DALLAS (AP) - Skating on the same line after a tactical change during the game, Devin Shore and Jason Spezza sparked the Dallas Stars to a 3-1 comeback win over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.
A strong response to Montreal’s goal and the move that put Shore, Spezza and Tyler Seguin together made the difference for the Stars.
“When I didn’t see a lot of energy, I had to find it somewhere,” Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock said. “They gave us great energy.”
All three players had a goal. After Shore and Spezza scored 59 seconds apart late in the second period to give the Stars a 2-1 lead, Seguin sealed the victory by scoring into an empty net with 27 seconds to play.
Shore had no goals in the first 19 games this season, but scored for the second straight to tie it 1-all at 18:22 of the second. Spezza, who also has scored in consecutive games after netting only one goal in the first 19, put in a rebound in the final minute of the period.
Seguin and Shore each had an assist on Spezza’s goal.
Spezza explained why their line worked so well.
“Well, (Seguin’s) a shooter, I’m a passer and (Shore) has good legs, so it kind of gives us all three dynamics and we did a good job of using each other,” he said.
Ben Bishop made 29 saves for Dallas on his 31st birthday, allowing only a power-play goal by Brendan Gallagher at 12:04 of the second.
Gallagher scored on a rebound after Charles Hudon fired a slap shot from the blue line.
“We kind of let them get that first goal, and I think it was a wake-up call,” Bishop said. “The last 10 minutes of the second period we really took it to them.”
At that point, Dallas had been outshot in the period 12-3, but the Stars applied pressure and added 12 shots on goal in the final 7:56.
“The disappointing thing about tonight is those two quick goals again,” Montreal coach Claude Julien said. “Other than that, you take the other 59 minutes with all the adversity and the injuries and that, I thought our guys played hard and we had some chances.”
The Stars killed off all three Montreal power plays in the third period. Dallas defenseman Stephen Johns knocked away a puck headed toward the goal line, and Gemel Smith swept a loose puck out of the crease behind Bishop in the second.
“Those guys do a good job of helping me out when I need it,” Bishop said.
Canadiens goalie Charlie Lindgren had 26 saves.
Shore scored after taking a pass from John Klingberg and firing a wrist shot from the inside edge of the left faceoff circle. At 19:21, Spezza reached out to put in the rebound of a wrist shot by Seguin.
“We took it upon ourselves to have a better third, not to just sit back and wait for them to come at us,” Canadiens defenseman Jordie Benn said. “We just got cut a little short tonight.”
NOTES: Benn played at Dallas for the first time since being traded to the Canadiens last season. His first 302 career games were with the Stars on the same team as his brother, Jamie Benn. A tribute to Jordie Been played on the video board during the first period. Their parents attended the game and saw their sons get into a brotherly tussle along the boards later in the period. … Gallagher’s goal was his 199th career point. … Montreal played without D Shea Weber, a late scratch because of a lower-body injury. … Dallas goalie Kari Lehtonen was inactive following the birth of his son, Remi, on Monday.
UP NEXT
Canadiens: Complete a quick two-game trip Wednesday at Nashville.
Stars: Travel to Colorado for a game on Wednesday.
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