DALLAS — Jamie Oleksiak returned to the Dallas Stars lineup after missing 13 games with a hand injury and was paired with Stephen Johns in a 5-2 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Together, the duo form the Stars largest possible pairing and they had a strong game against Carolina in their own end.
“I thought excellent. I thought that pair (with Johns) played really well. He’s got a great stick, he’s got a big reach. I thought the game went on he just kept getting better,” Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. “Really, that second half of the game was just right where he left off — skating well, confidence with the puck, tight gap, keeping pucks alive. We missed him. He was going as well as anybody when he went out of the lineup.
“It really gives you two guys that can physically dominate. You’re putting that together with the reach that both those players have, it’s a tougher pair to play against.”
Johns had five hits and four blocked shots, while Oleskiak had a hit and a block. The one questionable part of Oleksiak’s game was a fight in the third period against Jordan Staal, which probably wasn’t the smartest thing after breaking his hand.
Postgame video
In memoriam
Before the game the Stars held a moment of silence for Detroit Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch who passed away on Friday.
Patrick Eaves played for Detroit from 2009-2014 and was asked about Ilitch after the game.
“Mr. Ilitch was a good man. He always treated me very well. When I had my concussion problems he would give me a call and check in and see how I was doing,” Eaves said. “That meant the world to me when you’re kind of isolated from the team and recovering. For an owner to call a player, it boost my spirits and helped me get through some pretty bad times. That’s a sad loss for the city of Detroit and for both organizations there. Yea, he was a good man.”
Injury update
Ruff said Jason Spezza will travel on the upcoming road trip, while Johnny Oduya will not.
He also had an update on Ales Hemsky.
“Spezza will go on the road trip. Feeling a lot better, actually had a real good day today. I think he’s pretty close. Oduya won’t be with us. And Hemsky’s doing well too. He wanted to make sure that you guys knew. He just feels you guys never ask about him. He’ll play before the end of the year. He’s doing really well,” Ruff said.
The goals
First Period
0:51 Esa Lindell scored on a 2-on-1 rush with Antoine Roussel after he stole the puck from Jaccob Slavin. Stars 1, Hurricanes 0
5:49 Patrick Eaves scored his 20th goal of the season, tying a career high after misplayed dump-in by the Hurricanes. Stars 2, Hurricanes 0
#PatrickEaves goal
1-0 #DAL#CARvsDAL #DallasStars #GoStars #StarsGIFs cc: @seanshapiro pic.twitter.com/rrfnY4gjpq— ⭐️RoxStar⭐️ (@RoxStar) February 11, 2017
6:11 Curtis McKenzie scored 22 seconds later on a rush when his shot went off Matt Tennyson and past Cam Ward. Stars 3, Hurricanes 0
#CurtisMcKenzie goal
3-0 #DAL … (yep, definitely 3-0)#CARvsDAL #DallasStars #GoStars #StarsGIFs cc: @seanshapiro pic.twitter.com/560fkFrarB— ⭐️RoxStar⭐️ (@RoxStar) February 11, 2017
Second period
5:06 Sebastian Aho scored on a one-timed shot from the slot. Stars 3, Hurricanes 1
17:09 Eaves scored his second goal of the game, this time on the power play. Stars 4, Hurricanes 1
Annabelle must be over the moon right now. #CARvsDAL pic.twitter.com/VnVydNCFTZ
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) February 11, 2017
Third period
5:13 Justin Faulk scored on the power play after an awful rebound by Kari Lehtonen. Stars 4, Hurricanes 2
10:19 Adam Cracknell scored from behind the net. Stars 5, Hurricanes 2
Stars lineup
Benn-Eakin-Eaves
Roussel-Faksa-Seguin
Korpikoski-Shore-Sharp
McKenzie-Cracknell-Ritchie
Lindell-Klingberg
Hamhuis-Benn
Oleksiak-Johns
Lehtonen
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