By: Anthony Miller
It was a tightly contested game as the Dallas Stars won their season opener against the St. Louis Blues 2-1 in front of the home crowd Thursday night.
The first period was a defensive battle with the Stars coming off as the more aggressive offense having ten shots on goal compared to St. Louis’ six. It wasn’t until the end of the first period did fans get their first bit of drama as Wyatt Johnston initially had the first goal of the game with 15 seconds left in the period. After a Blues challenge for offsides on Dallas was successful, the goal was wiped out as both teams went into the intermission tied at 0-0.
It didn’t take long for Dallas to redeem themselves as the captain Jamie Benn had a powerful wrist shot hit the back of the net 18 seconds into the second period putting Dallas up 1-0. Two minutes later, Blues defensiveman Tyler Tucker responded with a goal to tie the game at 1-1. Dallas’ Joe Pavelski had a near perfect wrist shot just a few minutes after that that was beautifully saved by St. Louis goaltender Jordan Binnington’s glove preventing another goal.
It was great goalie play by Dallas’ Jake Oettinger and Binnington shutting out each team the rest of the second period, third period, and even into overtime. Through overtime, the teams were still tied at 1-1 forcing a shootout.
Dallas’ Jason Robertson and St. Louis’ Brayden Schenn started the shootout by each scoring goals in the first round. Stars newcomer Matt Duchene opened the second round with a goal and Oettinger made a nice save to give Dallas a 2-1 advantage going into the last round. Despite Tyler Seguin missing his shot, Oettinger came through one more time with a save and giving Dallas the 2-1 win over the Blues.
The Stars start the season with a win and two points in the standings. St. Louis Blues still pick up a point in the standings but suffering the overtime loss.
Takeaways From Stars Win
Oettinger has been a topic of discussion this off-season not anything against his performance, but someone that experts believe needs more rest as he has been used a lot by Dallas. The starting goalie had 23 saves in the win proving once again why he is among one of the more talented goalies in the NHL.
Dallas had their opportunities offensively, but Binnington played well for St. Louis in front of the net so he deserves a lot of credit. There were missed opportunities for the Stars as they had 34 shots on goal and came at St. Louis all game.
The Stars have a five day break as they will back at it Tuesday when they take on the Vegas Golden Knights on the road.
Featured Image via X (@DallasStars)