DALLAS (AP) - The first win for the Dallas Stars this season was No. 782 of Ken Hitchcock’s career. And that’s a significant figure for NHL coaches.
Now in his second stint with Dallas, Hitchcock tied Al Arbour for third place on the all-time wins list Tuesday night. John Klingberg and Tyler Seguin scored first-period goals, and the Stars never trailed in a 4-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings.
Anthony Mantha’s goal with 4:49 remaining pulled Detroit (2-1) within one, but the Red Wings couldn’t tie the game even with goalie Petr Mrazek pulled for the final 2:56.
“I was thinking on the bench that we’ve played three great hockey games, and it would have felt poorly to not finish this off,” Hitchcock said. “I thought this was the best balance we’ve had. This looked like something you could really build on.”
Mattias Janmark scored in the second period for the Stars (1-2), and Martin Hanzal put the puck into an empty net with 2 seconds remaining.
Ben Bishop made 23 saves. In two starts, Bishop has allowed only two goals in 103:58 of ice time.
“We’ve got some work to improve in the third period, and just be a little bit more composed,” Bishop said.
Klingberg also thought the Stars could play better.
“I felt like we sat back a little bit too much. We got away with a win today,” he said.
Justin Abdelkader scored in the second period for the Red Wings. Mrazek finished with 29 saves.
The Stars have totaled 119 shots in their first three games but managed only seven goals - including two each by Klingberg, Seguin and Janmark.
Dallas dominated the first period, winning 17 of 22 faceoffs. Jason Spezza won six of seven draws, including one that set up Klingberg’s goal at 9:15.
For the game, Dallas won 58 percent of the faceoffs, led by Spezza going 13 for 16.
“We’ve got to do a better job in the faceoff circle,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. “The one thing I’d say with that is we’re very worried about taking the penalty. I guess I’ve got to wait for the league and see if they’ve called any yet.”
On Seguin’s power-play goal at 19:29, Klingberg passed cross-ice to Seguin at the top of the left circle. His shot banked in off the right post.
Abdelkader scored at 3:50 of the second on a 4-on-3 advantage. He camped at the left of the net, took a pass from Henrik Zetterberg and put the puck past Bishop.
Mantha’s goal came when his shot from a low angle on the left side went inside the right post.
“We still felt that we had the tying goal in us,” Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg said, “but didn’t really get much out of the 6-on-5. Got to win some more draws there; I lost three in a row.”
NOTES: Jamie Benn got his 300th career assist on the first-period goal by Seguin. . Klingberg has scored a goal in each of the last two games and has at least one point in all three Dallas has played. . Both of Seguin’s goals have come on the power play. . Detroit’s Mike Green had two assists, giving him six in three games. . Red Wings D Danny DeKeyser left with a lower-body injury. . The video board showed a tribute to Detroit defenseman Trevor Daley, who played 756 games for Dallas.
UP NEXT
Red Wings: Play at Arizona on Thursday for the third of four road games in a row.
Stars: Will visit Nashville on Thursday.
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