Facing the NHL's best one day after playing a tough St. Louis Blues team is might as well have been a death sentence.
The Stars, on two-days rest, put the pedal to the metal and had the Flyers on their heels for most of the night.
The Flyers kept it close into the final minute, with the help of another spectacular game for Michal Neuvirth, but the Stars would go onto to win, 3-1, on Friday night at American Airlines Center.
The Flyers and Stars played to a fairly even first period at even strength, but two Dallas power plays had Neuvirth very busy. Neuvirth made 18 saves in the first period in helping the Flyers kill off both penalties.
The Flyers first power-play came at 8:33 of the second and the Flyers capitalized. A blocked pass attempt by Jake Voracek made it's way across ice to Claude Giroux who set up Shayne Gostisbehere for the blast from the point that beat Antti Niemi to give the Flyers the lead.
The Stars would answer back at 14:06. With a mass of bodies in front, Mattias Janmark threw the puck on goal from the far boards and it went in to tie the game.
A similar net-mouth scramble produced the go-ahead goal for Dallas. As a mass of bodies piled up again around Neuvirth, he thought he had the puck covered. But hard work by Antoine Roussel kept the play alive and he poked it into the net to give the Stars the lead at 17:28.
The Stars outshot the Flyers through two periods, 34-14.
With the Stars content to hold the one-goal lead, the offensive production slowed for Dallas and the defensive pressure stepped up. The Flyers were held to just five shots in the third, and that included a power play midway through the period.
The Flyers never got much on Niemi, and the Stars would ice the game in the final minute with an empty-net goal by Jamie Benn.
Neuvirth made 41 saves in an admirable effort despite taking the loss. Niemi made 19 saves. The Flyers penalty kill had a strong game, going 6-for-6. The Flyers scored on one of their two power plays. The loss snaps a four-game road winning streak for the Flyers.
The Flyers return to action on Tuesday night, coming home to face the Carolina Hurricanes. The opening face-off from Wells Fargo Center is set for 7 p.m.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
| Flyers | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Stars | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Game Statistics
| Flyers | Stars | |
| Shots | 20 | 44 |
| Power Plays | 1/2 | 0/6 |
| Hits | 29 | 17 |
| Faceoff Wins | 27 | 36 |
| Giveaways | 8 | 14 |
| Takeaways | 3 | 12 |
| Blocked Shots | 24 | 14 |
| Penalty Minutes | 12 | 4 |
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
