Roope Hintz scores Stars' first power-play goal in 4-0 win at Buffalo

Roope Hintz ended the wait. On Thursday in Buffalo, the Dallas Stars finally scored with the man advantage.

Hintz took Wyatt Johnston's pass in the right circle and beat Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen high to the far side at 15:34 of the second period, making it 4-0 and giving Dallas its first power-play goal of the season after an 0-for-9 start. The Stars beat the Sabres 4-0 at KeyBank Center, and Jake Oettinger made 26 saves for his second consecutive shutout.

Dallas is 2-2-0.

"I think we're just trying to play hockey," Hintz said afterward, according to NHL.com. "Don't think too much and try to play with the instincts and make a play if it's there, and then just try to play quick hockey."

The lead was already there

Jason Robertson had opened the scoring at 9:03 of the first, finishing a 2-on-1 with Mikko Rantanen by beating Luukkonen low on the blocker side. Sam Steel doubled the lead at 9:36 of the second with a shot from well out in the slot that went between the goalie's pads.

Rantanen made it 3-0 at 13:57. Nils Lundkvist's shot from the left point caromed off the end boards, and Rantanen tucked a backhand into a net Luukkonen had left open.

Johnston finished with three assists, including the setup on Hintz's power-play goal. Rantanen had a goal and three assists. Steel's even-strength goal was the middle piece of a second-period burst that turned a one-goal game into a four-goal lead.

Why the power play mattered

Neither club had scored on the power play this season. Buffalo went 0-for-3 on Thursday and is 0-for-13 on the man advantage. Dallas' breakthrough came late in a period the Stars already controlled, but it erased the zero and rewarded Johnston's setup.

Coach Glen Gulutzan liked the broader look more than any single unit. "I just like the game all of our guys are giving us right now," he said. "Our 'D' has been moving the puck great the last couple games, and our forwards are working to spots for them. So we're a little connected. We've just got to keep stacking here. We've got to stack plays and games up on each other."

Rantanen said the Stars have had their legs the last two games and played fast through the first two periods before sitting back some in the third, when Oettinger handled Buffalo's remaining chances. Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said Buffalo has to start better and finish its early chances; the Sabres have given up the first goal and trailed by multiple goals in each of their past three games.

Luukkonen, who stopped 14 shots, said a team does not win hockey games by allowing four goals.

Hintz's goal capped the night and sent the Stars out of Buffalo with back-to-back shutout wins.

Sources

nhl.com

The Associated Press