NHL - Stars - Round Up November 21-29, 2016

Wild @ Stars 2-3 OT - Monday, November 21, 2016


Jamie Benn scored 1:23 into overtime to give the Dallas Stars a 3-2 win against the Minnesota Wild at American Airlines Center. It was the Stars' first overtime win this season (1-5) and their first since a 3-2 win against the Nashville Predators on Feb. 15, 2015. Stars goalie Antti Niemi made 27 saves for his first win since Nov. 3. Benn scored after Tyler Seguin hit Minnesota forward Mikael Granlund in the Dallas zone. Seguin retrieved the loose puck at center ice and passed it to Jordie Benn, who skated into the Wild zone and returned it to Seguin. Jamie Benn took a pass from Seguin in the left faceoff circle and beat goalie Darcy Kuemper with a wrist shot to the short side over his shoulder.

Kuemper said he didn't think Jamie Benn was going to shoot. Defenseman Jamie Oleksiak scored at 7:19 of the second period to give the Stars a 1-0 lead. Kuemper made the save on Jason Spezza's backhand shot on the rush, but Oleksiak got to the rebound and scored on a backhand for his first goal in 55 games. Patrick Eaves extended his point streak to six games with an assist on the goal. Minnesota (9-7-2) tied the game at 1-1 with 2:38 left in the second when Nino Niederreiter scored on the power play off a pass from Mikael Granlund. Mikko Koivu got the 400th assist of his NHL career on the goal. Dallas (8-7-5) regained the lead at 2-1 when Brett Ritchie scored his fifth of the season 1:01 into the third period. Julius Honka got an assist in his first NHL game when he carried the puck along the boards and centered it to Ritchie. Wild forward Erik Haula tied it 2-2 at 4:01 of the third after a scramble in the crease. Jason Pominville's shot hit the left and the right post before Haula finished off the play for his second goal of the season. Kuemper made 29 saves.

* Honka, the No. 14 pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, set up Ritchie's goal with a pass from below the goal line. After Radek Faksa won a faceoff in the right circle, Honka carried the puck along the wall to the corner and passed to Ritchie, who was crashing the net along with Antoine Roussel.
"Feels good. Obviously first point. It was just another play in the game," Honka said. "I want to enjoy the moment and just live in the moment."

* Niemi turned away Koivu's shot from the bottom of the right faceoff circle with his blocker while moving to his right with 3:41 left in the second period.

* Jamie Benn scored the Stars' first overtime goal of the season thanks to Seguin's effort. Seguin knocked down Granlund in the Stars zone, and then caught up to the puck in the neutral zone to create a rush the other way before setting up Benn for his shot past Kuemper.

* The Wild had a 2-on-1 in overtime, but Honka held his position and forced Eric Staal to make an aerial pass to Charlie Coyle, who didn't get off a shot.

"Put [Coyle] in a tough spot because it was about an 8-foot pass," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. "We had our opportunity, a 2-on-1 in overtime, and we don't take advantage of it. They take advantage of their 3-on-2."

* Dallas defenseman John Klingberg was a healthy scratch after missing a meeting Monday morning. … Stars defenseman Johnny Oduya was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury before Honka was recalled from Texas of the American Hockey League. … Minnesota was 1-for-3 on the power play, and Dallas was 0-for-2.

Stars Quotes

"I thought our execution was better, just hanging on to the puck. We spent a lot of time on (overtime strategy) through the video and things that we think we can do better. … I even went through a quick review before the overtime started again, just to emphasize points."
"I thought they played very well. I don't think we gave up a chance in the first period. I think our puck movement, our play coming through the neutral zone, was probably as good as it's been all year. I really liked what they all did. It was simple and effective. They got back, they moved it quick, they found their outlets, they made some plays into the middle of the ice. We generated some chances that we haven't generated in a long time." Lindy Ruff said.
"I was just kind of whacking away. I think that's my first career backhand goal. It was nice to get that one and contribute." Oleksiak said.

Wild Quotes

"Most guys would have (passed). I was trying to play in between, and when you're in between, that's what happens." Kuemper said.

"At the end of the day, we are fortunate to get a point out of this game. We weren't playing the way we should've played. I felt like we were a little sloppy, making too many mistakes. At the end of the day, we found a way to be in the game and go to overtime. That is the one positive thing." Nino Niederreiter.

