Oct 16, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Dallas Stars left wing Jamie Benn (14) celebrates the game winning goal by Tyler Seguin (not pictured) against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the third period of an NHL game at Consol Energy Center. Dallas won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Don Wright-USA TODAY Sports
The Dallas Stars showed a whole lot of guts on Wednesday night by scoring a 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Stars dug themselves out of an early 2-0 deficit to score 3 unanswered goals and snap a 6-game winless drought in Pittsburgh. Goal scorers for the Stars were Antoine Roussel (2), Jamie Benn (2), and Tyler Seguin (4). Goaltender Kari Lehtonen got the win by stopping 27 of 29 shots. The Stars will return home to host the Philadelphia Flyers at 7pm CST on Saturday.
Game Recap
The Stars started the game very sluggish, while the Penguins came out with energy. The Penguins had lively legs and were hungry around the crease early. Their intense energy and offensive zone pressure, ultimately lead to two powerplay chances. Sidney Crosby capitalized on the first penalty to Brenden Dillon only 2:28 into the first period. Shortly thereafter, the Penguins made it 2-0 on a powerplay rebound goal by Chris Kunitz. This goal came less than 5 minutes after Crosby had opened the scoring. The Penguins continued to buzz in the first period, but Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen made several acrobatic stops to keep his team down by only two.
The second period saw an evening out of chances for both teams. The Stars finally got themselves on the board 6:08 into the second period when Antoine Roussel buried a feed from Vernon Fiddler to cut the deficit in half. After the Roussel tally, the Stars seemed to play with more energy and heart. Teams traded chances in the final 10 minutes of the period, but the score would remain 2-1 Penguins after the second.
With just under four minutes remaining in the third period, Stars newcomer Jason Spezza believed he had the game tying goal. Tyler Seguin broke in all alone on a breakaway and was chopped down to the ice. Seguin slid along the ice and collided with Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. Spezza was able to corral the loose puck and bury it. However, referee Greg Kimmerly immediately waved the goal off citing that Seguin had created goaltender interference. Stars coach Lindy Ruff was absolutely irate at the call, but managed to keep his team focused on what needed to be done.
Less than a minute later, Stars captain Jamie Benn levelled the game at two when he put a rebound past Fleury. The puck had been funneled to the front of the net and Benn got a stick on it to deflect it. Fleury made the initial stop, but Benn was able to tuck the rebound past him with only 2:57 left in the game.
Then, with only 10 seconds remaining on the game clock, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby took an ill-advised tripping penalty on Benn. The Stars made the Penguins pay immediately. Just 7 seconds later, Spezza found Seguin in the bottom of the right circle. Seguin accepted the pass, settled the puck, and fired the game-winning goal past Fleury’s blocker.
The Stars players jumped in jubilation as they had just stunned one of the league’s best.
Quotes of Tonight’s Game
Seguin on How He Would Describe Tonight’s Win:
“Crazy is a pretty good word,” Seguin said. “We really wanted that game. We thought we had to stay a little bit more disciplined again. It was a tough start. They have a great power play and some very skilled forwards over there. But Lehtonen definitely kept us in a certain points in the game and it’s nice to come away with a win.”
Lehtonen On The Magnitude of Tonight’s Victory:
“You need these to be able to build team chemistry and that was huge,” Lehtonen said. “We had a horrible start and we hung in there and it was one of those games where they could’ve put us away in the first and we were able to keep it to only two goals and that made it possible.”
Ruff’s Comments About His Team’s Discipline Against The League’s Best Powerplay:
“I thought we did a real poor job of controlling our emotions,” Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. “We took a couple penalties we didn’t need to take and they’ve always had a dangerous power play. They got a little bit of a break on the first power-play goal, but some power plays after that, they were zipping it around pretty good.”
Thoughts and Observations
-Scary sight in the second period. Penguins forward Pascal Dupuis was struck in the neck by a puck. He immediately dropped to the ice and signalled for medical help. He remained down for several minutes before needing to be stretchered off the ice. He is said to be recovering just fine in a local Pittsburgh hospital.
-Kari Lehtonen looked stellar for a second straight start. Many people were concerned with Lehtonen after he struggled in the preseason and at times during the home opener against Chicago. You can chalk that up to “shaking off the rust”. Lehtonen made several tough stops early in the game to keep his team in it.
-With Jamie Benn’s goal late in the third period to tie the game at two, he has now notched five points in his last two games.
-This was a game for the ages if you’re a Stars fan. Make sure to check out the video highlights here