Stars end goal drought, but can’t complete three-goal comeback in loss to Blue Jackets - The Dallas Morning News

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The goal drought is over for the Stars.

The skid continues.

In the second game of a crucial six-game homestand, the Stars fell 3-2 Thursday to the Columbus Blue Jackets, one of five teams they’re chasing in the Central Division playoff race.

The Stars (6-8-4) have just one victory in their last 11 games and haven’t won at American Airlines Center since Jan. 28.

Tampa, Florida and Carolina have separated themselves in the Central Division, and Chicago is playing well ahead of the Stars. Now the Stars are looking up at the Blue Jackets, too.

“The Columbus Blue Jackets are ahead of us in the standings,” Stars coach Rick Bowness said before the game, “and if we want to make the playoffs then we have to catch them.”

After going scoreless for 189:46 dating to the second period Feb. 25 against Florida, the Stars finally found the net and some confidence.

After Columbus had taken a 3-0 lead, Miro Heiskanen notched his first goal on a shot from the point off a feed from Jamie Benn 7:35 into the third period. Jason Robertson claimed a loose puck in front of the net and lifted it past Joonas Korpisalo with 9:12 remaining to cut the margin to one.

But a late interference penalty call against Andrej Sekera stymied the comeback and incensed Bowness.

Things fell apart for the Stars early in the third period with Columbus getting two goals in 102 seconds.

The Stars’ Joel Kiviranta threw the puck directly to Oliver Bjorkstrand, who beat Anton Khudobin. A Boone Jenner shot deflected off the skate of Eric Robinson and got past Khudobin for a three-goal lead.

Columbus had broken a scoreless tie late in the second period. Jenner won a battle for the puck in the corner with Sekera, got past Kiviranta going to the net and then beat Khudobin between the pads with a wrist shot 18:11 into the period. For Jenner, it was his eighth goal and came after he had a deflection hit the crossbar.

The Stars’ best chance in the period came on the power play. Jamie Benn stole the puck from David Savard in front of net, but his whirling shot attempt was denied by Korpisalo.

The teams played a scoreless first period with the Stars having six shots and the Blue Jackets five, and each team failing to score or even generate much offense on a power-play chance.

Last season as a guide: In investing, people caution that past performance doesn’t guarantee future results.

The same is true in the NHL. Even though the personnel may largely be the same, each season is different.

That said, the Stars are drawing parallels between their current early struggles and 2019-20, when they rallied to reach the Stanley Cup Final with largely the same cast of characters.

“We’re been dealing with adversity as a team for a lot of years,” defenseman John Klingberg said before the game. “From that, you get stronger as a team as well. We know how good we can be. We saw how far we went in the bubble playing in the Stanley Cup finals.

“We have a lot of belief in ourselves and within the organization. It’s time to get away with some wins. … You’ve got to start somewhere and build up that confidence that you’re going to be able to put games away.”

Dealing with the schedule: The Stars held an optional practice on Wednesday and morning skate on Thursday.

The compressed NHL schedule has left Bowness with few options other than to draw his players and their bodies.

“We’re in that position right now that we just have to let them tell us how they’re feeling,” Bowness said. “We’re kind of at their mercy with the schedule. If they’re tired, they don’t skate, simple as that.”

Bowness was asked if he might look at other teams for answers to the struggles the Stars might have. He said that there were no secrets in the league and that he and his staff were aware of other teams who face similar challenges.

“At this point, no one has practice time,” Bowness said. “It’s not like people are going to go out and make all these drastic changes to the way they play. There’s just no time to do those things.”

Injury update: Forward Alexander Radulov, who has been skating, missed his 10th consecutive game with a lower-body injury. Forward Roope Hintz was out Thursday with a lower-body injury.

Find more Stars coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

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