Fans of Pantera probably liked Sunday night’s game between the Bruins and Stars, as the Stars summoned the riffs of Dimebag Darrell and bangs of Vinnie Paul six times in a 6-1 blowout win over the Bruins at American Airlines Center.
Boston’s night began in an 0-2 hole when Tyler Seguin pounced on a B’s mistake to open the game’s scoring at the 6:54 mark before Alex Radulov jumped on a flat-footed Boston defense for a breakaway goal late in the opening period.
THAT'S the celly we've ALL been waiting on!
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) January 31, 2022
📺: @BallySportsSW Plus | #TexasHockey pic.twitter.com/LoqL15IlKy
It was as frustrating a period as the Bruins could have played, too, as they hung with the Stars throughout the frame, but found themselves unable to break through with a goal on Stars netminder Jake Oettinger or force the Stars into trouble.
Dallas wasted no time doubling their two-goal edge, either, with a two-goals in 1:08 stretch that featured daggers from Luke Glendening and Stars captain Jamie Benn in the six-minute mark of the middle frame.
Those goals meant the end of the night for Bruins netminder Linus Ullmark, who couldn’t will the Bruins to victory like he did in Arizona (and nearly did in Colorado) and surrendered four goals on 15 shots in almost 28 minutes of action, and paved the way for the first NHL action for Jeremy Swayman since a Jan. 6 loss to the Wild.
Swayman’s relief outing didn’t go much better, with two goals allowed on 14 shots faced in 32 minutes and change.
Boston’s lone goal in the losing effort came with a third-period tally from Craig Smith.
With Erik Haula placed on the COVID list about 90 minutes before puck drop, the Bruins reunited David Pastrnak with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand on Boston’s top line and put Chalie Coyle back between Taylor Hall and Smith on line two.
Steven Fogarty, called up from the taxi squad to dress in Haula’s place, skated with Jake DeBrusk and Oskar Steen on the Boston third line in his 2021-22 NHL debut. Fogarty even had a great scoring chance in his Bruins debut, but failed to beat the Stars’ Oettinger on a spin-o-rama look to the right of the Dallas netminder.
The Bruins will return home for a Tuesday night head-to-head with the Kraken. This will be the first ever meeting between the B’s and the league’s newest franchise, which features more than a few ex-Bruins between Jeremy Lauzon, Ryan Donato, Karson Kuhlman, and Marcus Johansson on the Kraken roster along with former P-Bruins head coach Jay Leach as an assistant coach.
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Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter:Â @_TyAnderson.