Bichsel gets 1st multigoal game for Dallas; Vancouver's skid hits 6
DAL at VAN | Recap
VANCOUVER — Lian Bichsel had his first two-goal game in the NHL, and the Dallas Stars set a franchise record with their ninth straight win with a 6-1 victory against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on Monday.
Jason Robertson, Matt Duchene and Colin Blackwell each had a goal and assist, Miro Heiskanen and Sam Steel each had two assists for the Stars (37-14-9), who broke the record of eight straight wins set from March 16 to April 3, 2024.
Seven of the first eight wins in the streak were by one goal, but the Stars broke this one open in the second period with goals 1:10 apart. They outshot Vancouver 31-7 over the final 40 minutes.
“We pretty much dominated most of that game,” said forward Adam Erne, who also scored. “I thought that was as full a 60 minutes as we’ve played; liked the effort all around.”
Jake Oettinger made 13 saves for his eighth straight win, tying his own Dallas record (since 1993-94) he set from March 20 to April 9, 2024.
“Defensively, I thought we were outstanding too,” Duchene said. “’Otter’ made some big saves when we needed him, but I think we limited his work, which was good.”
Lian Bichsel with a Goal vs. Vancouver Canucks
Evander Kane scored and Nikita Tolopilo made 31 saves for the Canucks (18-35-7), who have lost six in a row (0-4-2).
“We had a decent first period and then they scored two quick goals,” Kane said. “I know one is on the power play, but we’ve done a poor job of giving up goals in bunches this year and I think when you do that, it’s tough to recover from. And that was the case tonight again.”
Kane put the Canucks ahead 1-0 at 7:57 of the first period on a 2-on-1 rush. Jake DeBrusk’s low shot off the right wing bounced off Oettinger’s right pad and in off the skate of Kane as he drove to the net on the far side.
Erne tied it 1-1 at 17:40 with a rush shot off the right wing that deflected off Canucks defenseman Zeev Buium and caromed hard off the end boards and into the crease before bouncing into the net off Tolopilo’s left skate as he slid back to his post.
“Shoot the puck,” Erne said. “It was just kind of a weird one.”
Bichsel scored his second of the season at 8:31 of the second period to put the Stars ahead 2-1. He took a feed from defense partner Ilya Lyubushkin at the right point and firing an against-the-grain wrist shot over Tolopilo’s glove from the left hash marks.
“It’s pretty cool to pick a corner,” Bichsel said.
Robertson made it 3-1 at 9:41 with a power-play goal on a screened one-timer past Tolopilo’s glove from inside the top of the left circle.
DAL@VAN: Robertson one-times a shot for a power-play goal
Vancouver, which is 2-16-4 in its past 22 games, never recovered.
“I think it makes it harder for sure,” Kane said. “I think we’re all human. We understand this isn’t very much fun. At the same time, you have to have — again, like I said — some mental toughness and some pushback and some fight. And whether you’ve got to make up something in your head to get angry and get to work, that’s what you’ve got to do.”
Dallas went up 4-1 at 1:33 of the third period. Heiskanen intercepted a Marcus Pettersson pass in the Vancouver zone and passed down to Steel, who made a behind-the-back backhand pass that left Duchene with an open net.
“In the first there was zero energy in the building and those games can be hard to play,” said Duchene. “I’ve been in those situations for where you’re having a tough year, you come out hard, you play hard, and then things get away from you. You’ve got to do that to those teams. You’ve got to take their will away. … The second period was huge. We upped our competitiveness … we talked about closing it out better than we’ve closed some games out and we did.”
Blackwell scored unassisted at 5:40 to make it 5-1. Drew O'Connor lost a bouncing puck in the slot and Blackwell skated onto it, across the slot and over a sprawling Tolopilo.
“We left ‘Tolo’ out to dry today,” Pettersson said. “Too many great grade As.”
Bichsel scored on a wrist shot over Tolopilo’s blocker from the left dot at 15:41 for the 6-1 final.
The 21-year-old Swiss defenseman, who was selected in the first round (No. 18) of the 2022 NHL Draft, was playing in his third game after missing 31 with a lower-body injury that required surgery.
“I was trying to come back stronger, and I’m really happy I help the team scoring some goals tonight,” Bichsel said. “The last three months has been a lot of work. I was trying to rehab fast, but also with patience. It wasn’t easy at all times but I think we all did a great job: the physios, the trainers, and everyone involved, so I’m really happy it’s paying off right now.”
NOTES: Heiskanen has nine assists in a six-game point streak. … Canucks defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph left 2:51 into the third period with an upper-body injury. “I think he was getting some X-rays while we were playing at the end there. We’ll find out what’s going on,” coach Adam Foote said. … Stars forward Roope Hintz missed a third straight game with an illness but skated on Monday and could return at the Calgary Flames on Tuesday. … Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers took part in pregame warmups but was held out of the lineup for the third straight game for roster management purposes.
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