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Stars 3, Penguins 0

By Dave Molinari 8 years ago

The Penguins opened the regular season with a 3-0 loss to Dallas Thursday night at the American Airlines Center.

*** Stars goalie Antti Niemi made 37 saves and picked up two assists, something only one other goalie in franchise history – former Penguin Johan Hedberg – had managed. Niemi is the first goalie in NHL history to record two assists while earning a shutout.

*** 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. “Obviously, special teams, as we know, are really important, and we gave up a lot on the penalty-kill,” center Sidney Crosby said.

*** Dallas rookie center Mattias Janmark scored the game-winning goal at 1:39 of the opening period, on his first shot in the NHL.

*** Stars winger Jamie Benn scored his team’s final goal, giving him five in his past six games against the Penguins.

*** Penguins coach Mike Johnston felt his players did not do enough to make Niemi’s job difficult. “Anytime you’re playing against a goaltender who’s in a zone like that, you have to get a screen,” he said. “You have to have hard screens right around the goal area.”

*** The Penguins’ No. 1 line, which has Crosby between Chris Kunitz and Phil Kessel, accounted for nine of the Penguins’ shot, six of them by Kessel. “[That line] generated, that’s for sure,” Johnston said.

*** The loss ended a run of four consecutive victories in season-openers for the Penguins.

*** Crosby, Nick Bonino, Bobby Farnham and David Perron were the only Penguins skaters who failed to record a shot.

*** Penguins rookie winger Daniel Sprong recorded one shot in his NHL debut. “As each period went on, I felt better and more comfortable,” Sprong said. “I was pretty nervous in the beginning. The nerves kicked in at the beginning of the game. I just have to learn from this game.”

*** The Penguins will conclude their two-game road trip Saturday night at Arizona.