(1) 2012-13 Blackhawks Versus (8) 2015-16 Stars
Game 1
Game 1 goes to the home team Chicago Blackhawks, who win by a score of 5-2. The Blackhawks got off to a fast start, scoring the game’s opening goal just 3:23 in, courtesy of Marian Hossa. By the end of the period, Andrew Shaw, Patrick Sharp and Nick Leddy added goals to put the Hawks up 4-0 after 20 minutes.
Dallas made things interesting with goals from Jamie Benn in the second period and Tyler Seguin in the third. Unfortunately, that was as close as they would get, as Hossa scored his second goal of the game at 16:58 to ice it.
Game 2
Two games, two 5-2 victories for the home team Blackhawks. Jamie Benn opened the scoring at 10:11 of the first period. Unfortunately, the Blackhawks came right back, scoring twice in 16 seconds, to take a 2-1 lead into the intermission.
The second period was scoreless until Jonathan Toews struck at 16:18 to put the Hawks up 3-1. Benn responded with his second goal of the night right before the intermission to keep the Stars in it.
It was not enough, however, for the overmatched Stars. Brent Seabrook scored his second of the game at 6:33 to restore Chicago’s two-goal lead, and Duncan Keith added an insurance marker at 18:40, as the Hawks won their second straight 5-2 home game.
Game 3
The Stars are finally on the board in this series, as they take Game 3 2-1 at home! Chicago’s Marcus Kruger struck just 2:33 into the first period to put the Blackhawks up 1-0 early.
Valeri Nichushkin scored to put the Stars on the board, and as the rest of regulation went by scoreless, the two teams went to overtime for the first time in the series.
Chicago dominated the OT session, outshooting Dallas nine to four, but Mattias Janmark scored unassisted to get the win for Dallas and cut the series deficit in half.
Game 4
The Stars explode for a 6-1 thrashing of the Blackhawks to even the series at 2-2! Dallas turned the table a bit in this one, as this time it was the Stars scoring just 17 seconds in, courtesy of Jason Spezza, to take the early 1-0 lead. Ales Hemsky extended the lead just five minutes later, and Dallas took a 2-0 lead into the intermission.
Marian Hossa got back on the scoresheet in the second, bringing the Hawks back within one, but Spezza responded with his second of the game and the home team took a two-goal lead into the intermission.
It turns out the Spezza show was just getting started, as he scored again just 20 seconds into the third period to finish off the hat trick, then added a fourth goal just two minutes later, as his fourth goal of the game put Dallas up 5-1. Alex Goligoski rubbed some salt into Chicago’s wounds with a goal on replacement goaltender Ray Emery, and Dallas ran away with Game 4 6-1 to tie the series.
Game 5
One of the most exciting (hypothetical) playoff games in NHL history sees the Stars take a 3-2 series lead.
The game started innocently enough, with neither team scoring for most of the first period. Chicago took a 1-0 lead into the intermission thanks to a goal from Brandon Saad.
The second period went by without any scoring. However, the Stars suddenly exploded in the third period, scoring two goals in four seconds to take a 2-1 lead with under 14 minutes left in regulation.
Chicago continued to press for the rest of the period, including pulling goaltender Corey Crawford. Their risk paid off, as Patrick Kane scored his first goal of the postseason with just 20 seconds left in regulation!
However, just three seconds later, former Hawk Patrick Sharp scored for the 2015-16 Stars to restore Dallas’s lead! The Stars held on the rest of the way and took an absolute thriller for their third straight victory and 3-2 series lead.
Game 6
(8) 2015-16 Dallas Stars over (1) 2012-13 Chicago Blackhawks, 4-2
And just like that, the top-ranked team in the tournament has been eliminated in six games. The game began without much scoring but with lots of physicality, as the Stars were sent shorthanded twice, while Chicago took one penalty, in the first period. Neither team was able to capitalize, and there was no score after 1.
The scoring started in the second, as Jonathan Toews finally scored for just the second time in the series, his power-play goal putting Chicago up 1-0.
Ales Hemsky would respond for Dallas, but was answered by Marian Hossa, who restored Chicago’s one-goal lead with just under seven minutes left in the second period.
However, while it looked as though Chicago would take a 2-1 lead into the third, Travis Moen scored his first goal of the series with just 49 seconds left, and the game was tied entering the third period.
The Stars would get their first lead of the game just two minutes into the final frame, with Antoine Roussel’s first goal of the series. Andrew Shaw responded five minutes later to tie the game at 3.
The tie was short-lived, however, as Jamie Benn scored his fourth goal of the series to put Dallas back on top, 4-3, with 12:09 left in regulation
In the end, this was a truly shocking upset. The 2012-13 Chicago Blackhawks are one of the few teams in NHL history to win the Presidents’ Trophy and Stanley Cup in the same year, so they were expected to advance deep into this tournament.