The Dallas Stars' 30th overall pick in the 2020 NHL draft had four points Tuesday to lead the Texas Stars over the Manitoba Moose.
The Texas Stars, AHL development affiliate of the Dallas Stars, picked up a win over the Manitoba Moose Tuesday night in Game 1 of a best-of-three first round series at the H-E-B Center in Cedar Park.
Texas was led by forward Mavrik Bourque, who scored four points on two goals and two assists for a 6-3 victory to begin the Calder Cup playoffs. Christian Kyrou and Michael Karow each scored their first career playoff goals.
Manitoba scored first at 4:06 of the first period on a crazy bounce that Daniel Torgerson put into the net past Stars goalie Remi Poirier, who picked up his first Calder Cup Playoff win in his first AHL start.
The Stars answered back 37 seconds later when Bourque snapped a shot over Moose netminder Thomas Milic's blocker.
Texas then scored three straight goals in the second period. Curtis McKenzie cleaned up a rebound and chipped in a shot over Milic for a 2-1 lead 1:42 into the frame.
Karow made it 3-1 with a wrist shot from the left circle, beating Milic on the glove side. Texas then scored when Bourque found Kyrou all alone in the slot for a 4-1lead.
The Moose picked up a power play goal with 4:21 left in the period, then narrowed the gap to 4-3 6:19 into the third on a shot off a loose puck outside the crease during a scramble around the net.
Bourque put the game out of reach at 5-3 over a minute later for his second goal and fourth point of the night. Matej Blumel scored an empty-netter in the final minute to seal the victory.
The 22-year-old Bourque picked up the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as the AHL's top scorer, becoming the second player in Texas Stars history to win the scoring title and the youngest AHL scoring champion since 2012-13.
During the regular season, the Stars' 30th overall pick in the 2020 NHL draft recorded 77 points (26 goals, 51 assists) in 71 games. He also led the AHL and set a Stars franchise record with 256 shots on goal.
When Logan Stankoven was called up to Dallas in late February, Bourque took over as the league's point leader. He made his own debut with Dallas April 6 against the Chicago Blackhawks, logging 10:56 TOI and getting two shots on goal.
Game 2 of the best-of-three series between Texas and Manitoba will take place Thursday at 7 Pm. A win would send the Stars to the division semifinals against the Milwaukee Admirals.
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