With me already in Dallas ahead of the return game with the Jets two night later, I decided to stay in the hotel and watch the game from there with Fox Sports South West's coverage. That meant expert analysis from former Stars Brent Severyn and Stu Barnes along with Josh Bogorad. I decided to tweet the guys whilst following the action on TV and amazingly got a few responses. So if your reading this thanks, it was much appreciated.
Jamie Benn scored twice in the final six minutes to help the Dallas Stars to a 5-3 win against the Winnipeg Jets at MTS Centre. Colton Sceviour scored his sixth goal with 7:31 left in the third period to give Dallas a 3-2 lead. It was not initially ruled a goal, but play was stopped 36 seconds later when video review determined the puck went into the Winnipeg net. Benn scored on the power play 1:39 later to put Dallas up by two. Mark Scheifele's 14th goal with 2:06 to go moved the Jets back to within a goal, but Dallas held off Winnipeg from there, and Benn scored his 32nd goal of the season into an empty net with 14.7 seconds left.
The game started a home-and-home set that continues Thursday in Dallas. The Stars have won the first four games of the season series. The Stars ended a three-game losing streak (0-2-1) and moved past the idle Chicago Blackhawks into first place in the Central Division. The Jets, who are last in the Central, have lost four in a row and five of their past six. They have two wins in their past 11 games at home. Jason Spezza had a power-play goal for Dallas, and Valeri Nichushkin also scored. John Klingberg had three assists, and Antti Niemi made 22 saves. Alexander Burmistrov and Andrew Ladd scored for Winnipeg.
The Stars opened the scoring at 7:15 of the first period. Tyler Seguin's cross-ice pass bounced to Spezza in the right circle, where he took a high shot to beat Pavelec for his 19th goal. Seguin's assist gave him six points (three goals, three assists) in four games against the Jets this season.
Burmistrov tied it 3:28 into the second period when he took Drew Stafford's centering pass and backhanded it past Niemi for his sixth goal. But Nichushkin got loose from the Winnipeg defense down low before snapping a shot over Pavelec's glove 4:46 later. The goal was his first since Jan. 3 against the New York Islanders, ending a 19-game drought.
Ladd tied injured center Bryan Little for the Jets lead with his 17th goal when he scored shorthanded at 16:14 of the second. Ladd shot Dustin Byfuglien's pass to the low slot past Niemi for his fourth goal in the past three games.
The subject of trade rumors ahead of the 2016 NHL Trade Deadline the following Monday [he would eventually sign for the Chicago Blackhawks], Ladd received a standing ovation after he scored.
Benn, who has three goals and two assists in a three-game point streak, credited Klingberg's work at the point and quarterbacking a power play that went 2-for-5. Klingberg's 41 assists are tied with P.K. Subban of the Montreal Canadiens for second among NHL defensemen. Ruff praised the Dallas penalty kill despite being displeased with Ladd's shorthanded goal.
Stars Quotes
Colton Sceviour: "I had no idea [of the play]. I don't even know what it hit. Fortunately, it was in." Lindy Ruff: "We were playing a pretty tight game [until that point]. You have to give them credit. They've got some speed. I thought the biggest part of the game was the kill when he had to kill the 5-on-3 (for 45 seconds early in the third period) I thought our killers did a pretty good job."
Jamie Benn: "I think as a group we did a good job sticking to the game plan. We found a way to get a win. We're ready to get home and face these guys again."
"[Klingberg's] just so dynamic up top there. He's not scared to hold on to that puck in any situation. He's just silky smooth out there. It's pretty to watch and brings another piece of the puzzle to a pretty good offensive team."
John Klingberg: "We really want to win the division and have [home-ice] advantage in the playoffs. It's a tough stretch here, and there is going to be a lot of important games for us, and we want to be as good as possible. There is some stuff that we need to be better at going into the playoffs."
Jets Quotes
Ondrej Pavelec: "As a team, our confidence is low right now. It's about winning and losing." Paul Maurice: "We turned some pucks over in the offensive zone that we didn't need to, and we were digging them out of our net. It was appropriate."
Andrew Ladd: "I guess it's different for me, because nothing is set in stone and you don't know what's going on. You're still out there trying to play a hockey game, but I obviously appreciate the ovation after the goal. The fans have always been great, ever since me and my family got here. We love the people in the city, and they've treated us great."
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