– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
Follow @Koiki_Sport Follow @ALOST_Official
DALLAS — Timing is everything, it is said, so Esa Lindell’s first-period goal could not have come at a better time.
As a matter-of-fact, if it came two tenths of a second later, it wouldn’t have counted. And who knows where the game would have gone from that point.
Lindell fired home a shot from near the blue line that just beat the first-period buzzer, giving the Stars the lead for good during a 6-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings inside American Airlines Center on Monday evening. Lindell also had an assist on Dallas’ next goal, a Jason Robertson tally midway through the second period, as the Stars used four unanswered goals bridging the first and second periods to build a 4-1 lead.
“We’re a pretty veteran group. There was a sense of calm on the bench. There was no panic because we didn’t score first,” Stars head coach Pete DeBoer said. “We worked ourselves into the game and really took it over for big stretches.”
That dominance kicked into high gear soon after the Stars’ last rush up the ice to end the first period, which resulted in Lindell taking a pass from Sam Steel and sending a wrist shot from just inside of the blue line goal-bound as the first-period clock was expiring. The shot clanged off the post, past the blocker side of Red Wings goalkeeper James Reimer, before nestling in the back of the net as the horn sounded.
The goal gave Dallas a 2-1 lead, an advantage that it wouldn’t relinquish for the rest of the night.
“Just tried to shoot quickly. I was surprised it went in, and I wasn’t sure if it beat the clock. Nice to see there was a little time left,” Lindell said. “I was in the defensive zone when I got the puck from [Jani Hakanpää]. I looked up, and there was maybe five seconds. I passed it to [Sam Steel], and he made a nice move on the blue line. I knew I had to try to get it off quickly.”
Along with Lindell’s goal, fellow defenseman Miro Heiskanen scored twice for Dallas, with his power-play tally coming at the 13:35 mark of the first period to tie the game at 1-1. He also added an empty-netter late in the third. Coming into tonight, Stars defenseman had combined for just eight goals, ranking in the bottom third of the league in goals by defensemen.
“We know that. We haven’t talked about it a lot, but we know and we got better,” Heiskanen said about the production from the Stars’ blue-liners. “I think it’s coming. Sometimes you need a couple of good bounces and it starts going in. It’s been a little tough, but hopefully it’s getting a little easier now, and we keep going.”
Stars captain Jamie Benn recorded an assist on Heiskanen’s first goal, which was the 500th assist of Benn’s career. That point also moves Benn into a tie with Neal Broten on the franchise’s all-time scoring list with 867 points. Mike Modano is the franchise leader in points, with 1,359.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Monday evening’s contest, with photos taken by Dallas-area photographer Ross James. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are 26 pictures in total.
Follow @Koiki_Sport Follow @ALOST_Official
