3 Takeaways From Dallas’ Dominant 4-0 Shutout Victory Over Buffalo

On Thursday, the Dallas Stars delivered one of their most complete games in recent memory, routing a Buffalo Sabres squad that won a playoff round just months ago in a 4-0 victory. 

Goaltender Jake Oettinger stopped all 26 shots he faced for his second consecutive shutout, while Mikko Rantanen and Wyatt Johnston each had breakout nights. Sam Steel also scored his first goal of the season, and Thomas Harley earned the primary assist for his first point of the year. 

Dallas played a nearly flawless game, and a closer look at the film revealed three key takeaways that many viewers may have missed.

Dallas came in without a power-play goal on eight chances this season and that quickly changed, as the top unit generated chances seemingly at will, with long stretches of offensive-zone possession and fast breaks that forced Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen into breakaway saves.

Johnston set up the score, drawing in a Buffalo defender before sliding a backhand drop pass to a wide-open Roope Hintz in the slot, who buried his shot past Luukkonen for the Stars' first power play goal of the season.

The penalty kill was even better, killing all three Buffalo power plays with only one man advantage producing chances that troubled Oettinger. The Radek Faksa and Oskar Bäck pairing limited Buffalo's looks with quick intercepts and clears that constantly forced the Sabres to reset.

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The Stars veteran captain Jamie Benn held his own at 37 years old when skating alongside Hintz and Jason Robertson on the top line. He logged seven shifts in the first period, making crisp passes and winning loose pucks, however, his ice time dipped to three shifts in the second, though he still fed Hintz a drop pass that led to a scoring chance.

He was back up to seven shifts in the third, wher he intercepted a pass in the offensive zone and set up a Robertson one-timer that Luukkonen turned away. Benn did not record a point, but was noticeable for most of the night and held his own on the star-studded unit.

Colin Blackwell is filling in for the foreseeable future after Joel Kiviranta, who had started the season hot, was sidelined. Playing with Faksa and Bäck, Blackwell helped the fourth line create several chances in the first and third periods while playing 12 to 14 minutes.

Their best chance came in the third, when Luukkonen was caught out of his crease and the puck reached Bäck with a seemingly open net, however, his shot was turned away. The unit made a notable impact on the game and left a positive impression of the bottom-six unit moving forward.

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