Fast start propels Stars to 5-1 win over Sabres
DALLAS -- The Dallas Stars dominated the first period in a 5-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night at American Airlines Center.
Returning home from a five-game road trip, the Stars led 4-0 midway through the first period and never looked back.
John Klingberg had three assists, Gemel Smith added two, and three additional players had a goal and an assist as the Stars improved to 5-1 at home.
Kari Lehtonen made 27 saves for his second win of the season.
Remi Elie gave Dallas a 1-0 lead at 3:09 of the first period when he scored on a rebound.
Robin Lehner misplayed the puck and turned it over to Antoine Roussel, who fired a high wrist shot. Elie went hard to the net and scored his first goal of the season.
Radek Faksa scored on a rebound at 7:07 of the period to make it 2-0. Gemel Smith carried the puck into the offensive zone and slipped past a check from Jake McCabe before taking a bad angle shot that Lehner couldn't handle.
Stephen Johns pushed the lead to 3-0 10:27 into the game on a rush after an assist from Smith. Johns received the pass above the faceoff circle and beat Lehner with a wrist shot.
That was the final shot Lehner faced. He was replaced by Chad Johnson after allowing three goals on seven shots. Johns stopped 13 of 15 shots in relief.
Dallas made it 4-0 at 12:51 of the period when Tyler Seguin scored on the power play. Seguin beat Johnson with a one-timer after a pass from Klingberg at the point.
Buffalo cut the lead to 4-1 at 11:51 of the second period. After a faceoff win, Ryan O'Reilly collected the loose puck and beat Kari Lehtonen with a wrist shot.
Roussel gave Dallas a 5-1 lead at 18:50 of the second period on a redirection in the slot. Klingberg had the primary assist and connected with Roussel as he drove through the middle of the ice.
Faksa left the game in the second period after getting tangled up with Kyle Okposo and didn't return.
NOTES: Stars RW Brett Ritchie missed his second game with an upper-body injury. General manager Jim Nill said Ritchie will be out "five to seven days." ... C Martin Hanzal missed his third game with a lower-body injury. He practiced Saturday morning but won't play against the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. ... Sabres D Rasmus Ristolainen sustained an upper-body injury against the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday and missed his first game of the season. ... Jamie Oleksiak was the healthy scratch for Dallas. Nicholas Baptiste was the healthy scratch for Buffalo. ... Dallas and Buffalo met in the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals, with Dallas winning its only championship in six games.