Stars can score, who knew?
Late start to the season doesn't hinder Dallas.
The Dallas Stars started their season with a flourish, the shorthanded Washington Capitals eked out a win, and the Arizona Coyotes took down the Golden Knights.
My take that the Stars might have trouble generating offense did not bear out in their first game of the season as they lit up Nashville for seven goals.
If the veteran forwards who struggled last season bounce back, and they did on this night, then the Stars could be better than expected. Or at least better than I expected.
Chicago, Toronto, Minnesota, and Colorado also ended up in the ‘W’ column Friday.
Here is a quick recap of Friday’s action with a look ahead to Saturday’s five-game schedule.
FRIDAY STARS
DAL C Joe Pavelski 2 G, 2 A in a 7-0 win vs. Nashville.
DAL RW Alexander Radulov 2 G, 1 A in a 7-0 win vs. Nashville.
ARZ RW Conor Garland 1 G, 2 A in a 5-2 win vs. Vegas.
DAL G Anton Khudobin 33-save shutout vs. Nashville.
Buffalo 3 Washington 4 (SO)
WSH LW Jakub Vrana 1 G. 1 A
BUF D Rasmus Dahlin was benched, playing just 10:07.
N.Y. Rangers 4 Pittsburgh 3 (SO)
PIT RW Bryan Rust 1 G, 12 iCF, 11 SOG
NYR LW Phillip Di Giuseppe 2 A
Detroit 1 Chicago 4
CHI RW Patrick Kane 1 G, 1 A
CHI C Dylan Strome and LW Alex DeBrincat 2 A
CHI G Kevin Lankinen stopped 30 of 31 shots for the win.
Edmonton 2 Toronto 4
TOR RW Mitch Marner 2 A
TOR RW William Nylander 1 G, 1 A
Toronto’s line of Jimmy Vesey, Alex Kerfoot, and William Nylander dominated play (88.2 CF%, 85.8 xGF%) against Edmonton.
San Jose 1 Minnesota 4
MIN C Joel Eriksson Ek and MIN LW Jordan Greenway 1 G, 1 A
MIN G Kaapo Kahkonen 16 saves on 16 shots in relief.
Nashville 0 Dallas 7
DAL C Joe Pavelski 2 G, 2 A
DAL RW Alexander Radulov 2 G, 1 A
DAL John Klingberg 3 A
DAL LW Joel Kiviranta 1 G, 1 A
DAL C Roope Hintz 2 A
DAL G Anton Khudobin posted a 33-save shutout
Vegas 2 Arizona 5
ARZ RW Conor Garland 1 G, 2 A
ARZ C Christian Dvorak 1 G, 1 A
ARZ LW Nick Schmaltz 1 G, 1 A
VGK D Shea Theodore 1 G, 1 A
Colorado 3 Anaheim 2 (OT)
COL LW Gabriel Landeskog 1 G, 1 A
ANA LW Rickard Rakell 1 A, 13 iCF, 6 SOG
Friday’s On-Ice Shots/Expected Goals (via Natural Stat Trick)
Saturday’s Game Probabilities
DFS Value Plays For Saturday
STL C Brayden Schenn $4800 vs. LA
LA C Gabe Vilardi $3300 at STL
BOS RW Jake DeBrusk $4600 vs. PHI
STL RW Jordan Kyrou $3300 vs. LA
VAN D Tyler Myers $4400 vs. MTL
OTT D Nikita Zaitsev $4500 at WPG