The Dallas Stars finally earned their first lead in the third period but couldn’t hold it in a 4-3 shootout loss against the Chicago Blackhawks at American Airlines Center on Saturday.

A little bit of holiday ham (or turkey) left over

Wyatt Johnston told me he is all about the turkey on Christmas, as well as traditionally on Thanksgiving (when he has it.)

How about you? Ham? Turkey? Tofurky? All?

Anyway, let’s talk about hockey. The first period was exactly as Stars coach Glen Gulutzan thought it would be…

“A little chaos,” Gulutzan said this morning about his expectations after a holiday break. “They’re always, I wouldn’t say dangerous games, they are always a little chaotic games for both teams. Coming off a break, you could see even in our morning skate today, there’s going to be rust on both sides. So, it’s kind of who gets to their game first and who can get feeling good first.”

A little extra holiday weight, perhaps…

Sloppy, full of mistakes, weird bounces, mental lapses, random scoring chances, this period had it all.

And it didn’t take long to turn into offense, as a pinch by Miro Heiskanen turned into a Chicago 3-on-2, which was handled poorly by Dallas, and the opening goal from Tyler Bertuzzi. Another bad turnover created a 2-on-1 that Jake Oettinger had to handle a few minutes later.

And on the other side, well, it was the Chicago Blackhawks in full Chicago Blackhawks form. Add a bit of rust, maybe some warm weather in Texas, and it was not the cleanest performance in any zone. But give them credit, they are tied 1-1 after 20 against one of the best teams in the league.

And how about a Nils Lundkvist slapper from the point with a double screen — one from each team? I dig it.

Jason Robertson looked great in the first period.

His fake backhand pivot and turn to the outside was nasty, and he ripped a wrister off the far post over the pad and under the glove. Later in the period, Robertson took a pass up the middle of the ice from Roope Hintz, split the D with speed (yes, I mean it!), and deked out Arvid Soderblom in net… But again, he hit the same post. And No. 21 died a bit inside when he saw it didn’t go.

I am very curious to see how the next 40 minutes go. Will the game settle in? Or are we looking at 60 minutes of wacky hockey between a really good team and a really bad team?

Let’s see.

Hot Ritz

Have you ever stuck a Ritz cracker in the microwave or oven?

Yeah, me neither. But if we did, I can imagine (or pretend) that it would look like what we have been seeing lately from Justin Hryckowian.

Hryckowian came into the game tonight with points in four-straight games. He has been given the opportunity to play with a lot more skill on his line, sliding onto the left side of Matt Duchene and Jamie Benn after Duchene returned from a concussion. No offense to Oskar Bäck and Mavrik Bourque. But Duchene and Benn are a different level of skill.

Tonight, Hryckowian got to play with even more skill, staying out to join a rush with some guy named Mikko Rantanen and his friend Wyatt Johnston. And guess what? He scored again.

“You put [Duchene] in there, who is a high-end player, and [Benn] was there, so two high-end guys with him,” Gulutzan said. “And what he does really well is he can go get pucks, and he can hold pucks, and he wins battles. If you look at [Duchene], he can hold onto pucks in the O zone, and that’s when he needs someone to go with him. And [Benn] is just certainly a handful around the net and up the ice. I thought they’ve been good, that line, but “Ritzy” adds there with his puck battles and tenaciousness.”

That’s points in five consecutive games for Hryckowian (three goals, two assists), who also took an Alex Petrovic one-timer off the visor in the third period. He said he just had to shake it off.

I know I root hard for the kid because of the way he plays. But his offensive showing lately is a huge boost to his resume as a full-time NHL player. There is a quiet battle going on in this lineup. Maybe not for a spot right now, but when Dallas inevitably adds before the trade deadline, they will need to make some room.

If Hryckowian can continue to add offense, while still playing his pesky and rambunctious style, of course, he can make his case a lot stronger to stay up North instead of being sent back down to Cedar Park.

Okay, a lot of holidays left over

I said above that I was curious how the rest of this game would go. Turns out, it only got weirder.

Specifically, a sequence in the third period featured two near power-play goals for Chicago, including some time when Oettinger was goalie-ing without his paddle. Up goalie creek without a paddle? Eh?

Then Radek Faksa sprung Benn out of the box on a breakaway from center ice. Benn used one of his patented moves, the backhand forehand deke, but he got in too tight (although he has scored on this move before), and couldn’t elevate over the right pad.

After nearly scoring, Benn decided to go on a rampage…

And of course, the eventual Dallas goal came when Johnston’s shot hit Rantanen in the stomach to the side of the net… Rantanen chipped in the rebound. Hysterical. And finally, a weird bounce on a point shot and a bit of puck watching/losing coverage led to Bertuzzi’s second goal of the game in tight and a 3-3 score.

This is the type of game we had tonight. Insane moves, 1-on-5 rushes resulting in goals, Dallas denting the post repeatedly, and even Johnston nearly ending it in the final seconds…

NOTE: Nils Lundkvist took a puck to the face in the final minute and went to the dressing room for repairs. He did not return in overtime and needed stitches.

Quotable

Stars coach Glen Gulutzan

“I honestly didn’t sense our guys were frustrated. I don’t think we were there yet. I think it’s too early with the break and everything. I thought they weren’t frustrated; they were playing. They knew they were going to be a little rusty. But when those things don’t go, people hang around. I thought we didn’t execute for the first two (periods).