Work in progress: Moments that mattered in Stars' 5-3 win over Blues

There's an old coach's saying that the best win is a win where you don't play your best.
You enjoy a victory, and still have the ability to teach lessons because your players know there is work to be done.
That's how the Stars exited their preseason opener Tuesday at American Airlines Center. Dallas took a 5-3 win over the St. Louis Blues in coach Jim Montgomery's debut, but were outshot 38-25 and had moments of chaos.

MARK STEPNESKI: [Jason Spezza's late goal lifts Stars past Blues in preseason lid-lifter]
"As a coaching staff, we just want to build and get better, and we've got a lot of areas to get better on from what we saw tonight," Montgomery said.

The Stars are trying to implement Montgomery's style of play, and that includes not only an emphasis on puck possession, but on playing fast and making quick decisions. After three days of practice in Boise, Idaho and a morning skate that concentrated on special teams, there seemed the need for more work.
Dallas struggled with reads and with feel early on, and were saved by the work of Ben Bishop and Landon Bow in goal. By the third period, the Stars were flying on emotion and rallied to score the final three goals of the game.
Tyler Seguin scored on a power play through a maze of bodies, Jason Spezza converted a nice pass from Valeri Nichushkin, and Alexander Radulov scored into an empty net, his second goal of the game. It was an energetic finish in front of the home crowd.
"I know as a coach you're trying to balance how much you want to implement versus playing fast," Montgomery said. "Maybe we put too much at them but we weren't very fast tonight. We saw players thinking out there and I don't want players thinking, I want players playing on instinct. I thought in the third period, after two rather lackluster periods, we at least brought emotion. We still didn't make incredible plays but because of the emotion and second-and-third efforts, we got back in the game and were able to prevail."

Spezza said the process was positive. The players know there is improvement to be made, but they will face that challenge with a positive mindset and a bit of confidence.
"You're trying to build, and that's what these preseason games are for -- to build confidence in he wants us to play, get your reads down, and obviously get feeling good about yourself," Spezza said. "It's important to play these games. They're sloppy at times, but it's important to play them."
The games will come fast and furious as the Stars will travel to Minnesota to take on the Wild on Thursday and then play the Panthers in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Saturday.
"It's just repetitions," Montgomery said, "and, thankfully, we've got a lot of time to do it."

Ben Bishop looks good in opener

Ben Bishop missed 15 of the final 17 games last season with a knee injury, so he was pretty ready to get back into a game situation. The Stars goalie looked sharp Tuesday, stopping all 16 shots he faced while playing the first 30 minutes.
"It's been a while," Bishop said. "It's always nice to get the feet wet. It's just a half game, but I'm going to be building on that and take the good away from it."
Montgomery said that while the players were sluggish to start, Bishop was on his game. That probably played a huge part in the eventual victory.
"I give him credit. He was one guy who showed up early, and he kind of had a game face on today from morning skate on," Montgomery said. "That's a real pro, and I'm glad we have him."

Miro Heiskanen gets his first game

Rookie Miro Heiskanen played his first NHL exhibition game, played 22:14, had an assist and finished plus-2.
"Of course, the first game is a little bit harder, but I think it went pretty good," said Heiskanen, who played much of the time as a partner with John Klingberg."It was nice to play with him. John's a really good player."

Stars showing some early chemistry

The Stars top line of Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov was among the top scoring units in the NHL last season, so it wasn't that surprising that Radulov scored twice, Seguin scored once and Benn had two assists Tuesday. However, the second line of Mattias Janmark, Jason Spezza and Valeri Nichushkin also had its moments. Nichushkin fed Spezza for the game-winning goal at 7:03 of the third period on a play that looked awfully familiar.
"It's nice to see him," Spezza said of Nichushkin, who returned after spending the past two seasons in the KHL. "We're familiar with each other, because we played with each other a couple of years ago."
Montgomery said he was pleased with the performance: "It was nice to see, they were really good tonight, that line."
Nichushkin played 16:03, had one shot on goal and three hits.
"I like what he did," Montgomery said. "He's a big horse."
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.