ST. LOUIS (AP) - Sammy Blais understands that sometimes a little luck goes a long way in hockey.
Blais had a goal and an assist, and his score midway through the third period was the winner as the St. Louis Blues beat the Dallas Stars 3-2 on Saturday night.
“It was a good bounce,” he said about his winner. “Like I said, when you work hard, sometimes you get good bounces. I’m just happy to be in the position I’m at right now and want to just keep going.”
Jordan Binnington stopped 28 shots as the defending Stanley Cup champions won their first game of the season. The Blues opened the season with a 2-1 overtime loss to the Washington Capitals on Wednesday.
The Stars have lost their first two games. They dropped their season opener 2-1 at Boston.
Carl Gunnarsson’s slap shot from the top of the zone deflected off Blais before hitting Dallas defenseman Taylor Fedun and getting past goalie Ben Bishop. It was Blais’ second goal of the season and gave him the first multi-point game of his career.
Bishop made 27 saves on 30 shots.
“Obviously it’s frustrating at the time, but it’s a long season,” Bishop said. “It’s just two bounces tonight. Unfortunately the bounces went their way.”
Brayden Schenn benefited from the first fortuitous bounce for the Blues to tie the game at 2-2 early in the third as he dove to knock in a loose puck. A shot by Jaden Schwartz rebounded off Bishop and sat just shy of the goal line to the right of the goalie. Schenn lunged between Bishop and a Dallas defender, pushing the puck into the net.
Miro Heiskanen, the third-overall pick in the 2017 draft, gave Dallas a 2-1 lead in the second. He shot the puck over Binnington’s left shoulder about midway through the period for his first goal of the season.
The Stars had their own luck to tie the game at 1-all 11 minutes into the first on a short-handed goal. Mattias Janmark had a breakaway down the left side and took a shot that Binnington stopped but allowed to bounce to his left. Schwartz went to swat it out of the crease, but his momentum carried him into the puck and he knocked it into the goal, giving Heiskanen his first goal of the year.
Binnington faced 30 shots.
“That comeback win was a great feeling,” he said.
The Blues took an early 1-0 lead on David Perron’s first goal of the season. Blais carried it through the Dallas zone before crossing the puck to Perron in the right slot. Perron settled the puck and slapped it past Bishop 1:21 into the first.
Early in the third period, Esa Lindell appeared to give the Stars a 3-1 lead on a power play with what would have been his first goal of the season. The Blues challenged the play and the goal was disallowed because Dallas was ruled offside.
“The crowd was loud when they disallowed the goal,” Lindell said. “And (the Blues) got the momentum.”
NOTES: Blues RW Robert Thomas was scratched with an upper body injury he suffered in the team’s opener against Washington on Wednesday. … It was Schenn’s first game after signing an eight-year contract extension on Friday. … Stars C Rhett Gardner and RW Nick Caamano each made their NHL debut. … D Roman Polak was scratched with an upper body injury.
UP NEXT
Stars: Play their second of three straight road games Sunday at Detroit.
Blues: Hit the road for the first time this season, opening a four-game trip Monday at Toronto.
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