Easy does it: Stars crush Sabres to wrap up road trip

The Dallas Stars were looking for a strong start Saturday afternoon in Buffalo, and they got that and a lot more. The Stars jumped out to an early lead in the game, continued to roll throughout the afternoon and crushed the Sabres, 7-1, at KeyBank Center.
Coming off a sluggish start in a 2-1 shootout loss at Columbus on Thursday, the Stars came out buzzing against the Sabres, registering the first nine shots of the game on their way to taking a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. They blew the game open with a four-goal second period.

WATCH: [All Stars vs. Sabres highlights]
"The last game got our attention," said Stars coach Ken Hitchcock. "Like a lot of teams, we're not great chasing from behind. We chased that game in Columbus, and we were disappointed. We wanted to make a better account of ourselves. We wanted to be more competitive. We wanted to dictate, and that's exactly what we did."
Six different players scored goals and twelve tallied points as the Stars scored a season-high seven goals and finished their four-game road trip with seven of eight points by going 3-0-1.

"This whole road trip we've had every guy do their part and chip in," said Stars captain Jamie Benn. "Seven of eight points, that's pretty good for a short road trip, and I thought every player played a factor in getting those points."
Mattias Janmark (two goals, one assist), Esa Lindell (one goal, two assists) and John Klingberg (three assists) all had three-point games for the Stars. Remi Elie, Benn, Radek Faksa and Tyler Pitlick also scored goals. Kari Lehtonen stopped 26 of 27 shots in goal.
The Stars (27-17-4) are 5-1-1 in their last seven games overall and 9-3-1 in their last thirteen contests.
"This was a huge road trip for us with how the division is right now," said Klingberg. "We have confidence, and we're just trying to build more confidence."

The Sabres (11-26-9) lost for the sixth time in the last seven games (1-6-0).
"We didn't rise to the occasion. Give Dallas credit. They came to work, and we didn't," said Sabres coach Phil Housley. "If we're not going to compete in our game in front of our home fans, which is disappointing and quite embarrassing, we're going to compete tomorrow in practice."
The Stars were all over the Sabres early, getting the first nine shots on goal in the game. Elie scored on the seventh one to give the Stars a 1-0 lead. Jason Spezza carried the puck into the offensive zone, set up Dan Hamhuis, who put a shot on net and Elie scored during the scramble for the rebound at the 5:03 mark.
The Stars extended the lead to 2-0 at 14:09 of the first, cashing in on their first power play of the game. Lindell put a shot on net from the right circle and Janmark scored on the rebound from the bottom of the left circle.

Janmark extended the lead to 3-0 at 6:25 of the second, picking the far corner from the left circle on the rush.
Buffalo cut the lead to 3-1 when Sam Reinhart scored on the power play at the 8:54 mark of the second, but then the Stars rattled off three more goals to make it a 6-1 lead after two. Benn deflected in a Klingberg shot at the 9:32 mark to make it 4-1, ending the day for Buffalo goaltender Robin Lehner, who was replaced by Chad Johnson. Lindell scored off a blast from the left point at 12:08 of the second to push the lead to 5-1 and Faksa tipped in a Stephen Johns shot at 17:31 to give Dallas a 6-1 lead.
Pitlick rounded out the scoring at 7:24 of the third, tipping in a Klingberg shot to make it 7-1 Dallas and sent the Stars heading home after a strong road trip.
"With the way the league is turning you really need the points. It's really big," said Janmark. "But now, we have a homestand coming up. We have eight of the next 10 at home, so we need to keep building it at home too."

Hanzal leaves with lower-body injury

Stars forward Martin Hanzal left the game midway through the second period and did not return. Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said after the game that Hanzal had a muscle pull.
"It's day-to-day, and we're sure he'll be fine for the games," Hitchcock said.

Notes

What's Next

The Stars return home for three straight games at American Airlines Center, taking on the Florida Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Los Angeles Kings. The Stars play eight of their next 10 games at home, where they are 16-6-1 this season.

Stars Lineup

Jamie Benn - Tyler Seguin - Alexander Radulov
Antoine Roussel - Radek Faksa - Tyler Pitlick
Devin Shore - Martin Hanzal - Brett Ritchie
Remi Elie - Jason Spezza - Mattias Janmark
Esa Lindell - John Klingberg
Dan Hamhuis - Greg Pateryn
Dillon Heatherington - Stephen Johns
Kari Lehtonen
Ben Bishop
Scratched:Julius Honka, Gemel Smith
Injured: Marc Methot (knee)

This story was not subject to approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club. Mark Stepneski is an independent writer whose posts on DallasStars.com reflect his own opinions and do not represent official statements from the Dallas Stars. You can follow Mark on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.