It's also important for Hintz, who made the opening-night roster out of camp, but then was sent back to the AHL after a disappointing first five games. He went back to the Texas Stars and had 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in nine games, earning a chance to get called back up.
"It's really cool, and Roope played really well tonight," Spezza said. "When I saw we were playing together, I was excited, because I knew he had a good camp and he didn't love the way he played in the first few (NHL games). So we knew we were going to have a motivated guy tonight."
Stars coach Jim Montgomery said he could see the determination in the versatile forward, who turned 22 on Saturday.
"Right from the first period, I could tell he had a lot of jump," Montgomery said of Hintz. "We had 11 forwards going, and he was getting a lot of ice time because of it."
Getting to play with the veteran Spezza was a bonus for Hintz, and Spezza said he has been relishing playing with younger players in his 16th NHL season. A self-described "hockey nerd," Spezza knows pretty much everything that's going on with his teammates. So when he had a chance to set up Miro Heiskanen for his first NHL goal earlier in the season, Spezza seemed more excited than Heiskanen in the post-goal celebration. And when Denis Gurianov scored his first NHL goal off of Ben Gleason's first NHL assist, Spezza quickly skated over to collect the puck and make sure it was saved.
"I love seeing the guys and how happy they get. I remember how I felt," Spezza said. "It's a little bit of relief, too, the first one is tough to get."