Dallas’ review failed before Tuesday’s game had properly settled into its rhythm. When Nico Hischier’s opening goal went to the league’s replay process with 2:41 elapsed, the call remained unchanged. The Stars then received a two-minute bench penalty for the unsuccessful goalie-interference challenge, served by Matthew Seminoff, and New Jersey held a 1-0 lead in the eventual 5-1 victory at American Airlines Center.
That was a real cost. It delayed the game, preserved the deficit and left Dallas with an awkward early decision to explain. It was not an explanation for the entire night.
All five Devils goals came at even strength. Dallas killed three New Jersey power plays, while the Stars never received one of their own. The challenge influenced the opening circumstances; it did not create four more full-strength goals.
The call stood. A criticism of Dallas’ choice should begin with the consequence: the Stars now had a penalty to kill on top of an early deficit. A successful review would have removed Hischier’s goal. The failed one added work instead, although Dallas completed that work without conceding on the ensuing power play. Nothing about that outcome alone makes the original decision irrational.
New Jersey still had to make the play. Hischier carried the puck around Lian Bichsel, waited out Casey DeSmith and finished from the lower-left area of the circle. Dallas’ review could not erase the fact that the Devils created a dangerous chance and converted it. A review decision may change the scoreboard’s starting point; it does not remove the defensive work required before the shot.
The second period supplied the larger diagnosis. Thirty-eight seconds after the restart, Hischier scored again, taking Timo Meier’s drop pass and firing a one-timer from the upper-left circle. At 11:45, Jesper Boqvist made it 3-0 after Jack Hughes delivered a no-look pass, with Boqvist finishing from above the right circle.
Those were separate even-strength attacks, and New Jersey finished the period with a 15-4 edge in shots on goal.
Neither of those goals came on a power play. One goal came from Meier’s setup for Hischier; the other followed Hughes’ distribution and Boqvist’s finish. New Jersey kept producing recognizable offensive sequences while Dallas struggled to sustain pressure. Blaming the first-period review for that gap would be like blaming a bad opening hand for every decision in the rest of a poker game.
Dallas did produce a response late in the period. At 16:08, Justin Hryckowian redirected Tyler Myers’ point shot to cut the margin to 3-1. Colin Blackwell also received an assist, and Hryckowian had his second goal of the season and his second in two games. It was a legitimate contribution, not empty late-game bookkeeping.
But the Stars did not get a long look at a two-goal game. Luke Hughes put New Jersey back ahead by three at 16:36, only 28 seconds after Hryckowian’s finish, scoring from the upper-right circle. The timing mattered because Dallas had finally converted one of its limited chances, then surrendered the next goal before that response could develop into sustained pressure.
Jack Hughes added another even-strength goal in the third period, putting the Devils’ fifth on the board with 6:45 remaining.
