DALLAS, TX – New Year’s Day fell upon Cotton Bowl Stadium with perfect conditions for outdoor ice hockey. An overcast sky with a light wind, giving it a feel in the low-50s, set the stage for an epic battle between two teams struggling to find their game in the highly competitive Central Division.
85,630 spectators, the second highest attendance in an outdoor NHL game, enjoyed the only match on the schedule today, making the game even more special. The visiting Nashville team had 20,000+ fans join them in making the 660-mile trip from Nashville to Dallas for the NHL’s greatest spectacle. So much gold an upper and lower seating bowls made for a nice scene.
In the end, there would only be one winner. On the strength of four unanswered goals, the Dallas Stars defeated the Nashville Predators for their league-leading 7th victory when trailing after two periods, making for a memorable 2020 NHL Winter Classic. Dallas continued their ability to come back and win after allowing the game’s first goal. They now lead the league with 7 wins under that condition.
Things got going early when just 2:44 into the game, after a flurry of heavy body checks on both sides, Dallas’ Corey Perry tagged Ryan Ellis with an elbow to the left side of his head. The play which developed near the Dallas blue line, sent the star defenseman to the ice. Perry was assessed a five-minute major for elbowing and a game misconduct, sending Nashville onto a lengthy power play. While Perry took the longer-than-usual walk to the locker room with his ejection, Ellis’ day was done as he did not return to the game.
Things went from bad to worse for the Stars when at 4:24, Dallas’ Blake Comeau was sent off for delay of game when his clearing attempt went over the glass. With the two-man advantage, the Predators proved dangerous.
At 5:46, Nashville finally drew first blood when Matt Duchene took a pass from Filip Forsberg and slipped a lethal wrister from the right circle past Dallas goaltender Ben Bishop. It sent Predators fans into a frenzy. It was Duchene’s ninth of the season. Roman Josi had the second assist.
The Predators weren’t done. Still on the five-minute power play, Nashville’s Dante Fabbro collected a firm pass from Duchene and netted Nashville’s second goal of the game with just 8 seconds left in the man-advantage. It was Fabbro’s fourth of the year. Josi gained the second assist on this goal, too.
Shortly after the goal, Dallas had an opportunity to push back on Nashville’s upper hand. Just more than a minute after Nashville’s second goal, Dallas’ Denis Gurianov was hauled down after making a clever deke to break-in all alone and behind the Predators defense.
Matt Irwin took him down to the ice and Gurianov was awarded a penalty shot. The Dallas right winger had a chance to narrow the Nashville lead, but shot the puck wide, resulting in the ensuing face-off to the right of the Predators goal. It was the second penalty shot in Winter Classic play, fourth in an outdoor game.
After a brief scare from the Predators, Dallas began applying sustained pressure at the midpoint of the period, first with some punishing body checks and then with a flurry of shots. Nashville withstood the attack and then dished out some punishment of their own.
Dallas’ Blake Comeau was hit with a solid body check after delivering a pass from his own zone, sending him off his skates, causing his head to slam onto the ice. This generated a reaction from his teammates as players from both teams gathered to take swipes at one another before play was stopped to tend to the injured player. Only coincidental roughing minors to Nashville’s Colin Blackwell and Dallas’ Radek Faska were issued and play resumed.
Nashville continued to attack the Dallas net late in the period and nearly wrested control of the game from the home team, but Bishop stood his ground, particularly with some dangerous chances in close.
The period ended with Nashville leading in shots 10 to 8. Dallas led in hits 18 to 10, including the devastating elbow which gave the Predators a valuable power play and two goals from it.
Nashville started the middle frame with excellent chances on Bishop, including the first 5 shots of the period, but none would get by the Dallas netminder.
Dallas had a great chance with just more than 4 minutes into the period when the Nashville goalie made a strong save denying the chance steps from the crease.
Not long after, Nashville put themselves in a tough position when Roman Josi took a cross checking penalty just 3:16 left in the period. The Predators survived it, but Dallas would soon get on the board.
Blake Comeau slid his 5th of the year past Rinne to give the Stars life before the second period ended. Klingberg and Roope Hintz had the assists and Dallas had life, trailing just 2-1 now.
The Stars carried this momentum into the final period. Tyler Seguin hit the post in the first two minutes. They had 7 shots in the first five minutes while holding Nashville without a shot.
Just 58 seconds into the third period, Dallas’ Roope Hintz drew the puck back to Klingberg who sent a pass to Matthias Janmark for his 5th of the season. His one-timer through Rinne’s pads brought the home crowd to their feet as it tied the score, 2-2. The Stars were back in it and it was a whole new game.
With 3:42 to play and Nashville struggling to withstand pressure, Nashville’s Ryan Johansen was called for hooking, sending Dallas on the power play.
It took just 12 seconds later for Dallas to take their first lead. Off the draw, Jamie Benn pulled the puck back to a waiting Klingberg who sent a pass to Alexander Radulov. He one-timed the puck past Rinne in a blink of an eye for his 12th of the season and what ended up being the game-winner. The Dallas crowd was euphoric.
Nashville continued to struggle to get on track as Dallas kept punishing them along the boards and in the corners, taking away space to where the Predators could never connect multiple passes.
Then with 13:25 left in regulation, Dallas extended their lead with a quick rush up the ice. Radek Faksa carried the puck into the Nashville zone, dishing it off to Janmark as he crossed the blue line. Janmark laid into a shot which Rinne stopped, but the puck was loose in front of tangled legs and sticks. Defenseman Andrej Sekera advanced and put the loose puck past Rinne to make it 4-2 for his 1st of the year.
The teams traded chances, but Nashville could not get back into the game, even despite pulling Rinne with 2:31 to play. The Stars had sent the Predators and their 20,000+ fans back home disappointed at the game’s outcome.
After a difficult start, Dallas withstood a rough start to edge the Predators in shots, 35-33, dominated in hits 42-26 and won the face-off battles 55% of the time. The Stars proved they are still building something formidable while Nashville struggled for answers after letting their two-goal lead slip away.
Dennis Morrell has enjoyed a lengthy and fulfilling career in the great game as a hockey writer, photographer, goalie coach, player and currently an active USA Hockey-certified referee, skating over 1,000 games with the whistle. His passion for the game began in the early 70s with his first glance at skaters in Clayton’s Shaw Park. You can follow him on Twitter at DMMORRELL and can be reached at dennis.morrell@prohockeynews.com.
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