Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Stars Gameday: 10/14/17 vs. COL

October 13, 2017, 11:52 PM ET [1 Comments]
Bill Meltzer
Dallas Stars Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Looking to get on the winning track, Ken Hitchcock's Dallas Stars (1-3-0) play host to Jared Bednar's Colorado Avalanche (4-1-0) on Saturday night. Game time at the American Airlines Center is 7:00 p.m. CDT. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Southwest.

This is the first of five meetings between the Central Division teams this season. The clubs will see each other often in the first half of the season. They'll rematch at the Pepsi Center in Denver on Oct. 24, Nov. 22, and Dec. 3. The season series concludes back in Dallas on Jan. 13.

The Stars enter this game coming off a 4-1 road loss to the Nashville Predators. Dallas enjoyed a strong first period, and also got on the board first on a Jamie Benn power play marker (1st goal of the season) but could not build off it. The Predators struck back for even strength and power play goals in the second period and supplemented it in the final stanza with a goal off a Stars turnover on a defensive zone exit and a late empty netter. Ben Bishop stopped 27 of 30 shots in a losing cause.

Dallas remains without veteran defenseman Dan Hamhuis (groin pull). At practice on Friday, Hitchcock made a defense pairing switch to put Marc Methot with John Klingberg per Stars Inside Edge. Over the first four regular season games, Klingberg had been paired with Esa Lindell while Methot spent time on pairings with Stephen Johns and Jamie Oleksiak (a likely healthy scratch on Saturday, along with Greg Pateryn). Lindell is now paired with Julius Honka.

Benn took a maintenance day off from practice on Friday. He will play on Saturday.

The Avalanche were an NHL doormat last season but have been a tougher out in the first week of this season. On Friday night, the Avs hosted the injury-riddled Anaheim Ducks and emerged with a 3-1 win in convincing fashion.

Gabriel Landeskog snapped a scoreless deadlock with a mid first-period power play goal (second goal of the season) as he received a pass to the right of the goal post and swung across in front to stuff the puck home. Colorado dominated the puck possession game for 40 minutes, racking up a 30-8 shot differential through two periods but were unable to to extend their one-goal lead.

Early in the third period. Colorado coughed up a shorthanded 3-on-2 counter rush. Brandon Montour scored on a stoppable looking unscreened shot as he joined the play up up high in the Avs' zone to tie the game at 1-1.

Colorado re-took the lead at 14:21 of the third period; once again on the power play. Tyson Barrie hammered a shot from the right point through heavy traffic and into the net past Reto Berra, who replaced injured starter John Gibson (17 saves on 18 shots) after the first period.

With 3:56 left, Carl Söderberg took a high sticking penalty that put Anaheim on just their second power play of the game. The Avs killed it off and subsequently added a long-distance empty net goal to seal the 3-1 win. Bernier made made 17 saves on 18 shots to earn the win, as his team outshot Anaheim by a 39-18 margin.
Join the Discussion: » 1 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Bill Meltzer
» NHL Statement on Stars' COVID Situation
» SCF: Tampa wins Stanley Cup with 2-0 Shutout
» SCF: Stars Extend Series to a Game 6 w/ Double OT win
» SCF: Stars Have No Time to Lament What Could Have Been
» SCF: Uphill Climb Falls Short Again in Game 3