Stars Defeat Penguins
PITTSBURGH — Dallas Stars goaltender Antti Niemi is making it look easy against the Pittsburgh Penguins, once one of the NHL’s highest-scoring teams but now, despite their stars, one of the lowest-scoring.
Niemi made 33 saves, and the Stars dominated the Penguins for the second time in 15 days, winning 4-1 Thursday night for their fifth consecutive victory.
Niemi was excellent from the start to improve to 6-1-1 in his career against the Penguins, who had won three in a row before generating little offense against a Stars team that has scored 25 goals to Pittsburgh’s 11 this season.
Niemi stopped 70 of the 71 Pittsburgh shots he has faced this season, 37 in a 3-0 season-opening win in Dallas on Oct. 8. He has throttled Penguins captain Sidney Crosby (no points for the sixth time in seven games), right winger Phil Kessel (two career goals against Dallas) and center Evgeni Malkin, who had scored in three consecutive games.
The Penguins (3-3-0) also couldn’t convert on their five power plays, including a five-on-three chance in the third period. They are 2-for-25 with the man advantage this season.
The Stars, off to a 6-1-0 start that includes four consecutive road wins, didn’t get a
point from either of their high-scoring forwards — the reigning NHL scoring champion, left winger Jamie Benn (10 points), and center Tyler Seguin (10 points) — but they didn’t need any.
Pittsburgh controlled the early play with a 9-2 advantage in shots that included multiple scoring chances by Malkin and Kessel. However, the Stars switched the momentum with first-of-the-season goals by defensemen Johnny Oduya and John Klingberg less than five minutes apart.
“It was quick (at the start), but we were able to keep them out of right in front of the net, not give them the rebounds,” Niemi said. “Then they quieted a little bit down and we got our own game back.”
Penguins coach Mike Johnston didn’t like how his team played after that, saying, “I thought we tried to be too cute with the puck, passing up shots … and tried to make too many plays. That got us in trouble because Dallas is a transition team. … They’re a counterpunch team, and they’ve got a lot of speed.”
Oduya scored his first goal in 40 regular-season games and 63 games overall with a seemingly harmless wrist shot from the blue line at 10:55 that somehow eluded goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who didn’t appear to see the puck.
“I didn’t think we were very good at the start,” Oduya said. “I thought they were way better. Nemo (Niemi) made some great saves, otherwise we could have been down two or three goals.”
After a delay-of-game penalty on Pittsburgh right winger Patric Hornqvist, Fleury (19 saves) was screened by Benn on Klingberg’s power-play goal at 15:05. Klingberg’s hard wrist shot from the left point sailed under the crossbar.
“I had a good screen in front of the net,” Klingberg said.
Stars center Jason Spezza was stopped by Fleury on a backhander from close range early in the second period. However, Spezza came back to score his fifth goal of the season unassisted at 5:07 with a snap shot created by Penguins left winger David Perron’s ill-advised pass to the slot.
“Offensively, we didn’t create enough, and defensively we had some turnovers,” Crosby said. “It’s not a good combination against a quick team like that that can make you pay when they get odd-man rushes.”
Center Nick Bonino scored his first goal with Pittsburgh after working a one-man forecheck, skating from behind the net to beat Niemi to the short side at 11:20 of the second period.
Left winger Mattias Janmark restored Dallas’ three-goal lead only 1:42 later on a rebound for his third of the season.
Pittsburgh couldn’t score in the third period even after pulling Fleury to create a six-on-three power play.
“We were blocking shots and (were) strong at the net and able to clear in front of the net,” Niemi said.
