In Stars’ loss in Vegas, Tyler Seguin again scores in atypical fashion for him

LAS VEGAS — Stars forward Tyler Seguin now has seven goals this season, but many have not come in typical Seguin fashion. There haven’t been the flashy, top-shelf snipes. There’s only been one one-timer from the circle on the power play.

Instead, he’s done a lot of his work in front of the crease, as pucks have clanked off him and in the net. Of his seven goals, five have come in the so-called dirty areas.

Against Winnipeg, he tipped a John Klingberg point shot to tie the game in the third period. In Calgary, he tipped a puck that bounced off his chest and in. Against Philadelphia, Jacob Peterson’s pass deflected off a defender’s skate and glanced off Seguin’s stick. Against Columbus, Jani Hakanpää banked a shot off Seguin’s knee.

And on Wednesday, Seguin used his shin pad to score again.

“Not getting as many opportunities as I have in the past,” Seguin said. “When that’s happening, you just kind of go to the net and try to grease it up. That’s how most goals have gone in for me this year.”

Seguin missed a chance at giving the Stars a three-goal lead in Wednesday night’s loss when he sent a puck wide of an open cage. He is on pace for a 25-goal season.

Recently, Seguin has been the offensive forward left out of offensive lines when coach Rick Bowness has constructed his lineup. He played right wing alongside Michael Raffl and Radek Faksa on Wednesday night. On Monday, he skated with Faksa and Tanner Kero. In the previous six games, Seguin’s linemates were grinders like Joel Kiviranta and Luke Glendening.

He played just 10:00 at 5 on 5 Wednesday night, his lowest usage of the season.

“We’re hoping to get some scoring from that line,” Bowness said before the game. “We need better balanced scoring. We’ve been talking about that and we’re hoping that’ll do it for him. He’s got two big bodies there playing with him. If they can get the puck to him, he can finish, that would be ideal.”

Was moving Seguin to right wing a move to try to get him going more offensively?

“When Jamie [Benn] goes to center, someone’s got to move to the wing to make it work,” Bowness said. “This is what we came up with today.”

Still streaking: The main Stars streak might have ended on Wednesday night with a 5-4 loss to Vegas, but a few other ones survived.

In the loss that snapped the team’s seven-game win streak (an eighth straight win would have set a new franchise record), both sides of Dallas’ special teams remained hot.

The Stars power play scored on all three chances it had, meaning it’s scored on four consecutive power plays dating back to Monday’s win over Arizona. The penalty kill also killed all three penalties it committed in the first period, extending its streak of successful kills to 18 in a row. The Golden Knights did score seconds after a power play expired, though, when Mark Stone scored his first goal of the night.

All three of the Stars’ power play goals involved traffic at the net front.

Jason Robertson’s shot from distance weaved its way through legs and screens past Robin Lehner. Seguin’s goal bounced off his shin pad after a Ryan Suter shot ricocheted off Benn in front. Then Joe Pavelski tipped home a Klingberg point shot.

“There’s times you have to attack,” Pavelski said. “On our goal, there was a good lane. Klinger got the middle and when they give you that lane, you’re set up to hopefully get a tip. If it doesn’t go in, retrieve it, get it back and do it again. It was good movement, won some faceoffs to get the puck and executed.”

Robertson’s goal also extended his point streak to seven straight games.

Good and bad in net: Stars goaltender Braden Holtby was a main reason why Dallas entered the third period with a 3-2 lead, after he made 20 saves in a busy second period against Vegas.

He was dynamite in stoning Max Pacioretty on a breakaway. Then there was Mattias Janmark on a shorthanded breakaway. He pushed Reilly Smith wide on a rush attempt. Evgenii Dadonov tried a tip and then a backhand on the rebound. He covered up a Hakanpää turnover in the final minute of the period.

Holtby’s second-period performance even left Golden Knights defenseman Nic Hague standing on the blue line for 11 seconds after his point shot was saved.

Then the third period happened, when Vegas scored three times on 12 shots to win the game. Holtby said he would have liked to have made saves on the second (Jonathan Marchessault) and third goals (Michael Amadio), in particular.

“The second one, it’s a clear shot,” Holtby said. “It’s player against a goalie, so a position like that, that’s one that I believe I can stop. Third one, just didn’t get a good read on it, didn’t put myself in a position to get my body big enough if I didn’t get a read on it. Just little things, but two goals I thought I could have had to help the team get a win.”

Pavelski’s pump: When Pavelski scored his second goal of the night, it came after a fake slap shot while coming down the right wing.

“At first I thought there might have been a guy sliding over and might need to get a shot off,” Pavelski said. “And then I saw the space, so that’s where the pump went. That’s how that play developed.”

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