Thanks to their 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night the Dallas Stars were losers for the third game in a row and the seventh time in the past eight games.
This recent stretch leaves the Stars seven points out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference with 23 games to play on the schedule, and puts their playoff chances in serious jeopardy.
The Stars fell behind with less than one second to play in the first period when Ryan Suter scored a buzzer-beating goal off of a slick set face off play. The Stars were never able to tie the game after that.
Along with another loss, the Stars were also on the receiving end of some physical play late in the game.
After Charlie Coyle was penalized for taking out goaltender Kari Lehtonen behind the net (see it here), Wild forward Nino Niederreiter was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for interference for this hit on forward Patrick Sharp.
neiderreiter 5 minute major for interference and a game misconduct for this hit on sharp. pic.twitter.com/LuHRVPcfJw
— Dylan Nadwodny (@dnadders) February 17, 2017
No word yet from the NHL if Niederreiter will face a hearing for the play.
Stars coach Lindy Ruff was asked about the play after the game.
“I just saw a pretty dirty hit on Sharp. That is what I saw,” said Ruff. “You know, cut the guy’s knees out. Pretty tough.”
While the Stars are in trouble when it comes to making the playoffs, the win helps the Wild extend their lead in the Central Division to seven points over the Chicago Blackhawks.