NHL News

Home

Teams

Quizzes

Newsletter

Oct 28, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen (4) and center Tyler Seguin (91) and right wing Mikko Rantanen (96) and center Wyatt Johnston (53) celebrates a power play goal scored by Seguin against the Washington Capitals during the second period at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Stars Do Just Enough in Win Over Capitals

Originally posted on Breakaway on SI | By Seth Dowdle | Last updated Oct 29, 2025 12:00 AM ET

On a night when Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin had the opportunity to score the 900th goal of his Hall of Fame career, the Dallas Stars spoiled the potential party and won 1-0.

Dallas’ season started with a bang, with three consecutive victories over teams that fancy themselves in the mix for the Stanley Cup. But after the highs of that early success, the Stars came back down to earth with four disappointing defeats to the Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets and Los Angeles Kings. Since those losses, though, Dallas has been on a roll, with the defensive win against the Capitals serving as the punctuation to a three-game win streak that has revitalized the Stars’ season.

All it Takes is One

On a night when multiple key forwards such as Matt Duchene, Roope Hintz and Oskar Bäck were out of the lineup, the Stars were able to do enough offensively despite the adversity.

Tyler Seguin netted the lone goal of the evening for Dallas when he threw a centering pass toward Jason Robertson while on the power play. The puck was nowhere near going in, but the Stars caught a break when Capitals defenseman Martin Fehérváry’s stick got in the way and deflected it past goalie Logan Thompson. That put the Stars up 1-0 — and that ended up being all they needed to capture the victory.

Stars Strike first thanks to Tyler Seguin pic.twitter.com/lcFEidMB8W
— DLLS Stars (@DLLS_Stars) October 29, 2025

One-goal wins have been a staple for Dallas throughout the season, as the team is now 5-0-1 in those contests. Of course, the Stars would like to find more success in the offensive zone to make those games a bit more comfortable, but as they say, a win is a win.

Where improvement needs to come most is on the power play. Dallas was just 1-for-4 with the man advantage, with most of those opportunities failing to gain any sort of momentum. That lack of cohesion was especially evident in the second period when the team constantly found itself on the back foot and only managed to pepper Thompson with five shots. That tally increased in the third but to no avail.

They Say Defense Wins Championships

While defense alone won’t win a team a Stanley Cup, it certainly doesn’t hurt — especially when the offense just can’t seem to get anything going. What head coach Glen Gulutzan and company can be proud of following the win is the penalty kill, which entered the game as one of the league’s worst. While not all the problems have been eradicated — the Stars still rank near the bottom of the league in killing penalties — it had to feel cathartic to successfully keep Washington off the board.

Jake Oettinger was a huge part of that as he stopped all 24 shots that came his way. He's one of the most reliable goalies in the league, and he made that known against the Capitals.

No. 900 Will Have to Wait

Ovechkin finished second on the Capitals in time on ice at 20:33 yet managed only two shots on goal all night and, obviously, failed to score. He’s already the greatest goal scorer of all time, and adding a milestone like a 900th goal will only add to the lore of his remarkable career. He’ll get another opportunity to do so at home against the New York Islanders on Oct. 31.

For the Capitals, they fall to 6-4 and sit tied with the Carolina Hurricanes for third in the Metropolitan Division.

This article first appeared on Breakaway on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: