Antti Niemi recorded his 33rd career shutout and assisted on two goals in his Dallas debut, as the Stars beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0 Thursday night in the season opener for both.
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The Stars held Penguins captain Sidney Crosby without a shot on goal.
And Niemi capitalized on his opportunity, stopping all 37 shots he faced and contributing two assists in a 3-0 blanking of the Pittsburgh Penguins at American Airlines Center. The 22-year-old Swede, who had a strong preseason to win a roster spot on head coach Lindy Ruff’s squad, scored his first regular season goal in the National Hockey League at just 1:39 of the first period.
The Stars acquired Niemi and Janmark in trades earlier this year.
This was due to multiple different factors, but the bottom line is that the 2014-2015 Dallas Stars style of play showed its ugly face throughout the last 25:07.
The Penguins lost the special-teams battle in a big way, going 0-for-3 on the power play and giving up two goals in five shorthanded situations.
Stars defenseman Alex Goligoski picked up the primary assist on the power-play goal and Niemi was credited with the secondary helper, his second of the game. Janmark pulled the trigger on a shot that slid through the five hole of Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, who was sliding to his right to adjust to the play.
Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin will be in the running for the Art Ross trophy this year and Patrick Sharp adds a nice little touch with his craftiness.
Hemsky scored at 5:42 of the second on Dallas’ first power play.
“We got to find ways to score goals whether it’s the power play chipping in or finding ways in front”, Crosby said. “My first game, and to get that start, I never dreamed of that”, Janmark said. His shot from the top of the right faceoff circle went in over Fleury’s right shoulder.
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The addition of Kessel is the reason why Leahy says the potentally best thing about the Penguins could be his presence allowing them to challenge Tampa Bay for the eastern conference crown since most experts are predicting Tamp to run through the conference on their way to the Stanley Cup Finals.
