In what was the last matchup between these the Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators in the regular season this year, the action lived up to the hype, much like the other four games these two have met in. Despite Nashville being a top team in the league and fighting for the top slot in the Central Division, this was the Stars’ best season series. Every game was close, every game was competitive, and every game made it better to imagine seeing this again, next time in a seven-game series in the playoffs.

You can see the urgency and just a pure will to win in the Stars’ eyes that doesn’t seem to manifest as much in other matchups. This Dallas team is what we need to see the rest of the season for the playoff push. While the Stars are nowhere near perfect against Nashville, and need to find that extra push to win while tightening up areas, the Predators bring out a Stars team we don’t see often.

The Preds push the Stars’ buttons in ways that no other team does. They are starting to become the rival that Dallas has never really had, for the most part. They grind the gears and push the Stars to the point where Dallas has had enough and gets going, which is what this team needs down the stretch, that itchy urgency to just win.

And this is why a seven-game series could be interesting between the two.

Nashville originally took the lead in the series with a 5-4 overtime win out in Dallas. But the Stars, on the road, quickly took hold of two games to swing the series back their way.

The Stars were looking to sweep the Predators on the road in the series, although Nashville was able to sneak away with yet another overtime win. With the series knotted up at two apiece and going into the final game between the two, it was Nashville who took the season series three games to two Tuesday night with a 5-3 win.

Tuesday night’s game was very quickly paced, as shots were firing every which way. The two sides combined for 86 shots on goal, 47 for Nashville and 39 for Dallas. Thus, both goalies made some big saves; rather, it was the Dallas defense that came up short in helping out Anton Khudobin. That and some terrible no-calls from the refs didn’t help Dallas out too much either.

A nearly even first period swung in Nashville’s favor with a goal coming from the newly acquired Brian Boyle. Tyler Seguin had a shorthanded opportunity on Pekka Rinne and then was met by Boyle as Seguin got plastered to the boards behind the net. With a rush the other way, Boyle followed behind and tapped in a loose puck.

Down 0-1 heading into the middle frame, Jason Spezza evened the game three minutes in with his first goal since December 29 against the Detroit Red Wings. A long time to go without a goal, but it just goes to show some of the depth scoring issues with the team and that plenty of forwards on the roster have disappeared when it comes to the stat line.

Nonetheless, Spezza beat Rinne on the blocker side with a great wrister coming from right between both defenders at about the top of the faceoff circle. Spezza not only snapped his skid but also sent in the Stars’ first goal in a couple of games, ending that drought as well

Midway into the second period, Rocco Grimaldi used his short frame and his speed to blitz past Miro Heiskanen and then Khudobin. Heiskanen got caught in the neutral zone trying to bat the puck down, but the puck and Grimaldi sped past for the breakaway goal.

With 2:31 left in the second, Dallas would tie the game, take the lead, and then lose the lead in the matter of those short minutes.

Esa Lindell sniped in a beautiful wrist shot careening off the post and in on the power play to tie the game. Twenty-six seconds later, Roope Hintz used his craftiness to send the puck to Seguin for a goal, beating Rinne up top for the 3-2 lead.

Nice set up by Hintz and Seguin does the rest. #GoStars pic.twitter.com/IZm4LMRvC3 — Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) February 20, 2019

Annnnd then 21 seconds after Seguin’s goal, Filip Forsberg simply outmuscled John Klingberg in front of the net to bury a rebound.

Three-all going into the third period, Nashville pulled away and won the final frame. The gates on Dallas’ offense quickly closed as all 13 shots were sent away from Rinne.

Nashville, on the other hand, continued to take advantage of the poor defense right around the net and sent in the game-winning goal. The shot from Roman Josi bounced off a defender’s stick and slowly lofted over Khudobin for the goal. With the Dallas offense quickly sputtering again, Josi sent in the empty netter to put an end to the game and the season series.

The Dallas Stars are on a three-game losing streak and if they can’t find a win soon, will start to recreate the drought that killed them last season.

Luckily, some of the bottom teams in the Central like the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche are struggling as well and aren’t pushing/concerning Dallas. On the other hand, the St. Louis Blues are. The Blues already knocked the Stars down a spot in the Central and are very hot at the moment. Dallas plays St. Louis Thursday night.

The Stars, much like last season, can’t rely on the bottom teams to continue to fall because if Dallas falls and they pick up, Colorado and Minnesota last season, Dallas will be down and out for a third consecutive season.

It only takes a couple of games to miss out on the playoffs and that was the margin for missing the playoffs last season, three points.

Hopefully, the team isn’t seeing the flashbacks from last season, but us fans are. If it does happen, Jim Nill will be under a hotter seat than he already sits on.

The losing streak continues as the Dallas Stars fall to the Nashville Predators, who take the season series.