Stars 2, Capitals 1
DALLAS -- The Dallas Stars gave new coach Lindy Ruff his first win, beating the Washington Capitals 2-1 on Saturday night at American Airlines Center.
Rookie Alex Chiasson scored the eventual winner in the second period.
Chiasson delivered his second goal in as many games off a rebound at 12:07 of the second. The Stars rookie winger tapped in the carom after Washington goaltender Braden Holtby stopped an initial shot from Dallas center Cody Eakin, who began his NHL career with the Capitals.
The Capitals took the lead 4:26 into the game when Alex Ovechkin scored off a one-timer with Washington on the power play. Ovechkin connected from the left faceoff circle after a nice pass from Mike Green to make it 1-0.
Washington had gone on the power play at 3:25 when Dallas defenseman Stephane Robidas was whistled for tripping the Capitals' Brooks Laich near the Stars' net.
However, Dallas answered about 3 1/2 minutes later when Erik Cole slipped a 19-foot snap from the slot past Holtby at 8:01 to tie the score. Tyler Seguin picked up the primary assist with a nice backhand pass from behind the goal. It was his first assist for Dallas after coming over in a July trade with Boston.
Washington looked like it had regained the lead at 8:01 of the second period when Nicklas Backstrom scored off a tap-in on a shot by John Carlson. However, the officials determined that Backstrom interfered with Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen and the goal was nullified.
Dallas kept the Capitals' power play off the ice, limiting Washington to two opportunities. The Capitals had been 5-for-9 on the power play in their first two games.
Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen stopped 23 of the 24 shots he faced in the win.
NOTES: With D Jack Hillen having surgery on Friday for a leg injury and out for the next four to six months, Washington coach Adam Oates went with Steve Oleksy in Hillen's spot alongside Connor Carrick in the Capitals' third defensive pairing. ... Dallas C Rich Peverley, acquired in a summer trade with Boston, made his Stars debut by centering Dallas' fourth line. Peverley had missed all of preseason and the Stars' opener on Thursday with an irregular heartbeat. ... Capitals D John Erskine was the 39th overall pick by Dallas in the 1998 NHL Draft and played 107 games for the Stars between 2001 and 2006, the same year he signed a free agent deal with Washington. ... Stars C Cody Eakin, drafted by Washington in 2009 and who played 30 games for the Capitals in the 2011-12 season before being traded to Dallas in 2012, faced his former team for the first time. ... The announced attendance was 17,200.
