January 22, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Dallas Stars right wing Michael Ryder (73) receives congratulations from teammates after scoring against the Detroit Red Wings in the first period at Joe Louis Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

The Dallas Stars ended their two game road trip with a win, topping the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 at the Joe Louis Arena tonight. Michael Ryder had two goals for the Stars while  Damien Brunner was the lone goal scorer for the Red Wings. Kari Lehtonen stopped 39 out of the 40 shots he faced for the win. Jimmy Howard stopped 2o out of the 22 shots he faced for the loss.

1st Period

The Stars opened the first period with quick puck battles. It showed as Michael Ryder opened the scoring with a beautiful wrist shot for his 1st goal of the season that went past Jimmy Howard’s glove side at the 5:41 mark to make it 1-0 Stars. Loui Eriksson almost made it 2-0 Stars at the 6:10 mark but the shot went wide of the net.

2nd Period

The Stars were tenacious, had better puck battles and tried to scored some chances but Howard and Lehtonen were the story in the second period. Valtteri Filppula almost tied the game but hit the post in the second period. Then while on the PK, Loui Eriksson passed the puck to Trevor Daley on the PK and Howard stoned them with the pads at the 15:42 mark. Then Ray Whitney almost scored but Howard once again stopped with his body at the 17:06 mark

3rd Period

Kari Lehtonen made a beautiful glove grab on Henrik Zetterberg who wrist shot it at the 19:23 mark in the third period. Michael Ryder made it 2-0 as he one timed it past Howard’s glove for his 2nd goal in the game from a beautiful pass by Ray Whitney at the 14:26 mark. Reilly Smith had an attempt on the backhand but Jimmy Howard stoned him with the glove grab. Two seconds left in the third period, Damien Brunner wristed shot the puck pass Kari Lehtonen, who lost the shutout.

The next game for the Dallas Stars is on Thursday night when they face the Chicago Blackhawks at the American Airlines Cente

Stats

Stars went 0 for 3 on the power play. Red Wings went 0 for 5 on the power play.

Stars Lineups

Forwards
Loui Eriksson-Derek Roy-Jaromir Jagr
Brenden Morrow-Vernon Fiddler-Eric Nystrom
Ray Whitney-Cody Eakin-Michael Ryder
Reilly Smith-Tom Wandell-Ryan Garbutt

Defense
Alex Goligoski-Stephane Robidas
Jordie Benn-Trevor Daley
Brenden Dillon-Philip Larsen

Goaltender
Kari Lehtonen-starter
Cristopher Nilstorp-backup

Injuries: Aaron Rome (Groin)
Scratches: Colton Sceviour

Mar 31, 2012; San Jose, CA, USA; Dallas Stars right wing Michael Ryder (73) before a face off against the San Jose Sharks during the second period at HP Pavilion. San Jose defeated Dallas 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE

For the past few seasons, the Dallas Stars have been struggling with finding a right handed, right winger who can score and help take the pressure off of Jamie Benn, who is one of the Stars up and coming players. They were also looking to replace some of the goal scoring left by Brad Richards, who signed a huge contract with the New York Rangers.  That all changed last season when they signed Michael Ryder from the Boston Bruins to a 2 year contract as he showed not only the team but fans and critics that he can be that be a consistent goal scorer. He led the Stars in goals with 33 which was also a career high for the 32 year old Newfoundland native. It was also the first time in five years that Ryder has scored 33 goals in a season. He even showed the Stars his durability to play in all 82 games. The only other players who stayed the course as well were Vernon Fiddler and Ryder’s line mate,Loui Eriksson.

Ryder told the press during the locker room cleaning, that he is comfortable with Dallas and loves being around the city. He is also exactly what Dallas wanted: a scoring winger who has a quick release and someone who can make an immediate impact. Even Glen Gulutzan, the head coach of the Dallas Stars said good things about Ryder and his impact:

“I think it’s been a real good fit. We brought in quality individuals. They all brought in pieces of the puzzle that we were missing. Ryds brought a guy who can put the puck in the net and a right shot, something that we needed here. Our guy Joe’s done a heck of a job in addressing needs.” (Quote source: Dallas Stars Website)

Ryder has proven to the Stars that he can a be huge impact with the team. He has also proven to the NHL and critics that he can be someone who can put pucks in the back of the net. Whenever the NHL has their season back up, Ryder will also have to play with a new center man as Mike Ribeiro was traded to the Washington Capitals for Cody Eakin. How much of an impact from the loss of Riberio will effect Ryder’s game?  It will be a big but Ryder will have to learn to adjust and find a new chemistry with someone else. My guess is that Gulutzan will pair him up with Jamie Benn and Loui Eriksson to make a deadly threat up top.

We all know that Ryder made a huge impact with the Dallas Stars last season. Let’s just hope when the season goes back up that he will have a great season and last season was not a fluke either. Below is a video of Michael Ryder and his scoring ability as he breaks free for the goal after Kari Lehtonen provides the slick pad save

Michael Ryder has proven to be a consistent goal scorer for the Dallas Stars. Let’s just hope we can see that again this year and beyond.