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Wrap: Stars Earn 3-0 Shutout Win in Opener vs. Coyotes |
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The Dallas Stars began the 2018-19 season with a 3-0 home victory over the Arizona Coyotes at the American Airlines Center on Thursday night. The game marked Jim Montgomery's head coaching debut with the Stars.
Ben Bishop earned a 30-save shutout, including 22 saves over the final 40 minutes, to take first-star honors. A closely spaced three-goal barrage for the Stars in the middle frame was the difference offensively.
Devin Shore broke a scoreless deadlock at 4:21 of the second period transferring a loose puck in the slot from his skate to his stick and beating Arizona netminder Antti Raanta for a 1-0 lead. On the very next shift, Alexander Radulov doubled the lead on a nifty backhanded goal. A little over a minute later, John Klingberg made it a 3-0 game on a goal from the right circle just inside the hash marks.
Stars captain Jamie Benn and newly acquired defenseman Connor Carrick notched a pair of assists apiece for Dallas, while Radek Faksa and Esa Lindell each collected one helper.
The Stars went 0-for-2 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill. Raanta stopped 22 of 25 shots in a losing cause.
The Stars will host the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday. Game time is 6 p.m. CDT. The Stars will have two additional home games (Nov. 9 vs. Toronto, Nov. 13 vs. Anaheim) before a brief two-game road trip and then three more games at home.