|
 And Niemi capitalized on his opportunity, stopping all 37 shots he
faced and contributing two assists in a 3-0 blanking of the
Pittsburgh Penguins at American Airlines Center.
"I just tried to have fun out there, and usually it's fun when you
give me too many goals," Niemi, who earned his 33rd career shutout
in his Dallas debut, said.
Dallas (1-0-0, 2 points) got a goal and an assist from right winger
Ales Hemsky. Rookie center Mattias Janmark, who was making his NHL
debut, also scored for Dallas as did left winger and captain Jamie
Benn.
Janmark opened the scoring by tapping in a cross-ice pass from
Hemsky 1:39 into the contest for the eventual game-winner.
Hemsky was rushing up the right side of the ice and noticed Janmark
streaking toward the far post, so he sent a pass in that direction
from the right faceoff circle. Janmark received it perfectly and
scored with a quick flick, beating Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre
Fleury to his short side.
"I couldn't have had a better start at least. My first game, and to
get that start, I never dreamed of that," Janmark said.
Dallas went on its first power play of the season 4:57 into the
second period after Penguins center Nick Bonino hooked center Jason
Spezza. And the Stars wasted little time, making it 2-0 just 45
seconds later when Hemsky beat Fleury high on his blocker side with
a wrister from the right point.
"Not only scored, but skated very well," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said
of Hemsky. "He shot the puck more. I really liked his performance."
Stars defenseman Alex Goligoski picked up the primary assist on the
power-play goal and Niemi was credited with the secondary helper,
his second of the game.
For the game, Dallas finished 2-for-5 on the power play, a source of
pride for Ruff postgame.
"We wanted to stay focused on keeping it simple, getting pucks there
and trying to outnumber them around the net," Ruff said. "We battled
hard to get some pucks back, which keeps the power play alive."
Niemi denied Penguins center Phil Kessel's one-timer from the left
circle 2:38 into the third period, sliding over for the save to
protect the far post.
Pittsburgh outshot Dallas 37-24 with defenseman Kris Letang leading
the visitors with eight shots while Kessel had six.
"We had our chances tonight," Kessel said. "We had some good
chances. We'll adjust and we'll make it work here."
Dallas had an apparent power-play goal by left winger Patrick Sharp
nullified at 6:49 of the third period because of goaltender
interference. Replays showed Benn had pushed Penguins defenseman Ben
Lovejoy into Fleury, knocking him to the ice and making it
impossible for him to stop Sharp's wrist shot from the right circle.
Benn received a minor penalty.
[to top of second column] |
With 7:21 remaining in the third, Benn made it 3-0 with a power-play
goal on a redirect from the right circle on a shot by center Tyler
Seguin. Dallas was on a power play after defenseman Ian Cole
high-sticked Seguin seven seconds earlier.
Dallas held Penguins center and captain Sidney Crosby without a shot
in 22:04 of ice time.
"We got to find ways to score goals whether it's the power play
chipping in or finding ways in front," Crosby said. "It wasn't lack
of chances I didn't think tonight."
Niemi robbed Kessel again at the far post with less than a minute
remaining as the Penguins had an extra attacker.
"I thought he (Niemi) was really on his game. He didn't leave a lot
of loose rebounds there," Penguins coach Mike Johnston said.
Fleury stopped 21 of 24 shots for the Penguins. Fleury left the ice
with 2:45 remaining in regulation.
NOTES: Penguins D Adam Clendening, D Tim Erixon and C Kevin Porter
were scratched. ... Stars D Patrik Nemeth, D Jamie Oleksiak and C
Colton Sceviour were scratched. ... Penguins RW Daniel Sprong was
making his NHL debut and skated on Pittsburgh's fourth line
alongside RW Bobby Farnham and C Matt Cullen. ... Stars C Mattias
Janmark, who came over from Detroit in the March trade that sent RW
Erik Cole to the Red Wings, made his NHL debut. Janmark centered
Dallas' fourth line alongside LW Antoine Roussel and RW Ales Hemsky,
and scored his first career goal 1:39 into his debut, knocking home
a pass from Hemsky. ... Penguins C Nick Bonino, Cullen, RW Phil
Kessel and LW Sergei Plotnikov were making their Pittsburgh debuts.
... Before the game, Dallas honored LW Jamie Benn for winning the
2015 Art Ross Trophy after leading the NHL in points last season.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
