After nearly two whole periods of frustration, the Dallas Stars offense exploded in the third period to steamroll the Nashville Predators 5-1 on Thursday night.
It was the first win at the American Airlines Center against Nashville in exactly two years to the day after three straight losses. The two teams have not seen each other since December, when the Stars were defeated 4-1 in Dallas.
The Stars returned from their four-game road trip on a six-game win streak, looking to keep the chase for first place in the Central Division going.
The game started with lines looking a bit different as captain Jamie Benn was out for "maintenance." Head coach Pete DeBoer followed up the statement saying that he had a bit of a lower-body injury and they did not see the need to possibly make it worse. Missing this game snapped Benn's 371 game ironman streak that started in 2021. Benn's absence put Sam Steel in his spot with Wyatt Johnston and Mavrik Bourque.
The game started in the Stars favor when Michael Bunting was called for a four minute major for high-sticking just 68 seconds into the first frame. However, the power-play appeared very disjointed, unable to make it through the neutral zone or make clean passes. The Stars only recorded one shot on goal during the four minute man advantage, while defending multiple odd-man rushes.
For the remainder of the period, the Stars continued to struggle with passes and getting the puck through the zone. Turnovers turned into Grade-A chances for the Predators. Luckily for the Stars, Jake Oettinger was more than sharp, and the first 20 minutes ended with the Stars being out-shot 17-5 but the game remained scoreless.
The second period did not look much different from the first for a majority of the period. Oettinger was finally beaten by a low shot along the ice from Steven Stamkos less than five minutes into the period that gave Nashville a 1-0 lead.
The Stars would get another chance at a power-play that Nashville still stymied easily with some agressive play. In the last few minutes of the period, the Stars appeared to have cleaned up parts of their game and were spending more time in the offensive zone. It felt like a goal could be coming, and with 36 seconds left in the second period, Mikael Granlund tied it up with a sweet deflection at the front of the crease. Another former Predator Matt Duchene picked up the primary assist, and the game went to the third period tied 1-1.
Miiiiiikkkkkkeeeeeeeeee 🤌 pic.twitter.com/00hKJSKadz
— X - Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) April 4, 2025
The tying goal for Dallas seemed to open the floodgates for a barrage in the third period, and it didn't take long for the Stars to take the lead. Granlund had scored with 36 seconds left in the second, and Mason Marchment gave Dallas the 2-1 advantage only 39 seconds into the third. Coaches always preach that the first and last minute of each period can be game changers, and Dallas certainly turned the momentum completely around in those two minutes.
Marchment's 20th goal of the season gave Dallas seven different 20-goal scorers on the season.
After that, the Predators essentially crumbled for the rest of the period. With an 11 shot ...
