Stars
find winning formula vs. Predators
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[October 19, 2016]
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Some teams
might have gotten frustrated with a scoreless tie after an opening
period in which they outshot their opponent 16-4.
Not the Dallas Stars, at least not according to center Jason Spezza.
"We did some good things to start the game and that gave us
confidence," he said.
Spezza did a very good thing in the third period, snapping a tie
with a goal from the slot at 9:15 as Dallas notched a 2-1 win over
the Nashville Predators Tuesday night at sold-out Bridgestone Arena.
Taking a feed in the slot from left wing Antoine Roussel, Spezza
swept the puck off the heel of his stick. It caromed off goalie
Pekka Rinne and into the net for Spezza's first marker of the
season.
Prior to this game, Spezza was scoreless in the first two games with
a plus-minus of minus-four.
"We had a good forecheck going and Roussel threw it in the slot,"
Spezza said. "Our line generated a lot of chances."
In upping their record to 2-1-0, the Stars owned the flow of play,
save for stretches of the second period. Coach Lindy Ruff wasn't
happy with the team's performance in a 6-5 loss Saturday night at
Colorado and vowed things would change.
Ruff shook up lines, and one new line in particular seemed to cohere
instantly. Spezza, Roussel and Radek Faksa buzzed the Nashville zone
continually, combining for six shots on net and five other shots
overall. Faksa came within a Rinne skate save of starting the
scoring early in the first period.
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"The lines now have a couple of workers on every line," Ruff said.
"I thought all the lines were in on some good opportunities and all
the lines played well defensively."
It also helped that Dallas got a solid game from goalie Kari
Lehtonen (1-1-0), making his first start of the season. Lehtonen
finished with 27 saves, keeping the game even early in the third
period when he denied Calle Jarnkrok at the right goalpost.
Lehtonen also came up with a tough stop on Craig Smith's golden
chance from the slot late in the second period, moments before Smith
clanged Colin Wilson's power-play setup off the right goalpost.
"I just had to go out there, stay calm and believe in my work,"
Lehtonen said. "The guys came out flying, too, in that first
period."
The Stars would have easily scored two or three goals, maybe more,
had Rinne not been at his sharpest in the first period. Besides the
save on Faksa, Rinne also denied Jamie Benn on the backhand side at
the right goalpost.
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![](../images/101816pics/sports96.jpg)
Stars left wing Curtis McKenzie (11) celebrates after scoring a goal
during the second period against the Nashville Predators at
Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA
TODAY Sports
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But Rinne was helpless to stop Dallas' initial tally. Johnny Oduya's
point blast was tipped by Curtis McKenzie and then by Adam Cracknell
for his second goal of the season at 2:55 of the second period. At
that point, the Stars owned a 20-7 advantage in shots on goal.
The Predators (1-2-0) took just 92 seconds to equalize, doing so
with their fifth man-advantage marker in three games. Mike Fisher
was left uncovered in the slot and he beat Lehtonen with a forehand.
However, Nashville simply couldn't generate enough puck possession
or get to enough pucks against an opponent playing with something to
prove.
"We just didn't get anything going tonight," Predators coach Peter
Laviolette said.
Rinne (1-1-0) finished with 35 saves, but Nashville lost its second
straight game since a season-opening win over Chicago.
Meanwhile, Dallas now has a template for how to marry its
high-scoring attack with a better commitment to defense.
"We just had to play a little more desperate and take a page out of
Colorado's book," Cracknell said. "We were playing a good team on
the other side, but when you do good things, you get rewarded."
NOTES: Dallas scratched D Patrik Nemeth, RW Jiri Hudler and D Jordie
Benn, who had each played in its first two games. ... Nashville D
Anthony Bitetto and Miikka Salomaki will miss significant time with
upper-body injuries suffered over the weekend. Bitetto is out 4-to-6
weeks and Salomaki will sit out 6-to-8 weeks. ... The Stars gave Ds
Jamie Oleksiak and Esa Lindell their first game action of the season
on the third defense pairing, while LW Curtis McKenzie replaced
Hudler. ... Predators C Cody Bass drew into the lineup in place of
Salomaki, his first game action of the season.
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