DALLAS — In a decisive performance, Tyler Seguin netted two goals and Jake Oettinger delivered an impressive 33-save effort, leading the Dallas Stars to a 3-0 victory over the New York Islanders on Saturday evening.
Seguin opened the scoring with a wrist shot from the high slot, beating goalkeeper Semyon Varlamov at 7:59 of the first period, thanks to a setup from Mason Marchment, who provided a feed from behind the net.
Midway through the second period, Jamie Benn extended the Stars’ advantage. He capitalized on a disorganized play in front of the net, seizing a loose puck between the circles and launching it into the top of the net after neither Kyle Palmieri nor rookie Maxim Tsyplakov could secure it.
In the dying moments of the game, Seguin sealed the win with an empty-net goal, further solidifying his contribution as he also assisted on Marchment’s earlier goal. This performance marked a total of four points for Marchment over two games.
With this win, Oettinger continue to shine in his career, boasting an impressive record of 11-1-1 in regular-season games played in October. Varlamov managed to stop 24 shots in the game, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Stars at bay.
On the injury front, Dallas defenseman Matt Dumba was limited to just six minutes on the ice during the opening period due to a lower body injury.
In terms of defensive efforts, the Islanders displayed improvement in their penalty kill, successfully stopping both of Dallas’ power plays after struggling in their previous game against Utah, where they allowed two goals while short-handed.
For the Stars, both Benn and Seguin continue to perform at a high level, showing no signs of a decline. Benn, 35, is now second in all-time games played for the Minnesota-Dallas franchise, with 1,114 matches under his belt, while Seguin, at 33, ranks eighth with 768 games played.
The turning point in the match came early in the third period. The Islanders had a chance to close the gap to 2-1 when Bo Horvat, who had scored in the previous five encounters against the Stars, was met with a remarkable save from Oettinger at point-blank range. Horvat later hit the post, further frustrating the Islanders’ offense.
Noteworthy is the Stars’ shooting strategy; they have managed to assert themselves despite being outshot in both of their opening games. In the prior Thursday night win over Nashville, they were outshot 36-20, and in this match, they faced a 33-27 deficit against the Islanders.
Looking ahead, the Islanders will continue their road trip with a match against Colorado on Monday evening. Meanwhile, the Stars are set to face off against Seattle at home on Sunday night.