Kero scores first NHL goal since 2017 in Stars victory against Red Wings

DETROIT -- Tanner Kero scored his first NHL goal since 2017, and Anton Khudobin made 21 saves for the Dallas Stars in a 3-0 win against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday.

Kero hadn't scored in the NHL since Nov. 12, 2017 for the Chicago Blackhawks in a 7-5 loss to the New Jersey Devils. He was sent to the American Hockey League after the game and did not return to the NHL until this season.
"You try not to think about that too much when you are playing, but it felt good to get one," Kero said. "At this point, you appreciate every game you get and try to take advantage because you don't know when the opportunity is going to come again."
Andrej Sekera and Ty Dellandrea scored for Dallas (10-10-7), which had lost four of five. It was Khudobin's third shutout of the season and 11th in the NHL.
He was playing for the first time since March 11, when he was pulled after two periods after allowing four goals on eight shots in a 4-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. He was the backup to Jake Oettinger the past four games.
"I wasn't focused on the shutout. It was important to just win this game," Khudobin said.

Thomas Greiss made 30 saves for Detroit (10-18-4), which was trying to win three straight for the first time this season.
"They made it hard on us, but we made it hard on ourselves, too," Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin said. "I thought we had taken a step forward when it came to finding ways to win close games. We didn't do that in the second half of this game."
Dallas outshot Detroit 73-42 in a split of the two-game set. It lost 3-2 on Thursday.
"They are consistently one of the best defensive teams in the League, and they make it very, very hard to create anything against them," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "That's something you have to have to be successful in this league -- it has been proven year after year -- and it is certainly part of their game that we want to emulate."
Kero made it 1-0 at 17:22 of the second period, taking a pass from Jamie Oleksiak and scoring on a breakaway.
"We know our big guys are going to score, but it helps to get contributions from the bottom six," Kero said.

Sekera extended the lead to 2-0 at 8:16 of the third period, beating Greiss from the point through traffic.
Dellandrea tipped in Roope Hintz's shot on a power play at 13:43 for the 3-0 final.
NOTES:Dallas played without forward Alexander Radulov, who was a late scratch after aggravating the lower-body injury that has limited him to 11 games this season. Stars coach Rick Bowness said Radulov will be a game-time decision against the Nashville Predators on Sunday. … Kero, Sekera and Dellandrea came into the game with a combined two goals for the season. … The Stars' last shutout against the Red Wings in Detroit was Nov. 17, 2000, when Ed Belfour made 33 saves in a 1-0 win. … Red Wings defenseman Dennis Cholowski was minus-1 playing 12:27 in his season debut. … Red Wings forward Bobby Ryan played 12:50 after missing two games with an upper-body injury.