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Remi Elie's "made to order" NHL game makes an immediate impact in Stars victory

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DALLAS — If not for the contract situation Remi Elie likely would have made the Dallas Stars roster out of training camp.

And after two games the Stars made a move and waived Adam Cracknell to make sure Elie would be in the lineup when they hosted the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.

Stars coach Ken Hitchcock wanted more speed his lineup, and Elie was the perfect fit.

“He’s just a hard player — he’s fast, he’s hard, he’s heavy,” Hitchcock said on Tuesday morning. “He pulls it off the boards on people. He’s made to order what the NHL is (about) right now.”

Elie only played 13 shifts but he made an impact in the 4-2 victory. He won a race for a loose puck on his first shift, setting the stage for an evening where the Red Wings defense struggled to contain Elie on the forecheck.

Elie also fit in well on the second line with Jason Spezza. With Elie and Brett Ritchie playing a more physical game, Spezza had more space to create.

“You know what to expect when you play with him, he plays hard and fast in straight lines,” Spezza said. “He wins battles, out skates guys, and he’s physical. When you can rely on a guy like that and know what to expect, it makes it easier for you to play your game.”

There was a prime example of that on the Stars first goal. Spezza had the primary assist on John Klingberg’s point shot, but the goal was largely generated by Elie’s work in front of the net on the screen.

Postgame Thoughts

Pitlick impresses

Tyler Pitlick wasn’t on the scoresheet, but he had a big impact on the penalty kill.

Pitlick forced a couple turnovers while forechecking on the penalty kill.

In the second period he stole the puck and then drew a penalty on Dylan Larkin. In the third period he forced a similar turnover, and turned it into a scoring chance for Radek Faksa in front of the net.

Pitlick nearly scored midway through the third on a rebound, but just missed the net.

Daley returns

Trevor Daley returned to Dallas for the first time as a visiting player on Tuesday and was honored with a tribute video.

The goals

First period

9:15 John Klingberg’s point shot went through a screen set by Remi Elie, hit the post, and banked off Petr Mrazek’s skate before entering the night. Stars 1, Red Wings 0

19:29 Tyler Seguin scored on a one-timer on the power play late in the period off a pass from John Klingberg. Jamie Benn had the secondary assist, the 300th of his career. Stars 2, Red Wings 0

Second period

3:50 Justin Adbelkader scored on a 4-on-3 power play goal on a pass from Mike Green. Stars 2, Red Wings 1

8:05 Mattias Janmark stickhandled through two defenders and beat Mrazek with a soft wrist shot. Stars 3, Red Wings 1

Third Period

15:51 Anthony Mantha beat Ben Bishop with a wrist shot on the glove side. Stars 3, Red Wings 2

19:58 Martin Hanzal scored into the empty net after a steal by Janmark. Stars 4, Red Wings 2

Red Wings lineup

Tomas Tatar — Henrik Zetterberg — Gustav Nyquist
Anthony Mantha — Dylan Larkin — Martin Frk
Justin Abdelkader — Frans Nielsen — Darren Helm
Luke Witkowski — Luke Glendening — Riley Sheahan

Danny DeKeyser — Trevor Daley
Jonathan Ericsson — Mike Green
Xavier Ouellet — Nick Jensen

Petr Mrazek
Jimmy Howard

Scratched: David Booth
Injured: Niklas Kronwall (groin)

Stars lineup

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

Esa Lindell — John Klingberg
Marc Methot — Stephen Johns
Jamie Oleksiak — Julius Honka

Ben Bishop
Kari Lehtonen

Injured: Dan Hamhuis (groin)
Scratched: Greg Pateryn, Gemel Smith

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