The Dallas Stars began their final regular-season road trip in pretty much the worst possible way. Jake Oettinger got chased by the Vancouver Canucks – the Vancouver Canucks! – and the team put their postseason path in jeopardy by failing to consolidate a lead for the first Western Conference wildcard spot.
So, in other words, a typical Monday. The Dallas Morning News’ Matthew DeFranks took a look at the direct damage, and lack of it, in his recap:
“It was very disappointing,” Stars forward Michael Raffl said. “I think it was mostly our puck management and decisions with the puck in high-danger areas along the blue lines.