Nashville Predators 3, Dallas Stars 2 (shootout)

by Mark Stepneski of Andrew's Stars Page

DALLAS — Marc Crawford's Dallas Stars did a lot of the things they wanted on opening night Saturday at the American Airlines Center, but getting pucks past Nashville goalie Dan Ellis was another matter and the Stars fell 3-2 in a shootout.

Ellis, the former Star, stopped 38 of 40 shots in regulation and overtime and then allowed only one goal in the shootout.

“We probably deserved a little better, but that’s not the way this league works,” said Stars center Brad Richards. “As close as we were, there were some bounces that could have gone one way or the other, but in the end we only got one point. It’s a tough league. That’s what happens some nights. We ran into a hot goalie at times and had some chances in overtime.”

Crawford, who preached tempo and pace during training camp and the preseason, was happy with the effort that saw his team outshoot the Predators 40-26 and create a lot of chances.

"I thought when we took the game to Nashville was when we really utilized our size and strength through the depth that we have down through our lineup in the offensive zone," said Crawford. "We punished a lot of those Nashville defensemen. It was the type of pace we wanted to play at and I was really pleased with the pace. If we have that kind of effort then on most nights we are going to be successful."

The Stars got off to a slow start, falling behind when Nashville scored on a Jason Arnott power play goal 1:48 into the game and then found themselves down 2-0 when Steve Sullivan scored in the second. But James Neal scored off a rebound with 10 seconds left in the second and scored on a power play chance early in the third to tie the game. Overall though, the Stars dictated a lot of the play in the game.

"At this time of the year you are concerned about process and I thought our process was good," said Crawford. "There were a couple of points early in the game, especially where we had the power play goal against us, that we slipped a little. But we recaptured it very quickly and I thought we started to do the things that will make us successful.”

The Predators struck first, cashing on a power play early in the game. Stars center Mike Modano was called for tripping in the neutral zone 41 seconds into the game and Predators center Jason Arnott scored at the 1:48 mark of the game, scoring off the rebound of his own wrap-around attempt.

The Stars had a chance to get even with back-to-back power plays later in the period, including 1:00 of five-on-three time, but couldn't get anything past Predators goalie Dan Ellis, who was very sharp in the first period and made 14 saves.

The Predators lost forward J.P. Dumont early in the second period when he was nailed along the boards by Stars defenseman Stephane Robidas. Dumont was down on the ice for a few minutes before finally being helped off the ice.

The Predators extended the lead to 2-0 at the 4:47 mark of the second period. After the Stars won a defensive zone draw, the Predators got the puck back and Steve Sullivan slipped a rebound through the legs of a sprawling Marty Turco.

The Stars pulled to within one goal late in the second when Fabian Brunnstrom ripped a shot on net and James Neal fought off a check to put the rebound into the net from the left circle with ten seconds remaining in the second.

The Stars drew even in the third period on a power play goal. Ellis stopped a shot and then tried moving the puck up the middle of the ice, but gave it way to Neal, who scored from the slot to tie the game at 2-2 4:05 into the third.

The Stars had a chance to take the lead with back-to-back power play chances in the third period, but couldn't cash in on the opportunities.

Both teams had abbreviated four-on-three power play chances in overtime.

Mike Ribeiro scored for the Stars in the shootout. David Legwand and Mike Santorelli scored for the Predators.