Zuccarello hurt in debut, but helps Stars edge Blackhawks

[February 25, 2019]  Mats Zuccarello had a goal and an assist in his team debut, Anton Khudobin made 44 saves and the Dallas Stars held on for a 4-3 win over the host Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday evening.

Zuccarello's feel-good debut was tarnished however, as he left late in the second period after blocking a shot with his right forearm. He told reporters afterward he thinks he broke his arm, and the team announced the winger is expected to miss four weeks.

Alexander Radulov also finished with a goal and an assist for Dallas, which won for only the third time in nine games. Radek Faksa and Jason Spezza rounded out the scoring for the Stars.

Chris Kunitz, Drake Caggiula and Jonathan Toews scored for the Blackhawks. Patrick Kane's 20-game point streak came to an end as he failed to register a point or an assist for the first time since Jan. 1.

The Stars scored the tiebreaking goal to make it 4-3 with 11:05 remaining in the third period. Spezza capitalized on a 5-on-3 advantage for his eighth goal of the season.

Dallas opened the scoring at 11:35 of the first period. Zuccarello zipped an outlet pass to Faksa, who raced in on a breakaway and converted on the forehand for his 11th goal.

Radulov increased the Stars' lead to 2-0 when he scored on a backhand with 2:32 remaining in the first period.

Dallas made it 3-0 thanks to Zuccarello, who scored in his team debut less than 24 hours after the team acquired him from the New York Rangers for a pair of conditional draft picks. Tyler Seguin set up the goal with a pinpoint pass.

Stars center Jason Spezza (90) scores against the Chicago Blackhawks during the third period at United Center. The Dallas Stars won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports

Seventy-four seconds later, Chicago sliced the deficit to 3-1 when Kunitz scored from the low slot.

The Blackhawks pulled within 3-2 late in the second period after a video review confirmed that Caggiula pushed a shot past the goal line. Khudobin sprawled to his left to glove the puck but not until it had entered the goal.

Chicago tied it at 3 early in the third period on a power-play goal by Toews, who scored on a wrist shot with traffic in front of the net. It was his 29th goal of the season and his 11th in the past 14 games.

In addition to Zuccarello, Jamie Benn exited early because of an upper-body injury, which coach Jim Montgomery said was an aggravation of an issue sustained Saturday night. Benn is officially "day-to-day."

--Field Level Media

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