NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Not tested often, Anton Khudobin was there as that Dallas Stars needed him.
Khudobin made 21 saves to lead Dallas to a 4-1 victory over the Nashville Predators on Thursday evening.
That Lindell, Jason Robertson, Jamie Benn and Miro Heiskanen scored for Dallas who snapped a three-game losing streak. Joe Pavelski had two templates.
Khudobin’s best stop came in the first when he turned down an attempt by Nashville’s Ryan Johansen while the Predators were making a power game.
“When you win, it’s always positive,” said Khudobin. “Yes, there is always a game, so it is now. It’s a lot of games, a tough schedule. So, of course, if you finish the game well, prepare for the next one. ”
Colton Sissons had the only goal for the Predators, who hit a six-game winning streak. Juuse Saros had 27 saves when he finished his four-game winning streak.
Lindell scored the first goal of the game at 2:39 pm in the opening phase. From the left side Blake Comeau sent a pass to Lindell at the top of the left circle. There Comeau ran towards the slot and shook off Predator’s striker Rocco Grimaldi before firing a quick snap that hit Saros on the glove side.
“I was a little lucky to take the puck there,” said Lindell. “I had a little time to take a look at where to shoot.”
Sissons tied it at 4:21 p.m. of the first. Yakov Trenin hit two stars in the left corner before finding Sissons in the left circle. Sissons cut into the low slit and punched Khudobin high on the side of the glove with a wrist shot.
“I don’t think we’ve done enough,” said Sissons. “I thought they had a competitive advantage. They were a little cleaner with their game, especially in the second period. They took over a little just because we weren’t executed. ”
Robertson made it 2-1 at 8:49 a second. Roope Hintz carried the puck to the Nashville zone on the right, then moved over the slot into the left circle. There he pushed a pass Robertson all by himself on the right post, where he had a slight slam dunk for his third goal in as many games.
“They know that against Dallas it will be an area game where the team can get into the other team’s zone and go to work,” said John Hynes, Nashville coach. “We didn’t do that, especially in the second. I thought we lost some of our momentum there. ”
Benn’s sixth of the season came on a power play at 1:41 of the third. Denis Gurianov sent the puck forward from the right circle, where it came from the skate of the Predators defender, Dante Fabbro, and then from Benn and Saros.
“We finally have the luck with the puck online,” said Dallas coach Rick Bowness. “I have said all year long that this timely goal, this timely rescue, it is so close.”
Heiskanen added a goal without conceding late in the third round.
POWER PLAY PROWESS
Dallas was 1 for 2 in the power game. In six games against the Predators this season, the Stars have a lead of 11 to 20, which corresponds to a success rate of 55.0%.
The stars started Thursday with the 7th best power play in the NHL at 24.1%
ROOKIE STILL REACHED
After a hot March in which his 11 assists and 16 points led all newcomers to the NHL, Robertson scored a goal in three straight games. It is the longest goal-scoring of his young career. It’s the longest hit rate a star newbie has had since the club moved to Dallas. Gurianov became the last Dallas rookie to score in three consecutive games, back in February 2020.
HANLEY OUT
Stars defenders Joel Hanley only played 4:15 of the first period and Dallas announced after the first that he would not be returning to the game due to a lower body injury.
“We haven’t had really long shifts,” said Lindell as he played with five defenders for most of the game. “We kept it going, kept it short today, so it was fine.”
NEXT
Stars: In Carolina for a back-to-back set with the Hurricanes Saturday and Sunday.
Predators: hosted Chicago on Saturday.
