Stars 4, Senators 3 (SO)
Captain Jamie Benn scored the lone goal in the shootout as visiting Dallas edged Ottawa.
Rookie Valeri Nichushkin scored his first NHL goal, veteran Ray Whitney began the scoring and Antoine Roussel also tallied for the Stars, who opened their three-game road trip with a victory. Kari Lehtonen made 33 saves for his first win in three starts.
Defenseman Erik Karlsson, captain Jason Spezza and Bobby Ryan each recorded a goal and an assist for Ottawa, which lost in the shootout for the second straight contest. Craig Anderson stopped 33 shots before being taken off the ice on a stretcher in overtime. Robin Lehner came on and made two saves prior to the shootout.
Lehner forced Tyler Seguin to shoot high but could not deny Benn, while Lehtonen was perfect against Spezza, Ryan and Milan Michalek. Senators rookie defenseman Mark Borowiecki made a crucial mistake when he knocked Roussel’s centering attempt past his own goaltender 3:11 into the third period, but Ryan tied the game with a shot from the slot with 10 seconds remaining in regulation.
Whitney fired a slap shot from the top of the right faceoff circle past Anderson with 2:57 remaining in the first period and Nichushkin beat the netminder with a wrist shot from the same location 30 seconds into the second period. Karlsson and Spezza scored nearly nine minutes apart in the second to tie the game at 2-2.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Borowiecki has yet to record a point for Ottawa in nine career games. … Nichushkin skated into Anderson’s head in overtime, causing the Senators netminder to remain on the ice for some time. … Ottawa is 0-3 in shootouts.