Stars @ Nashville Predators 2-5 - Wednesday, November 23, 2016


Filip Forsberg, James Neal and Ryan Johansen each scored a goal and had an assist and the Nashville Predators defeated the Dallas Stars 5-2 at Bridgestone Arena. Forsberg gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 14:52 of the first period on a wrist shot from below the left faceoff circle. Defenseman P.K. Subban delivered a pass from the point to Forsberg, and he shot it past Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen for his second goal. Mike Fisher made it 2-0 at 16:06 of the second period on a wraparound. Fisher took the original shot and followed his rebound behind the net. He collected the puck and beat Lehtonen for his fourth goal.

Stars forward Patrick Sharp scored shorthanded to make it 2-1 at 5:32 of the third period on a wrist shot from the slot. Forward Lauri Korpikoski got the puck and Sharp beat Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne for his first goal. Johansen gave the Predators a 3-1 lead 37 seconds later on the power play on a one-timer from just outside the goal crease. Neal took the puck wide and made the pass to the middle of the ice, and Johansen directed the puck past Lehtonen for his second goal. Neal recorded his 200th assist on the play. Craig Smith made it 4-1 at 11:09 on a one-timer from the side of the net. The Predators created a turnover, Forsberg got the puck to Smith on the transition and Smith one-timed it for his sixth goal. Stars forward Brett Ritchie scored to make it 4-2 at 18:44, but Neal scored an empty-net goal with 16 seconds to play.

* Johansen's goal after the Stars had scored shorthanded to make it 2-1. Johansen redirected a pass from Neal to quickly restore a two-goal lead.

* Rinne made a save on Stars forward Patrick Eaves from the slot on the power play in the second period. Eaves was left alone and got a clean look at the goal, but Rinne was able to get in position to preserve a 1-0 lead.

* Subban's pass through traffic to Forsberg on Nashville's first goal. Subban had the puck at the point and drifted to the right. He caught the Dallas defense also moving to the right and sent a pass back to the left that Forsberg was able to corral and shoot past Lehtonen.

* Smith's goal was the result of a tic-tac-toe passing play from Mike Ribeiro and Forsberg. Ribeiro got the puck at the top of the slot to start the play. He passed to Smith, who passed it to Forsberg, and Forsberg gave it back to Smith for the one-timer to give the Predators a 4-1 lead.

* Sharp finished with five shots on goal and got his first goal of the season in his seventh game. … Stars defenseman John Klingberg returned after being a healthy scratch for one game for being late to a team meeting. … The Predators improved to 7-1-1 at home. … Rinne has a 7-1-2 record with a 1.39 goals-against average and a .952 save percentage in November.

"You build off a lot of good stuff we did in the game, and there was a lot of good stuff in the game. Our energy was good. I thought from the second period on, our breakouts coming out of our own end [were] good. We just need to clean up a few mistakes." Lindy Ruff said.

Vancouver Canucks @ Stars 1-2 - Friday, November 25, 2016


Esa Lindell had a goal and an assist to lead the Dallas Stars to a 2-1 win against the Vancouver Canucks at American Airlines Center. The game-winning goal was Lindell's first career NHL goal in his 17th game. Radek Faksa also scored for Dallas and Antti Niemi made 30 saves in his fifth win of the season. Niemi made 14 saves in the third period, including a sprawling pad save on Alexandre Burrows with 2:52 remaining. Jayson Megna scored at 5:01 of the first period when he skated past Stars defenseman Dan Hamhuis and beat Niemi with a backhand to give Vancouver a 1-0 lead. It was Megna's first goal since Jan. 5, 2016, when he scored against the Stars when he played for the New York Rangers. Faksa scored on a deflection at 9:32 of the second period to tie the game at 1-1. Lindell took the initial shot from the point and Faksa redirected the puck in the high slot past Ryan Miller's right pad. The goal was originally credited to Lindell on the scoresheet and announced on the public address system as his first career NHL goal before it was changed to Faksa. Lindell got his goal at 15:58 of the second period. He took a wrist shot and beat Miller on the stick side when Patrick Eaves set a screen. Jamie Benn and John Klingberg had the assists. Miller made 26 saves.

* Lindell wasn't sure he scored the game-winning goal because he thought the puck may have hit Eaves in front of the net.
"It feels good if it was my goal, but Eaves said it might have touched him," Lindell said as he held the puck. "I hope I don't have to give it to Patty."

* Niemi made one of his toughest saves on Jack Skille at 4:50 of the third period. Skille carried the puck around a defender and took a close-range shot that Niemi stopped with his left pad.

