Well, the Stars finally won a season-opener, the first time in 3 years. Beating a team that we haven't won on the road against in a decade felt pretty good too.
Overall, here's hoping that last night's game was a strong indicator of the rest of the season.
Unlike many games in the last two years, where Dallas would start strong and then falter in the final two periods, the opposite was true. Kari Lehtonen let in two quick goals in the first 8 minutes, but came back with a strong 27-save effort and only let in one other goal. Meanwhile, the Stars surged back on the strength of Loui Eriksson, who showed that he intends to be the number one Dallas sniper for years to come.
Offensively, everything went as it should. Captain Brenden Morrow scored a goal from Mike Ribeiro and Fistface Fistric, Brad Richards assisted on Loui's first goal and scored what ended up as the game-tying goal, and James Neal assisted on Loui's first and Richards' first. Surprisingly absent from the scoresheet were Jamie Benn and Steve Ott, but Benn led the team in shots with 5, while Ott played the pest with Krys Barch as a healthy scratch. Adam Burish also had 4 shots. If one game is anything to go by, Brandon Segal's tear last year was a fluke, which is very believeable.
Defensively, after the opening two goals, the Stars were tight, but under the radar. They made a few mistakes in the beginning but resumed normal expectations later on. Sadly, Matt Niskanen made the game summary as the man who messed up and forced Lehtonen to up his game in overtime.
Some interesting notes: Jason Arnott proved that he's still a powerhouse, reminding Dallas fans of how we lost the 2000 Cup Final by scoring during the second period. Ilya Kovalchuk didn't score, but he had two assists. Has New Jersey turned him into a better playmaker? We'll see.
Last, but definitely not least, Mike Modano showed Joe Nieuwendyk that it was a mistake to let him leave, as he scored in the Detroit season-opener last night.
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