Landeskog, Avalanche rally to beat Stars 6-3

The Dallas Stars defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0 in their season opener at the American Airlines Center last night.

The Penguins lost the special-teams battle in a big way, going 0-for-3 on the power play and giving up two goals in five shorthanded situations. They scored first when Janmark skated down the slot, took a pass from Hemsky and shot between Fleury’s legs.

“Same guy to me as he was in 2010 when he won the Stanley Cup for us in Chicago”, Sharp said. “My first game, and to get that start, I never dreamed of that”, Janmark said. It’s not every night that a goaltender can deliver a 37-save shutout, but that’s what the Penguins ran into with Anti Niemi in Dallas.

“Very good”, Stars coach Lindy Ruff said of Niemi’s performance. “He shot the puck more. I’ve liked a few of the stuff he’s done in games”.

They now face Pittsburgh, who added star winger Phil Kessel, who scored three goals in the preseason.

Pittsburgh outshot Dallas 37-24 with defenseman Kris Letang leading the visitors with eight shots while Kessel had six. Benn received a minor penalty. Dallas took all of seven seconds to score on that man advantage as Jamie Benn masterfully tipped in a shot from Jason Spezza to put the Stars up 3-0.

Before the game, Crosby noted that the Stars routinely get strong starts on home ice, and that the Penguins had to be prepared for it. The Pens went 0/3 on the power play. “I thought we had guys blocking shots, we had good desperation, but the important part was he didn’t give up any bad ones”.

Niemi robbed Kessel again at the far post with less than a minute remaining as the Penguins had an extra attacker. “[That line] generated, that’s for sure”, Johnston said.

Fleury finished with 21 saves. Fleury left the ice with 2:45 remaining in regulation. It looks as if Jyrki Jokipakka and Jordie Benn will control the line to start the season off, but don’t be surprised if Patrik Nemeth or Jamie Oleksiak force their way in sometime during the season.

Their efforts in the first period alone proved their worth as well as their chemistry together on a line and it could be indicative of what’s to come.

After acquiring Antti Niemi, Patrick Sharp and Johnny Oduya, the Stars have a powerful offensive team with a deeper defensive side. The veteran improves to 5-1-1 in his career against Pittsburgh, and is well on his way to helping his new team improve their 29th ranked save percentage from last season.