Stars Take 2 Game Lead
DALLAS — The postseason is when a captain is expected to do his finest work. And on Saturday night in Game 2 of a Western Conference first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Wild at American Airlines Center, Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn scored his second goal in as many games, the eventual winner in a 2-1 victory.
Dallas goalie Kari Lehtonen stopped 25 of 26 shots in his second consecutive playoff victory.
“We saw a desperate team and I thought we saw a team that played really hard,” Stars coach Lindy Ruff said of the Wild. “We knew we had to flush Game 1. (This game) wasn’t going to be anything like it. (It was) exactly what we expected and you’ve got to get through those games.”
Benn scored with 9:37 remaining in regulation, beating Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk with a backhand through his five-hole on a breakaway.
Benn gained possession inside the neutral zone after Cody Eakin flipped the puck off the boards from inside the Dallas zone. Benn rushed up the left side of the ice and then finished with a backhand.
Minnesota cut it to 2-1 with 7:18 remaining in regulation when
Marco Scandella beat Lehtonen far post on a slap shot from the right point.
Dallas leads the best-of-seven series 2-0. Game 3 is Monday at Xcel Energy Center in Minnesota.
“That (being down 0-2) is not we were looking for, but we’ve been in this same situation (before),” Wild center Mikael Granlund said.
Antoine Roussel scored his first career playoff goal off a deflection. Scandella was trying to clear the puck from behind the visiting goal, but the puck first hit the skate of Ales Hemsky and deflected a second time off Roussel’s skate.
The puck flipped over the top of the goal, hitting Dubnyk in the back of his mask before crossing the line. However, play was blown dead and the initial call on the ice was no goal because Dubnyk had caused the goal to wobble on its moorings.
After a lengthy video review, the original call was overturned and Roussel was credited with the goal since the puck crossed the line and Dubnyk had only wobbled the net instead of dislodging it.
“I couldn’t review any of it because they went over the kick, the high stick, the whistle. It’s what they called back in Toronto, so it’s a goal, it’s a goal,� Wild interim coach John Torchetti said. “You got to move on, can’t worry about it.”
Minnesota defenseman Matt Dumba offered a less diplomatic take on the play.
“I don’t know if anyone can really riddle me how that’s a goal in the National Hockey League, but it was,” Dumba said.
Roussel also weighed in on his first career playoff goal.
“I wasn’t sure it totally crossed the line. I had the feeling it might get reversed,” Roussel said. “That was a big goal for us.”
Lehtonen made one of his better saves of the night 1:02 into the game when he denied a wrist shot by Nino Niederreiter with a pad save on a breakaway. Lehtonen also turned away a wrist shot by Granlund at close range 8:36 before the first intermission.
The game was scoreless after one period with Dallas outshooting Minnesota 14-7.
Stars center Tyler Seguin skated on both the first and fourth lines for Dallas in his first game back from an Achilles injury sustained March 17. Seguin finished with 15:40 of ice time.
Dubnyk stopped 26 of 28 shots in a losing effort before leaving the ice with 41 seconds remaining.
Lehtonen denied Wild captain Mikko Koivu as he attempted to redirect a shot at close range with 27.1 seconds remaining as Minnesota had the extra attacker.
Minnesota got one final power play with 4.4 seconds remaining after a cross-checking call on Patrick Eaves, but Dallas won the ensuing faceoff and was able to clear the puck as the final horn sounded.
