Ritchie sparks Stars over Coyotes in NHL debut
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Dallas, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Dallas received goals from six different players and Kari Lehtonen made 32 saves in the Stars' 6-0 win over the Arizona Coyotes.
Lehtonen recorded his third shutout of the season as Dallas won for the seventh time in eight games.
In his NHL debut, Brett Ritchie scored his first career goal at the 7:22 mark of the second period. Just 63 seconds later, Colton Sceviour followed him up with another goal and the rout was on.
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Jamie Benn, Cody Eakin, Ales Hemsky and Ryan Garbutt added third period tallies for the Stars.
"We are learning how to play a full 60 minutes and are managing the puck better," Benn said. "It was a lot of fun tonight. We definitely fed off the crowd."
Devan Dubnyk allowed all six goals on 31 shots faced as the Coyotes had their three-game winning streak come to an end.
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"In the end, we didn't compete hard enough in coverage and gave up too many chances," Arizona head coach Dave Tippett said. "We've got to regroup."
After 27 scoreless minutes to open the game, Dallas' fourth line recorded the first goal. Ritchie's hit in the corner kept the cycle alive, and he skated to the slot to receive Travis Moen's sliding pass which he deposited in the net.
A minute later, the Stars added a goal in transition. Tyler Seguin occupied the defense driving to the net, opening a lane for Benn to find Sceviour, who wristed the puck by Dubnyk.
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Benn scored himself just over a minute into the final period. On the power play, his shot from a tight angle along the goal line deflected off Coyotes defenseman Connor Murphy's skate into the net.
A pair of slapshots beat Dubnyk short-side later in the third. Eakin's shot from the faceoff dot to Dubnyk's left found the back of the net, and Hemsky ripped a shot from a similar location seven minutes later for the same result.
With less than a minute left, Garbutt created a turnover in the neutral zone and skated through the defense before wristing one by Dubnyk.
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Game Notes
Wednesday afternoon, the NHL Board of Governors approved IceArizona's 51 percent sale of the Coyotes to hedge fund manager Andrew Barroway ... Dallas swept the season series. The Stars franchise had not swept the Coyotes franchise since 1991-92 when the Stars played in Minnesota and the Coyotes played in Winnipeg ... The Coyotes fall to 0-14-0 when trailing after two periods.