* Niemi helped seal the victory with 2:50 remaining when he stopped Burrows with his right pad. It was the second big save Niemi made on Burrows in the third period after he stopped him on a scramble with 6:38 remaining.

* The Stars' penalty kill finished off the game when Patrick Sharp was called for hooking with 1:57 remaining. Vancouver pulled Miller for a 6-on-4 advantage, but only had a pair of shots against Niemi.

* Canucks forward Sven Baertschi missed the game with a foot injury. He is day-to-day after blocking a shot against the Coyotes on Wednesday. … The Canucks recalled forward Alexandre Grenier from the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League, but he did not play. … Prior to the game, the Stars assigned defenseman Stephen Johns to the AHL's Texas Stars.

Stars Quotes

"It's been a long time since I've scored last time. So this feels good." Lindell said.
"I felt a little bad, but I need the goal, too, you know? I'm happy for Esa. He got the other one after. So I don't feel guilty anymore." Faksa said.
"The release on both of the goals, I don't think he scores unless the release is that quick. Esa did a real nice job for us."
"I thought our push in the second period really was a difference-maker. And our second periods have been an issue with us." Lindy Ruff said.

Stars @ Detroit Red Wings 1-3 - Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha each scored a power-play goal for the Detroit Red Wings in a 3-1 win against the Dallas Stars at Joe Louis Arena. The Red Wings (11-10-2) hadn't scored on the power play in their past five games. Petr Mrazek made 34 saves, including 17 in the third period. The Stars (9-9-6) lost for the second straight night. Kari Lehtonen made 17 saves, and Esa Lindell scored. The Stars were 0-for-5 on the power play; the Red Wings were 2-for-4.

Dallas took a 1-0 lead 16 seconds into the first period on Lindell's second NHL goal. His shot from the left faceoff circle hit the skate of Red Wings defenseman Mike Green and deflected over Mrazek's shoulder. Larkin made it 1-1 at 19:21 with another deflection. Larkin's shot from the point was headed wide until it bounced off the skate of Stars defenseman Jordie Benn. The Red Wings took a 2-1 lead at 7:56 of the second period. Mantha passed to Henrik Zetterberg and drove to the net, where he knocked in Zetterberg's return pass for his third goal. Dallas had back-to-back power plays in the third period, including 46 seconds with a two-man advantage, but did not score. Steve Ott scored into an empty net with 1:03 to play for a 3-1 lead.

* Zetterberg is 36 years old and has lost some speed but his passing touch is still sharp. On Mantha's goal, Zetterberg waited long enough to draw Lehtonen toward him then put the puck onto his teammate's stick for an easy goal.

* Lehtonen protected a 1-0 lead late in the first period with a save on Thomas Vanek. The Red Wings had a 3-on-2, and Gustav Nyquist slid a cross-ice pass to Vanek, but Lehtonen moved across the crease and made the save with his chest and right arm.

* Larkin's power-play goal was Detroit's first in 15 attempts and third in 31 tries. Frans Nielsen won the faceoff to the point, where Larkin and Mike Green exchanged passes before Larkin's shot.

* Defenseman Danny DeKeyser kept the Red Wings ahead with a deflection during a Stars power play in the second period. Spezza slid a quick pass across the crease to Jamie Benn, who had an open side of the net, but DeKeyser tipped the shot into Mrazek's pads.

* Stars defenseman Stephen Johns left the game in the third period after sustaining a facial laceration in a collision with Zetterberg. Ruff didn't have an update on Johns after the game. … Lindell has scored twice in the past three games after going 16 games before his first. … Red Wings forward Tomas Jurco played for the first time this season after a back injury. He had one shot in a Detroit-low 9:22. … Dallas defenseman John Klingberg was a healthy scratch. "He hasn't played well enough," Ruff said. … Dallas television announcer Dave Strader, who has bile-duct cancer, made intermission appearances on each broadcast. Strader, who broadcast Detroit games from 1985-96, received an ovation from the crowd.

Stars Quotes

"If we play like that every night, we're going to win a lot of games. We just didn't put the puck in the net." Lindy Ruff said.
"I thought we had great energy, especially after playing last night. Our special teams just need to be better. You can't give up two power-play goals and not get one back." Patrick Sharp said.
"I had two really good looks and didn't do anything with either of them. That's the point of the game where I'm paid to put the puck in the net. They got two on the power play and we got none. That's a great way to lose a hockey game." Jason Spezza said.