It's certainly quite easy to feel for Antti Niemi after this game. Despite allowing three goals on nine shots that got him the hook midway through the second period, his team was just as at fault -- if not more so -- for those three Ottawa Senators goals as he was. Niemi's three goals against in the first 32 minutes of play were all the result of turnovers from the Dallas Stars, either off of poorly mishandled pucks or badly placed passes. The Stars looked disjointed on all three of those Ottawa goals, and their misplays put them into an eventual three-goal deficit and cost them their starting netminder.
NHL scores 2015: Turnovers doom Dallas in 7-4 loss to Ottawa
Turnovers and bad goaltending were the names of this game.
Tom Pennington/Getty Images
Dallas was certainly due for a bad game, coming into Tuesday's matchup with a five-game win streak. Ottawa isn't the team of years past and wasn't going to lie down on their first game of a three-game road trip. The Senators were heading into American Airlines Center on a two-game win streak of their own, with netminder Craig Anderson throwing up shutouts in each of those matches. A confident Senators bunch met a flatfooted Dallas team, and Ottawa came away with the win in the trap game.
Of all the turnovers, this failed pass that lead to Mark Stone's goal is the culmination of Dallas' play up until that point. What was a typical breakout pass did not account for the Senators forechecking, resulting in a tape-to-tape pass that landed right on Stone's stick. Niemi was left all alone as the rest of the Stars were left to recover from the break out and Stone wasted no time with the quick shot.
Niemi eventually came back for Dallas, as Kari Lehtonen was injured on a collision eight minutes into his relief of the Stars starter. He let in two more goals that were not off turnovers that were quite soft, and the one minutes after Tyler Seguin closed the Stars' gap to two gave Ottawa the 6-3 lead was quite the backbreaker.
It’s hard to pin the loss completely on the netminder, especially since he received no help from his defense on his first three goals. Dallas was caught in a trap game, as teams often do on weeknight matches against teams one normally bypasses. It’s a loss the Stars can shake off with a solid win against Vancouver on Friday, with the only concern the health of Lehtonen after sustaining a hit to the head in his crease.
Scores
Ottawa Senators 7, Dallas Stars 4
3 things we learned
1. Mark Stone broke out for three-point night
The last time Mark Stone scored a goal for the Senators was Halloween night in a 5-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. It's been almost a month, but Stone finally broke out in a big way for Ottawa, notching one goal and two assists on the Senators second, third and fourth goals of the evening. The three-point night ties a career high for the forward, and is only the third time in his career that he has put up a three-spot on a scoresheet in one evening.
#Sens forward @MStoner61 has matched a career high in having recorded three points in one game for the third time tonight in Dallas.
— Sens communications (@Media_Sens) November 25, 2015 2. John Klingberg got brought back to earth, for the moment
There's been lots of clamor about young Dallas Stars John Klingberg, and for good reason. With 24 points in 20 games and the ability to move the puck as easy as breathing, it's not hard to see why. Unfortunately, Klingberg had a night to forget on Tuesday, ending up a minus-three on the evening. Klingberg had one assist on Patrick Sharp's opening Dallas goal, but he was instrumental in Ottawa's first of the night. A rare fumble by Klingberg on a pass gave Senators forward Bobby Ryan an easy shot at the net, setting the tone for the Stars troubles early.
3. Dallas wasn't the only team struggling with goaltending
Stepping away from Dallas for this one, as Anaheim was dealing with their fair share of goaltending problems. Anton Khudobin was yanked for the Ducks after allowing two goals on five shots in the first 10 minutes of their contest against the Calgary Flames. It was a rough Tuesday for just about every netminder playing, from Anderson losing his shutout streak to Lehtonen's injury.
Impact Moment
Corey Perry completed Anaheim's comeback with this wrist shot that put the Ducks up 4-3 moments after Rickard Rakell's second tally of the night that tied the game at three.
Stat of the Night
Flames up on the Ducks, 3-2, after two. Could avoid a bad record held by the Penguins: pic.twitter.com/8TtfAJHRYZ
— Seth Rorabaugh (@emptynetters) November 25, 2015 Anaheim kept their streak alive against the Flames with their 4-3 victory.
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