It was only a matter of time until Dallas Stars top-line sniper Tyler Seguin started to heat up offensively, and the team's deadly top line overwhelmed an opponent. On Saturday night, Seguin's line with reigning Art Ross Trophy winner Jamie Benn and veteran standout Patrick Sharp detonated against the Florida Panthers.
Leading the charge in a comeback 4-2 victory after trailing 2-0 midway through the game, Seguin broke loose for his second and third goals of the young season and also added a pair of assists. Team captain Benn scored third period power play and empty net goals off crucial plays by Seguin to knot the score at 2-2 and then to seal the victory after Seguin put Dallas ahead with just 3:02 left in the game.
Sharp, who briefly left the game in the first period after unsteadily leaving the ice following a clean hit along the offensive zone boards from Florida defenseman Erik Gudbranson, got into the act with a pair of assists. It was Sharp who fed Seguin for a breakaway goal in the second period that cut the gap to 2-1 at a time where the game seemed to be on the brink of getting away from the Stars. Later, Sharp got a helper on Benn's empty net goal following a crucial blocked shot by Seguin.
Victorious for the third straight start, Kari Lehtonen stopped 24 of 26 shots. The Big Finn did a good job of giving his team a chance to win when it seemed like frustration was close to setting in against the highly structured Panthers.
After a scoreless first period, the Panthers took a 1-0 lead on an Alexander Barkov backdoor goal at the 59-second mark of the middle frame. The goal was initially waved off for goaltender interference by Florida forward Jonathan Huberdeau but reversed by the on-ice officials after the ruling was challenged by Panthers' coach Gerard Gallant.
On the sequence, Huberdeau brushed into Lehtonen in the crease, and the Stars goaltender stumbled. However, several seconds passed -- during which time Huberdeau vacated the crease and made the centering feed to a wide open Barkov while Lehtonen remained unable to get his bearings in the crease -- until the goal was scored. The reversal seemed to be the proper call, as Lehtonen should have had enough time to recover and get set again. Meanwhile, the Dallas defensive coverage throughout the entire sequence left something to be desired.
Barely a minute later, the Stars made another costly gaffe. On a Florida breakout, Dallas defenseman Jyrki Jokkipakka unwisely gambled up ice near the left point. The puck went by him for an odd-man rush with all three Dallas forwards and Jokipakka on the wrong side of he puck. That left Jordie Benn -- caught flatfooted on the same side of ice as his defense partner as the puck reached former Stars forward Reilly Smith -- as the last line of defense. Smith chipped the pick to Brandon Pirri, and now the Panthers had a 2-on-0 breakaway.
Pirri took care of the rest, soloing to beat Lehtonen through the five-hole take make it a 2-0 game at 2:03.
The Stars fell victim to these sorts of things far too often last season, and the frequent result was coming unglued until the game was out of reach. This time, the team responded with renewed resolve and a strong bounceback.
The pivotal play that made the third-period outburst possible happened at the 6:31 mark of the middle frame. Sharp sprung Seguin for a breakaway on a rush that was a borderline offside -- some replay angles looked offside and other angles looked like Seguin brought the puck in legally -- and Seguin buried a shot that cut the gap to 2-1. Just as important, it restored order to the game for Dallas.
The Stars were the better team for most of the game thereafter, although they still trailed by a goal heading into the third period. Benn tied the game quickly on a power play goal, getting into the "greasy area" to pot the puck after Seguin got it into scoring position. Finally, Seguin gave Dallas their first lead late in regulation and the Benn empty-netter iced the win.
Roberto Luongo stopped 33 of 36 shots in a losing cause for the Panthers.
Stars' 2012 first-round pick Radek Faksa made his NHL regular season debut in Saturday's game. Meanwhile, 2013 first-round pick Valeri Nichushkin returned to the lineup after sittng out the previous two games as a healthy scratch. Nichushkin saw some time on the Seguin line while Sharp was briefly unavailable during the first period.
With the victory, the Stars improved to 3-1-0 on the season and 2-0-0 on their current road trip. After practices in Florida on Sunday and Monday morning, Lindy Ruff's team will depart on Monday afternoon for the Pennsylvania portion of its current four-game road swing. The Stars wil take on the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday and the Pittsburgh Penguins two nights later.