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Jason Spezza Bounces Back From Healthy Scratch, Scores Twice as Stars Beat Red Wings 4-2

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On the second game of a back-to-back, the Dallas Stars beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-2. Jason Spezza served up as strong as a bounce-back game as the Stars coaching staff could’ve hoped with two goals on the power play. John Klingberg and Alexander Radulov both finished with two assists, and Ben Bishop had a mediocre night (13 saves on 15 shots) though he wasn’t tested much.

The opening minutes of the game saw the teams trade goals with the Red Wings getting on the board first. John Klingberg mishandled the puck near his blue line on the breakout and Tyler Bertuzzi picked it up to get the initial shot on Bishop. Bishop’s rebound control was questionable at best as he over committed several feet from his net, leaving it vacant for former Star Trevor Daley to score easily. The Stars answered with a redirected goal from Radek Faksa on a shot from Esa Lindell.

Spezza scored the first of his two power play goals in the first period. The Stars had over a minute of 5-on-3 power play time, and Klingberg, atoning for his early blunder, fired from the high slot in the last two seconds of the penalty. Spezza had an excellent deflection in front to put the Stars up by one.

After allowing on two shots on goal for the majority of the second period, the Stars gave up an untimely breakaway to Andreas Athanasiou. Bertuzzi set him up with a long outlet pass, and he beat Bishop cleanly with a deke in front of the net. Stephen Johns had a clean check against Dominic Turgeon and he inexplicably had to drop the gloves with Luke Witkowski as a result.

The Stars caught a bit of good fortune on the power play when Frans Nielsen’s shorthanded attempt rang off the post. They countered with another power play goal from Spezza. Alexander Radulov set him up to finish with a back door one timer.

Sitting on a one goal lead and continuing to keep the opposing shot totals down, the Stars got a little bit of breathing room on a goal from Martin Hanzal. Remi Elie led the rush, and when he was clogged in front of the net by Jimmy Howard and several Detroit defenders, Hanzal came in to clean up the rebound. The Red Wings emptied their net with four minutes to go, and Jamie Benn’s attempt from down ice hit the pipe. Desperation tactics aside, the low shot totals for the Red Wings caught up to them when time expired in the game.

Play of the Game

Both of Jason Spezza’s power play goals were cause for celebration, but the second one was the prettiest in large part because of Alexander Radulov’s pass. It displayed the type of vision that has made Stars fans swoon and set up Spezza perfectly for the one timer.

The Upset Three Stars of the Game

1. Jason Spezza (2 PPG) – Spezza’s game was one of the more redemptive sub-plots of the season. His two goals on the power play had to feel good for the player and will hopefully be a sign of things to come.

2. John Klingberg (2 A) – Ho-hum…Klingberg had another two-point night. His early mistake at the blue line that led to the Bertuzzi goal was overcome with Norris worthy play the rest of the game.

3. Alexander Radulov (2 A) – Radulov’s precision pass to set up Jason Spezza’s second power play goal was a sight to behold.

The Goals

First Period

:44 John Klingberg wasn’t able to handle the puck on the breakout and turned it over to Tyler Bertuzzi. Bertuzzi’s shot coaxed Ben Bishop too far out of his net to recover in time. Bertuzzi gathered the rebound and found Trevor Daley who finished into the empty net. Stars 0, Red Wings 1

2:48 Radek Faksa had a perfect deflection on a shot from Esa Lindell from the the point. The deflection beat Jimmy Howard high far side. Stars 1, Red Wings 1

8:55 The Stars scored on a 5-on-3 power play when John Klingberg’s shot from the high slot was redirected in front of the net by Jason Spezza. Stars 2, Red Wings 1

Second Period

11:43 Andreas Athanasiou scored on his breakaway after receiving a great outlet pass from Tyler Bertuzzi to tie the game.. Stars 2, Red Wings 2

14:08 Alexander Radulov set up Jason Spezza for the back door one timer on the power play to put the Stars back on top. Stars 3, Red Wings 2

Third Period

9:13 Remi Elie broke out of the zone and led a rush where he left the puck in the thick of a bunch of Red Wing defenders in front of the net. Martin Hanzal crashed in and finished the rebound with a score. Stars 4, Red Wings 2

Red Wings lineup
Antony Mantha — Henrik Zetterberg — Gustav Nyquist
Tyler Bertuzzi — Dylan Larkin — Andreas Athanasiou
Tomas Tatar — Frans Nielsen — Frk Martin
Luke Witkowski — Dominic Turgeon — David Booth

Danny Dekeyser — Mike Green
Jonathan Ericsson — Trevor Daley
Niklas Kronwall — Nick Jensen

Jimmy Howard
Petr Mrazek

Injured: Luke Glendening (hand), Darren Helm (leg), Justin Abdelkader (lower body)

Scratched: Xavier Ouellet

Stars lineup
Jamie Benn — Tyler Seguin — Alexander Radulov
Mattias Janmark — Jason Spezza — Devin Shore
Antoine Roussel — Radek Faksa — Tyler Pitlick
Remi Elie — Martin Hanzal — Brett Ritchie

Esa Lindell — John Klingberg
Dan Hamhuis — Greg Pateryn
Stephen Johns — Julius Honka

Ben Bishop
Kari Lehtonen

Injured: Marc Methot (knee)

Scratched: Gemel Smith, Dillon Heatherington

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