Stars crumble late as Blackhawks continue mastery
Trevor van Riemsdyk put in a rebound with 4:03 left to lift the Chicago Blackhawks over the Dallas Stars 5-3 on Saturday night.
Dallas goalie Kari Lehtonen stopped a close-range shot by Artem Anisimov, but van Riemsdyk followed to put the puck under Lehtonen and make it 4-3. Jonathan Toews added an empty-net goal in the final seconds.
Van Riemsdyk’s older brother, James, also had a late game-winning goal on Saturday, helping the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins 6-5.
The third period of this one was dominated by scoring stars. Goals by Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin gave the Stars a 3-2 lead at 9:24, but Chicago’s Patrick Kane tied the game just 35 seconds after Seguin scored.
Radek Faksa also scored for Dallas, and Lehtonen made 31 saves.
Corey Crawford stopped 31 shots for Chicago and is 4-0 against Dallas this season. Ryan Hartman and Gustav Forsling scored in the second period for the Blackhawks.
To start the second, Faksa chased down the puck low in the left faceoff circle and sent a shot from a sharp angle behind Crawford eight seconds in.
Chicago dominated the rest of the period, outshooting the Stars 19-12.
Hartman took a pass from Tanner Kero on the edge of the left circle and beat Lehtonen at 6:34.
With the score tied, Lehtonen stopped a breakaway by Kane at 8:08. Just 26 seconds later, Forsling fired a shot from the blue line through the slot and over a screen by Marcus Kruger, who ducked as the puck passed him. It was the second goal in 35 games for the rookie.
Benn’s tying goal was on a backhand from the left of the goal.
Briefly
▪ Faksa’s goal was the fastest in the second period in Dallas’ 23 seasons. The previous fastest was 13 seconds. The fastest in any period was by Joe Nieuwendyk seven seconds into a game at Detroit on Nov. 13, 1998.
▪ The Blackhawks had lost three of four games before Saturday.
▪ Dallas finished a season-high six-game homestand 2-2-2.
▪ Anisimov has gone 13 games without a goal.
▪ The Stars are 0-18-2 when trailing after two periods.
Up next
Blackhawks: Play their fourth of six straight on the road when they visit Central Division leader Minnesota on Wednesday.
Stars: Will travel to Toronto for the first leg of a two-game Canadian road trip Tuesday.
Chicago | 0 | 2 | 3 | — | 5 |
Dallas | 0 | 1 | 2 | — | 3 |
First Period—None. Penalties—Kruger, CHI, (hooking), 5:05; Panik, CHI, (holding), 10:43.
Second Period—1, Dallas, Faksa 8 (Shore, Hamhuis), 0:08. 2, Chicago, Hartman 12 (Kero, Hossa), 6:20. 3, Chicago, Forsling 2 (Seabrook, Kruger), 8:34. Penalties—Roussel, DAL, Major (fighting), 6:34; Tootoo, CHI, Major (fighting), 6:34.
Third Period—4, Dallas, Ja.Benn 16 (Eakin, Klingberg), 0:40. 5, Dallas, Seguin 19, 9:24. 6, Chicago, Kane 17 (Anisimov), 9:59. 7, Chicago, Van riemsdyk 2 (Anisimov, Panarin), 15:57. 8, Chicago, Toews 10 (Keith, Hossa), 19:59 (pp). Penalties—Hamhuis, DAL, (slashing), 11:30; Anisimov, CHI, (holding), 13:18; Ja.Benn, DAL, (tripping), 18:57.
Shots on Goal—Chicago 11-17-8—36. Dallas 10-12-12—34. Power-play opportunities—Chicago 1 of 2; Dallas 0 of 3. Goalies—Chicago, Crawford 20-12-3 (34 shots-31 saves). Dallas, Lehtonen 11-15-6 (35-31). A—18,532 (18,532). T—2:28.
This story was originally published February 4, 2017 at 10:17 PM with the headline "Stars crumble late as Blackhawks continue mastery."