past seven starts with a 1.98 GAA and .934 save percentage. He continues to grab every opportunity he is given and put up his best performance almost every night.

“He was exceptional,” DeBoer said. “I felt bad that we didn’t give him a better effort for what he’s done for us this year. He deserved that.”

DeBoer would like to see similar efforts from the rest of the roster. While the Stars have had injuries to several players and also have upped minutes for players like Thomas Harley and Esa Lindell, they have been able to overcome that to the tune of a 21-8-2 record since Jan. 1, the second-best mark in the league in that span. But in the past six games, Dallas is 2-2-2 and just hasn’t looked good. It is losing the puck possession game, taking too many penalties, and simply getting outplayed during this little run.

On Thursday, the Lightning had a 14-8 advantage in shots on goal in the first period and was up 2-0 through 27 minutes of play. Dallas was struggling to get the puck out of its own end, and DeSmith had little chance on either of the goals against. The backup goalie, meanwhile, made several great saves to keep the score from getting further out of hand.

The fourth line came up with a huge response goal to make it 2-1, and then the power play tied things up – something the Stars have done a lot in recent games. They came back and almost tied Edmonton five games ago after falling behind 5-1, they came back from a 3-1 deficit to tie Colorado on Sunday, and they came back to tie this game. Oskar Bäck had a nice deflection for his fourth goal of the year, and Marchment shoved in a rebound for his 17th to help the game go to overtime.

Combine the fourth line’s play with the physical impact of rookie defenseman Lian Bichsel (seven hits), and there were some bright spots. But not enough overall.

“Those guys gave us some shifts, they gave us some energy…they tried, but that’s a short list,” DeBoer said, adding that Bichsel also deserved some accolades. “He’s on that list, but when you’re talking about the fourth line and the youngest defenseman on the team being the bright spots…at this time of year, that’s not good enough.”

Dallas moves to 43-21-4, good for 90 points, third best in the NHL. Tamba Bay is 40-23-5 (85 points). The Stars sit second in the Central Division, three points ahead of Colorado with two games in hand. If the playoffs started today, Dallas would play Colorado in the First Round.

“Other than Casey DeSmith, they were harder, hungrier, heavier than us, which is inexcusable this time of year,” DeBoer said.

Asked how they will make repairs, the coach said, “We’ll figure it out.”

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.