DALLAS, Texas – It was one of the most anticipated games of the Dallas Stars’ young season and fans at the American Airlines Center were not disappointed as the home team snapped a five-game losing streak against Pittsburgh with an entertaining 5-2 win.
Image courtesy of the Dallas Stars
“It was another really strong outing for us and I think things are going in the right direction,” Stars head coach Marc Crawford said. “You build confidence when you get results and right now, our results are very positive. I thought we carried the play, we generated a lot of chances, and we had some superb performances.”
The second period saw most of the action which began with the Stars holding a 2-0 lead on goals by Stephane Robidas and Brad Richards and a 12-4 edge in shots.
The Penguins got on the board at the 6:20 mark immediately following an offensive zone face-off when Tyler Kennedy took hold of a loose and sent in a back-handed shot past a screened Kari Lehtonen. Lehtonen managed a huge pad save on a shot by Max Talbot at the mid-point of the frame to keep the Stars ahead, preventing his rebound opportunity from the left circle and opening the door for Steve Ott’s third tally of the season to make it a 3-1 contest. Ott, stationed at the left side of the slot, received a cross-ice feed from Robidas and fired a wrister past an out-of-position Brent Johnson. Mike Ribeiro recorded his 300th career assist on the play. The Penguins nearly came back within a goal with 8:19 remaining in the period when Sidney Crosby swept into the right circle and sent in a backhander that deflected high off the goalpost. Seconds later, Stars winger Loui Eriksson ended up on a breakaway, but Penguins defenseman Alex Goligoski pulled him down from behind, resulting in Eriksson’s first career penalty shot. In front of a frenzied crowd, Eriksson skated in and made a deke to his backhand before slipping the puck behind Johnson for his first tally of the night. Eriksson is the first Stars player to score on a penalty shot since January 28, 2007, when Jere Lehtinen scored on one against Anaheim. Ericksson’s second goal came on an unassisted strike at the 5:13 mark of the third period making it 5-1 and giving him a team-high seven goals on the season. He is currently second in the league with a +11 rating, behind Stephane Robidas who is a +12. Pittsburgh’s Matt Cooke scored at the 15:36 mark to bring the Penguins within three, but this game had essentially been settled by the end of the second period.
With the win, the Stars improved to 7-4-0, including a 5-1-0 record against Eastern Conference teams thus far this season. After losing the first three games of their current season-long six-game home stand, the Stars have now won two straight, outscoring Buffalo and Pittsburgh 9-2 in the process. They host the Phoenix Coyotes on Friday night.
Contact the author at robert.keith@prohockeynews.com
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