The Carolina Hurricanes lost 4-1 to the Dallas Stars Friday night at PNC Arena.
The Hurricanes (5-8-0) struggled at times after a four-day layoff but kept the game close, thanks to great goaltending from Eddie Lack, until the Stars (11-3-0) talented roster eventually overpowered Carolina in the third period.
The Canes got off to a slow start and looked rusty for the majority of the first period, giving up 13 shots on goal while throwing only six on Dallas netminder Kari Lehtonen.
Carolina goaltender Eddie Lack, making his fourth start of the season, stood on his head in the first, ultimately keeping the game scoreless instead of what could have easily been a couple goal deficit for the Canes.
The Stars skated circles around the Canes early, spending almost all of the game’s first six and a half minutes in the Carolina zone and firing seven shots, many of which were Grade-A scoring chances, on Lack.
The Canes finally settled down and responded with some offense of their own halfway through the first as forward Jordan Staal’s rebound chance was just stopped by Lehtonen.
Carolina put together a much better second period with tighter defensive play and more steady offense, eventually leading to the game’s first goal.
Jordan Staal scored his second goal of the season by getting to the front of the net and staying there – something the Canes have struggled to consistently do as a team this season.
Defenseman Ron Hainsey’s slapshot from the point missed the net and deflected off the boards, right to Eric Staal who passed it to Jordan Staal. Jordan, with a Dallas defender on his back, was able to get off a quick shot that deflected off of Lehtonen’s skate and into the net.
The Stars tied it up on a controversial rebound goal from forward Ales Hemsky, later in the second period.
As Dallas forward Colton Sceviour let go of a shot, he skated into Lack on the follow-through, pushing Lack out of position to make a save on Hemsky’s rebound shot. The goal was reviewed and upheld as the contact was deemed to be inadvertent thus not sufficient for a goaltender interference call.
Dallas took a 2-1 lead in the third on a perfectly executed 2-on-1 rush.
Forward Tyler Seguin, the NHL’s current leader in points, fired a beautiful cross-ice pass by the Canes defenseman and to forward Patrick Sharp. Lack was unable to get across the crease in time to stop Sharp’s shot.
Stars forward Radek Faksa scored his first career NHL goal a couple minutes later and an own goal on the Canes empty net pushed the final score to 4-1.
