The Dallas Stars spent Tuesday leaning hardest on Thomas Harley and Miro Heiskanen. Their reward was one shot between them and zero points in a 5-1 loss to New Jersey at American Airlines Center.
Kyle Capobianco’s departure made the blue-line options narrower during the third period. He left after a collision with Timo Meier, with 15:13 remaining, and was still being evaluated afterward. Capobianco had played 10:42. Dallas had lost a defenseman in a game already slipping away, without knowing the extent of his injury.
Harley led Dallas in time on ice and managed one shot. Heiskanen played the second-largest workload and did not register one. Across the rink, Luke Hughes logged 22:58 for the Devils, scored once and assisted once. He helped set up Nico Hischier’s second goal with 19:22 remaining before the second intermission, then restored New Jersey’s three-goal advantage after Dallas finally answered.
The comparison is useful because Hughes did more than survive his assignment. He contributed directly to the scoreboard during a game New Jersey controlled at even strength. Dallas’ busiest defenders, meanwhile, supplied no offensive return. That is a contrast in influence, not proof that one group of players failed simply because its role demanded more minutes.
Dallas’ only goal came from a far more straightforward source. With 3:52 left in the second period, Tyler Myers put a point shot toward the net, and Justin Hryckowian redirected it past Connor Hellebuyck. Colin Blackwell also received an assist. Hryckowian’s second goal of the season, and his second in two games, cut the deficit to 3-1.
For 28 seconds, the game offered Dallas an opening. Luke Hughes closed it from the top-right circle with 3:24 remaining in the period. Jack Hughes later scored with 6:45 left in regulation, and the Devils finished the evening with five goals, all at even strength.
The Stars never received a power-play opportunity, while New Jersey went 0-for-3 against Dallas’ penalty kill. Special teams did not decide this one; the five-on-five gap did.
The middle period made the workload problem more visible. New Jersey produced 15 shots to Dallas’ four and scored three times. Dallas fell behind 3-0 during the second period, found the redirect from Myers’ shot, and then conceded again before it could build on the moment.
The 27-18 final shot count was modest compared with some lopsided nights, but the four-shot second period left little room for a comeback.
The forwards offered limited offensive support. Joel Kiviranta led Dallas with four shots, Jason Robertson had three, and the Stars finished with only eight shots in the third period while trailing by three. Hellebuyck stopped 17 of 18 in his first start for New Jersey, a strong performance, though Dallas also gave him a relatively quiet workload.
The Stars recorded 38 total shot attempts, but only 18 reached the net; the remaining 20 were blocked or missed, without that total assigning blame to one defender or explaining shot quality by itself.
