Sam’s Story: Stars Use Fast Start to Dominate Coyotes in the Desert

The Stars were dominant in the desert on Thursday night. Following Denis Gurianov’s first goal of the season 1:27 into the game, Dallas used a four-goal first period to run the Coyotes out of Mullet Arena 7-2. 

It was a continuation of what we saw from Dallas on Tuesday against Los Angeles. Dallas won every race, controlled possession, and beat two different Arizona goaltenders early and often. In the final 40 minutes, the Stars were on cruise control, a perfect start to the road trip. 

Jamie Benn was the best skater for the second straight game. He recorded three points and has drastically increased his production with five points over the last two games. Jason Robertson tallied two consecutive goals, his fifth multipoint game of the season. He led the Stars with 24 of them in 2021-22, is currently on pace for more than 32, and leads the Stars in nearly every offensive category. 

There were a few firsts in the game. Benn, Gurianov, and Ty Dellandrea all scored their first goals of the season, while Colin Miller picked up his first point on Dellandrea’s tally. Wyatt Johnston (4) and Jani Hakanpaa (2) also scored for Dallas. 

As he did on Saturday, Miro Heiskanen had a massive impact. Without him, the Dallas power play went 0-for-18. In the last two games with him back, they have gone 4-for-8. On Thursday, he made a Coyotes forward look silly just before Robertson scored his second of the game. 

Fun Stat: The Stars have outscored their opponents 12-4 in the two games since Jake Oettinger was injured. 

Sam’s Three Stars 

• First Star: Jamie Benn, DAL (1 goal, 2 assists) 
• Second Star: Jason Robertson, DAL (2 goals)
• Third Star: Miro Heiskanen, DAL (1 assist)