Alexander Radulov sparked Dallas’ power play, while Esa Lindell anchored a strong penalty-kill effort on a special night for the Stars.
The Stars capitalized on special teams with two power-play goals from Radulov and four penalty kills in the second period, leading to a 4-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday. The win tied a franchise record for the Stars with their seventh consecutive victory.
“(The penalty kill) stepped up, and the power play had two goals,” said defenseman John Klingberg, who recorded two of his three assists with the man advantage. “It’s a huge part of hockey nowadays. It’s hard to score 5-on-5, and you need special teams to step up.”
This is the fifth time in franchise history, dating back to the Minnesota North Stars in 1967, that Dallas has won seven straight games. The Stars are on a 12-game point streak (11-0-1) and have gone 14-1-1 in their last 16 games after a rough 1-7-1 start to the season. With the win, they moved within two points of the Central Division-leading St. Louis Blues.
“I think we’re playing with more emotion and at a faster pace,” said coach Jim Montgomery.
Radulov and Lindell gave Dallas a 2-0 lead in a commanding first period, which Montgomery called “one of the best periods we’ve played all year.”
Jason Dickinson added a second-period goal, and goaltender Ben Bishop made 26 saves for his sixth consecutive win.
Shea Theodore and Paul Stastny scored for Vegas, while Malcolm Subban stopped 25 shots.
Dallas took control with two quick goals in the first period. Radulov tipped in a Klingberg shot on the power play at 11:42, and less than two minutes later, Andrew Cogliano set up Lindell, who beat Subban with a wrist shot.
“We had a tough start with two penalties and falling behind 2-0,” said Vegas coach Gerard Gallant. “You can’t get behind against a strong team like that.”
The Stars dominated the first period, outshooting the Golden Knights 16-6.
Vegas responded in the second, firing 10 of the first 11 shots, but Dallas successfully killed four penalties. Theodore finally got the Golden Knights on the board with a backhand goal five seconds after the last penalty expired.
Lindell logged 5:13 of penalty-killing time as Dallas successfully defended 15 straight power plays by opponents.
“Esa’s probably our best penalty killer because he logs so many minutes and wins so many battles,” Montgomery said.
Playing in his 900th NHL game, Stastny scored early in the third period to cut the deficit to one. However, he expressed frustration with Vegas’ power play.
“I lost a key draw when we had a 5-on-3 for 18 seconds. I’ve got to find a way to win that or at least make it 50-50 so we can gain possession,” Stastny said.
Game Notes:
- Klingberg has had four assists in two games since returning from the injured reserve.
- Stars captain Jamie Benn left the game briefly after being hit in the nose by a puck but returned later in the first period.
- Stastny has 50 points (21 goals, 29 assists) in 49 career games against Dallas.
- Stars center Justin Dowling missed the game due to nausea after leaving Saturday early.
- Vegas was 5-1 against Dallas in their first two seasons, including 3-0 in Dallas.
Up Next:
- Golden Knights: Conclude their two-game trip on Wednesday at Nashville.
- Stars: On Tuesday, the Stars will travel to Chicago to face the Blackhawks. Chicago’s most recent game was a 2-1 overtime loss to Dallas on Saturday.