Stars flip the script on Flames in Game 2
Dallas takes a turn making early goal stand up as winner, with low-scoring series now tied
This is not a gambling advice column.
But if you're betting on this opening-round series between the Calgary Flames and Dallas Stars, you might want to go hard on the under.
The Stars evened the bestof-seven showdown with a shutout victory in Game 2 at the Saddledome, this one ending with a 2-0 score-line.
In six periods so far of tight-checking, bottle-necked battle, these teams have combined for three tallies. Yes, combined — and one was an empty-netter.
The Flames' lone lamp-lighting came in the early stages of the opener. Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger has been perfect for 115 minutes since then, including a 29-save goose-egg Thursday.
The action now shifts to south for Saturday's Game 3 at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
If any team snipes three, there should be some sort of promotional giveaway.
Flames coach Darryl Sutter had warned that this was a possibility. In fact, he says we all should have predicted it.
“If you base it on the regular season and do your homework based on analytics and data, you'll see these two teams don't give up very much,” Sutter said before Game 2.
“So I'd say it will probably be a low-scoring series unless the goaltender has a rough game.”
That hasn't happened yet. Both boast a minuscule goalsagainst average so far.
Stars forward Joe Pavelski might be the best in the business at deflecting pucks and he proved that yet again by rerouting Jason Robertson's pass for the top shelf in the first period of Game 2.
It remained a one-goal difference until Michael Raffl sealed the result with a late freebie.
In between, the Stars did a masterful job of clogging up the neutral zone. It might have been easier to get to the front of a beer line on the Saddledome concourse than to carry a puck from one blue-line to the other.
The Flames had their opportunities to give Jacob Markstrom a little run support.
Oettinger made a pair of sharp saves on Mikael Backlund in the middle stanza, while Andrew Mangiapane's redirect sailed just wide.
The third started with Stars defenceman Jani Hakanpaa almost stuffing one in his own net. Johnny Gaudreau had a sharp-angle opportunity but couldn't solve the masked man, while Tyler Toffoli's low shot glanced off his pad.
`STRESSFUL DRIVE'
The road to the Stanley Cup started with a little more traffic than Flames speed-demon Dillon Dube had been anticipating.
Before Game 2, the 23-yearold winger admitted his opening-night commute wasn't as smooth a cruise as he was banking on — likely due to a combination of construction work around the Saddledome and the congestion caused by a sold-out crowd that didn't want to risk missing even a second of playoff action.
There were 19,289 bums in the seats and a few thousand more fans watching on a big screen outside the arena.
“It was a stressful drive. It took a lot longer than normal,” Dube said with a wide smile. “The windows were down and I was sweating a little bit. The city is packed right now. It's awesome to see. You feel that going to the rink. You feel the city backing us, and you definitely try to take that into games.”
Here's the thing, young whippersnapper.
Those pre-game jitters never change. Your palms will always be leaving a little sweat on the steering wheel.
Take it from fellow forward Milan Lucic, one of four dudes on Calgary's current roster with his name engraved on the Stanley Cup.
“I had the same thing going on,” Lucic said after Thursday's morning skate. “I don't think it matters whether it's your first time in the playoffs or your 11th time in the playoffs, I still had the nerves and the sweats on the drive, as well. I think it's a great feeling to have. That means you're excited, you're ready to go.”
OFF THE GLASS
The Flames haven't celebrated a victory in a Game 2 since the 2004 Western Conference Final, a stretch of a dozen consecutive losses in the second clash of a series. Yikes ... Flames first-line centre Elias Lindholm was oneman wrecking crew in the early stages. He'd racked up four hits before the first intermission, including a wallop on Esa Lindell right in front of the visiting bench ... If you were wagering on which of the Stars would become Public Enemy No. 1 in Calgary, John Klingberg would have been the ultimate long-shot. That changed with Klingberg's potshot after the series-opener, when he accused Flames defenceman Rasmus Andersson of “acting a little tougher than he is.” Klingberg was relentlessly chirped by Matthew Tkachuk and repeatedly booed by the home crowd, although he insisted in an intermission interview that he was enjoying the attention. “It's awesome,” he told the Bally Sports Southwest broadcast. “It's just boosting my confidence” ... Calgary's prized puck-stopping prospect, Dustin Wolf, was saluted Thursday as the winner of the Aldege `Baz' Bastien Memorial Award, the AHL's equivalent of the Vezina Trophy. Wolf, who just turned 21, was superb during his rookie season with the Stockton Heat, leading the minor-league loop with 33 victories and posting a sparkling 2.35 goals-against average and. 924 save percentage.