Casey DeSmith’s line from Tuesday’s 5-1 loss to New Jersey is difficult to defend: 22 saves on 27 shots, five goals allowed and a night spent watching the Devils turn dangerous opportunities into a comfortable victory. Still, Dallas’s goaltender cannot be made the whole diagnosis when the Stars put only 18 shots on Connor Hellebuyck and produced four in the second period.
DeSmith was part of the problem. At the other end was a Dallas attack that gave itself almost no room for an imperfect performance in the crease. Those two statements fit together rather neatly, which is inconvenient for anyone hoping to pin the evening on one position.
New Jersey’s first goal arrived 2:41 into the game. Timo Meier was involved in a 2-on-1 that ended with Nico Hischier scoring from the bottom-left circle. Hischier moved around Lian Bichsel before waiting out DeSmith and finishing.
The chance had already become dangerous before the shot reached the net, but the save was not automatic either. DeSmith did not erase the breakdown, and the breakdown did not absolve him.
Dallas challenged the goal for interference involving Meier. The challenge failed, and the Stars received a two-minute delay-of-game penalty. New Jersey did not score during that advantage, while Dallas eventually killed all three Devils power plays.
That clean penalty-killing night keeps the failed challenge from becoming the explanation for five goals, though it remains an expensive decision because it converted a conceded goal into additional defensive work.
The second period put the larger imbalance in plain view. Hischier scored 38 seconds after the intermission, with Meier’s drop pass setting up a one-timer from the top-left circle. It was a crisp New Jersey play and a difficult chance.
At 11:45, Jesper Boqvist made it 3-0 after Jack Hughes found him with a no-look pass. Dallas would finish the entire second period with four shots.
New Jersey finished that middle frame with 15 shots to Dallas’s four. The Devils were not merely asking DeSmith to handle one bad bounce and then moving on; they were creating far more opportunities while the Stars struggled to build any sustained attacking sequence.
A goaltender allowing five deserves scrutiny, but an offense that produces four shots in 20 minutes is hardly offering a generous insurance policy.
DeSmith also supplied one fair criticism on his own. At 6:02 of the second, he was assessed a two-minute tripping penalty after taking down Evan Rodrigues. A goalie taking a minor penalty is an avoidable complication in any game, particularly one already leaning toward the opponent. Dallas’s penalty killers cleaned up the mistake, but their success does not make the infraction sound judgment.
