Paulovic, Oleksiak Each Tally as Stars Prospects Fall to Detroit 4-2

Jamie Oleksiak in game action last season (Credit: Josh Rasmussen/Texas Stars)

The Stars were not as successful Friday night as they were on Thursday in Traverse City, falling by a 4-2 mark to the host Detroit Red Wings. The Stars were ultimately outshot in every period. The Detroit prospects roster was rather stacked, featuring several players who just won a Calder Cup with the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Brendan Ranford and Brett Ritchie continued their strong play as each picked up a power play assist on Jamie Oleksiak's PPG in the third period. The other Stars' goal came at even strength in the second as free agent pickup and expected Texas Star for the coming season, Taylor Peters, found 2013 draft pick Matej Paulovic after forcing a turnover on the forecheck.

“That’s a lot of my game, getting in on the forecheck and making sure the defenders don’t have an easy time getting the puck out,” Peters told Stars Inside Edge after the game. “I was able to strip the puck and Pauly made a good call at the front of the net, I was able to make the pass and he made a good shot.”

All teams are off today. Detroit moves to 2-0 and the top of the division with their win. Dallas is at 1-1 but ahead of St. Louis, who is also 1-1 but got their win in extra time against the Wild. The tournament uses a three point scoring system where in winners of overtime or shootout games only get two points while the loser gets one. Winners of regulation games get all three points and the loser gets zero.

Dallas will play Minnesota tomorrow at 2 PM Central. If the math is right on my end, the best Dallas can do is 2nd place in the division. Even with a Detroit regulation loss and a Dallas regulation win, the two would be tied at six points and the tiebreaker would likely be head-to-head, which Detroit won. (Apparently the tiebreaker may be total goals scored; we'll see.) Regardless of ranking, everyone plays a final 'playoff' game against the other division on Monday.