At 11:54 of the second period, nine seconds after Jesper Boqvist made it 3-0, Jamie Benn’s night became a study in the difference between disruption and production. Benn was assessed an instigator minor, a fighting major and an instigator misconduct, totaling 17 penalty minutes. He finished with 9:46 of ice time and no shots on goal.
The Dallas Stars did not lose Tuesday’s 5-1 game to one penalty sequence. New Jersey had already scored three times, and the fight did not immediately produce another Devils goal. But Benn’s short night exposed how little a physical interruption can offer when the problem is an attack that needs actual chances.
Boqvist’s wrist shot at 11:45 had pushed New Jersey’s lead to three. Benn’s penalties followed at 11:54, with Dylan Hryckowian serving the two-minute instigator penalty. Dallas killed it, and New Jersey did not score during that opportunity. The penalty kill handled its assignment. It simply did not turn the game around.
That distinction is visible in the rest of the special-teams ledger. New Jersey had three power-play opportunities and scored on none of them. Dallas received no power play.
All five Devils goals came at even strength, so Benn’s penalty package did not hand New Jersey a man-advantage goal or explain the entire margin. It also gave Dallas no offensive reward: no goal, no extra attacker and no shot on goal from Benn.
The Stars eventually produced the kind of answer the moment required, but it came from Justin Hryckowian. At 16:08 of the second, Hryckowian redirected Tyler Myers’ point shot to cut the deficit to 3-1. It was Hryckowian’s second goal in two games. He also blocked three shots, recorded one shot and played 14:56, a busy contribution that reached beyond the scoring column.
The opening lasted 28 seconds. Luke Hughes scored at 16:36 on a wrist shot from the upper-right circle, restoring New Jersey’s three-goal advantage before Dallas could build another attacking sequence. Hryckowian’s finish was a genuine response because it converted a puck sent toward the net.
The reply from New Jersey showed how quickly the Devils could reassert control after Dallas finally found a touch in front.
Benn’s absence from the offensive ledger was especially conspicuous because Dallas needed more than Hryckowian’s finish. The Stars produced 18 shots on goal to New Jersey’s 27. Mikko Rantanen had none in 17:29, Wyatt Johnston and Tyler Seguin had one apiece, while Joel Kiviranta led Dallas with four and Jason Robertson had three.
Those numbers do not explain every blocked or missed attempt, but they describe an attack that did not sustain enough shooting volume to make Connor Hellebuyck work repeatedly.
Hellebuyck stopped 17 of 18 shots in his first start for New Jersey. Dallas did solve him once, through Hryckowian’s redirect, so the goaltender cannot serve as a convenient explanation for everything. Dallas’ low shot total remained a problem even with a good opponent in goal.
A team can survive a quiet night from one player if other lines keep testing the net. Dallas did not receive that broad response.
