In Newark Joe Pavelski hit for a double as the Dallas Stars defeated the New Jersey Devils, 5-1m on Tuesday,
“I think it’s a mindset on why he gets it done year after year,” the Stars’ Ryan Suter said. “Joe has it … a great mindset. He’s like a fine wine, I guess.”
Braden Holtby made 36 saves in the Dallas win.
“We did a lot of good things against a team that can be really dangerous,” Pavelski said. “Guys were chipping in on this road trip and it was huge for us with the scoring we got from different lines.”
The Stars moved to 22-16-2.
“It’s fun to get off to a start like that where we’re scoring early and often,” Pavelski said. “It’s just trying to get the puck in deep, forecheck, and go to work.”
Jesper Bratt struck for the only New Jersey goal.
“I think they outplayed us the whole game,” New Jersey’s Damon Severson said. “It wasn’t fun to go down early, and then get scored on early again to start the second period. You just dig yourself a hole.”
New Jersey fell to 15-21-5.
Pavelski and Jacob Peterson scored in the first period for a 3-0 lead for Dallas.
“Joe’s consistency at his age (37) is what impresses me,” Stars head coach Rick Bowness said. “What you see today you’re seeing pretty much every game. Like I keep telling people, this is not a fluke. He works at it. He’s always the first guy out there working out around the net. He’s a true pro, great character, and a great teammate.”
Roope Hintz made it 4-0 in the middle frame before Bratt scored to close the gap to 4-1.
“[Holtby] was really good,” Pavelski said. “He made that amazing save at the end when the score is still 4-1. I think the biggest thing tonight was his calmness. There weren’t many rebounds, and he was handling the puck well. When you get that kind of control out of your goalie, it definitely goes a long way.”
Dallas iced the decision when Jani Hakanpaa scored into an empty-net with less than three minutes left on the third period clock.
Akira Schmid got the start for New Jersey and yielded three goals and making four saves in the first frame.
“They keep the puck along the wall, and a couple of lines are really quick,” New Jersey head coach Lindy Ruff said. “I think they know their strength is keeping the puck out of the danger areas … every puck went deep.”
Jon Gillies made 23 saves in what turned out to be a mop up role.
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