Stars start slow, finish strong in 4-1 win over Panthers
/Andrew's Dallas Stars Page
The Dallas Stars didn't get the start they wanted in Sunrise, Florida Wednesday night, but they overcame a poor first period by playing a strong final two periods, got a hat trick from Mike Ribeiro and beat the Florida Panthers 4-1 at BankAtlantic Center.
“We were a little slow out of the gate, but then we got our feet moving and created some chances,” Stars coach Dave Tippett said.
Ribeiro was the big finisher for the Stars, scoring late in the second to break a 1-1 tie, scoring early in the third to extend the lead to 3-1 and then sealing the deal with an empty net goal for his first career hat trick.
"I've had a lot of two goals in the first period and couldn't finish ever," Ribeiro said. "It's a tough thing. I'll take it. Even at the end, when I threw the puck in I thought it was going to bounce at the side of the net."
The win gives the Stars a 20-18-7 record as the league breaks for the NHL All-Star Game in Montreal this weekend.
“It’s good to go into the break on a good note,” said Stars center Mike Modano, whose second period power play goal tied the game at 1-1.
The Stars got off to a sluggish start in the game, getting outplayed and outshot 10-5 in the first period by the Panthers. Karlis Skrastins scored off a rebound on a two-on-one break 12:41 into the game to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
“The first period was uncharacteristic of the way we play and words weren’t minced in the intermission, getting ourselves moving,” said Stars goalie Marty Turco, who stopped 27 of 28 saves on the night.
The Stars did get going in the second period and they were able to tie the game on their second power play chance of the night. Brad Richards sent a pass from the left point to Modano, who got control of the puck and beat Florida goalie Tomas Vokoun from the bottom of the right faceoff circle.
The Stars got what a huge goal with just 31 seconds remaining in the second. After Vokoun made a sharp pad save on Ribeiro the rebound went to Matt Niskanen, who put a shot on net from the right point and Ribeiro knocked home the rebound.
Ribeiro struck again early in the third. With Florida's defense pinching, Steve Ott set up Ribeiro on a breakaway and the Stars center beat Vokoun with a wrist at the 3:45 mark of the third period to give the Stars a two-goal cushion.
Florida could never cut into the lead. They got a power play chance with 11:35 left in the game, but were unable to take advantage. They pulled Vokoun with a little more than two minutes to go, but Ribeiro iced the game with his third goal - an empty net tally - with 26 seconds remaining.
"He worked hard for his opportunities tonight," Tippett said of Ribeiro. "When he goes to the net and creates plays like he did tonight, he's as solid as anyone."
The regulation loss snapped an eight-game points streak for the Panthers.
"They raised their level a notch, and we didn't go with them. It didn't seem like we had a lot of gas in the tank tonight," Florida coach Peter DeBoer said. "We really played well in the first. To their credit, they came out and responded in the second, and we didn't have anything to go with them."
The Stars, meanwhile, head into the break with a strong effort and an important two points.
"It's nice to have some momentum heading into the break," Tippett said. "It was a tale of two games. We rectified some things after the first (period) and really took charge of the game."
Notes: Stars defenseman Matt Niskanen did not play the final period. He took a punch to the head during a fight late in the second period with Florida's Cory Stillman. Niskanen did sit on the bench for the third period.
| First Period |
|
Florida dominated the first period, outshooting the Stars 10-5 and scoring the only goal of the period to take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. The Panthers scored on a two-on one break when Karlis Skrastins backhanded home the rebound of a Kamil Kreps shot 12:41 into the game. The Stars' best scoring game came late in the period when James Neal hit the crossbar with the Stars on their only power play chance of the period. Score after first period: Florida 1, Dallas 0 |
| Second Period |
|
The Stars came out with a lot more jump in the second period and it showed as they scored both goals in the period to take a 2-1 lead into the second intermission. The Stars tied the game on their second power play of the game when Brad Richards sent a slap pass from the left point to Mike Modano, who beat Panthers goalie Tomas Vokoun with a shot from the bottom of the right faceoff circle at 12:33 of the second. The Stars took the lead with just 31.1 seconds remaining in the period. Just after Vokoun made nice pad stop on Mike Ribeiro, the puck went to the right point where Matt Niskanen put it back on net and Ribeiro scored on the rebound. The hit of the period belonged to Florida's Keith Ballard, who decked Stars defenseman Darryl Sydor in the Dallas zone. Sydor missed a few shifts but did return to the ice. Cory Stillman also tagged Stars defenseman Matt Niskanen in a fight with just a few seconds left in the period. Niskanen did not play the rest of the game, but was on the Dallas bench. Score after second period: Dallas 2, Florida 1 |
| Third Period |
|
The Stars were able to extend the lead early in the third period when Steve Ott set up Ribeiro on a breakaway and Ribeiro beat Vokoun with a snap shot at the 3:45 mark to put the Stars up 3-1. Florida got its first power play of the game with 11:35 remaining in the game, but were unable to cut into the Stars lead. The Panthers pulled Vokoun with a little more than two minutes remaining for the extra attacker and Ribeiro sealed the win and got the hat trick with an empty net goal with 26 remaining to make it a 4-1 final. Final score: Dallas 4, Florida 1 |
| Official Scoresheet | Official Super Stats |
