The Habs couldn’t match the maturity of the Stars’ special teams.
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Maturity was the difference as the Dallas Stars beat the Canadiens 5-2 on Saturday at the Bell Centre.
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“They’re playing a very mature game,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said of the opposition.
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That maturity — and a little immaturity from the Canadians — came into play late in the second period.
Montreal had cut Dallas’ lead to 3-2 on a goal by rookie defenseman Arber Xhekaj, but a last-minute breakdown allowed the Stars to widen the lead on a goal from Esa Lindell with 16.1 seconds left. in the period. Lindell had room up front because Xhekaj and Chris Wideman were both involved in a scrum with Jamie Benn in the corner.
“I think at this point in the game, after scoring a big goal, we have to do the job defensively and we didn’t,” St. Louis said.
Xhekaj said he lost his stick on the game and got “tangled up”. With a goal and an assist under his belt, he figured he could drop the gloves with Benn to get Gordie Howe’s hat trick.
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“We kept running at each other, taking turns hitting each other,” Xhekaj said. “I thought something might happen in the corner because we got tangled up, but obviously he’s a smart guy and he knew they had a chance to score. He’s too smart for that.
Xhekaj continued to put his physical skills to good use as he was credited with a game-high seven hits and his backhand pass sent Jake Evans off the ground on a run that produced the team’s first goal. Montreal by Mike Hoffman.
While Xhekaj flirted with a Gordie Howe hat-trick, the Stars’ Joe Pavelski pulled off the real trick and added an assist for a four-point night. The 38-year-old scored the game’s opening goal for the 87th time and tied Patrice Bergeron for third among active players. The only active skaters with more are Alex Ovechkin (132) and Sidney Crosby (97).
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The Canadiens were tipped off about Pavelski earlier in the day when St. Louis said, “Joe is a pro. He did not make this career by chance. He has a strong work ethic and pays attention to a lot of detail. Always know where he is on the rink.
“It’s a fun place to play. It’s a big city,” Pavelski said. “I’ve only really been able to come here once a year towards, like, the second half of my career. There’s a lot of history. It’s just a cool place to play, so spending a night like tonight here in this building, it means a little.
“It’s amazing what he’s doing,” Stars coach Peter DeBoer said. “He looks exactly like he did five or six years ago – like time has stood still. And he looks like he could do it for another five years. It’s hard to explain, it is just a special athlete.
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Brendan Gallagher showed his courage by returning to action after taking a hard fall in the boards when his stick got stuck in his skate in the first period.
The Stars were the big winners in the special teams battle. Dallas scored on two of its three power plays against a Montreal power play that limited the opposition to one power-play goal in the first five games. Montreal went 0-for-4 with the extra man and three of their four power plays were cut short when they took penalties.
“The special teams made a big difference in the game,” St. Louis said. “It’s a team that plays fairly simple hockey, a team of veterans who are heavy, who are fast. You have to take the experience to experience this pressure. This is something we are going to have to learn. »
The victory gave the Stars a 4-0-1 record, while the Canadians fell to 3-3-0.
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Dallas rides Joe Pavelski’s hat-trick to win 5-2 over Canadians
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About last night: Special teams and broken sticks sink Habs in 5-2 loss to Dallas
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