One goal can win a hockey game. Against Cam Talbot on Thursday, it could only keep Dallas in one. The Stars lost 2-1 to Columbus in a shootout, earning one standings point after holding the Blue Jackets to one goal through 65 minutes.
The defensive work was sturdy enough to support a victory. The offense never created enough separation to make that work count for two points.
Talbot, however, made that extra finish expensive. At 9:16 of the second period, he reached across to deny Esa Lindell’s wrist shot with a scrambling glove save near the right post. Later in the period, at 16:45, he stopped Robertson’s breakaway using his left pad.
Those were separate opportunities, and both kept the scoreboard at zero until Rantanen broke through. Talbot finished with 27 saves on 28 shots and was named the game’s first star. Dallas did not spend the night firing harmlessly at a stranded goaltender; its opponent’s netminder erased chances that could have changed the contest earlier.
The chance count also explains why this was not simply a goaltending story. Dallas put 28 shots on Talbot, went 0-for-1 on its power play and managed one goal in regulation. Thomas Harley had two overtime attempts, Tyler Seguin had another, and all three were stopped.
Dallas outshot Columbus 3-1 in the extra period, but the advantage produced no goal before the shootout removed the skaters’ room to work.
Rantanen finally broke the deadlock 6:27 into the third period. Wyatt Johnston seized on an Ivan Provorov giveaway and got a shot away. Talbot stopped it, leaving a rebound beside the cage for Rantanen to gather and finish. Dallas had converted a Columbus error into an actual goal, rather than another chance to admire afterward.
But the goal also placed the entire result inside a one-goal margin. Zach Werenski tied it with 3:14 left in regulation, coming in from the left circle and lifting a backhand above Casey DeSmith’s left pad. Dallas did not have another regulation goal to restore its lead.
A team can defend its way through a tight game, but it cannot make a 1-0 advantage do the work of a two-goal cushion.
There was plenty to like about the defensive response. Columbus went 0-for-2 on the power play, and the Blue Jackets did not score in either of the first two periods. Dallas allowed 30 shots, a total that still required Casey DeSmith to stop 29 of them, but the game never reached the loose, high-scoring shape of Tuesday’s 6-5 victory at Washington.
With Miro Heiskanen unavailable, Thomas Harley logged 28:31, Esa Lindell played 26:05 and Nils Lundkvist reached a season-high 21:06. Those minutes helped Dallas navigate a difficult absence without turning the night into a defensive emergency.
