Nystrom has 3-point night as Rinne, Predators down Stars
Eric Nystrom had a goal and two assists to lead the Nashville Predators to a 4-1 win over the Dallas Stars on Saturday night.
Shea Weber, Paul Gaustad, and Roman Josi also scored for Nashville and Pekka Rinne stopped 17 shots to help the Predators open the season with their second straight win.
Antoine Roussel scored for Dallas, and which has lost their first two.
Gaustad and Nystrom scored 1:21 apart midway through the third period to put the Predators ahead 3-1.
Gaustad to the tiebreaking goal at 8:33 on a wraparound from the right side. Then, with the teams skating 4-on-4, Nystrom took a cross-ice pass from Gaustad before lifting a backhand past Dallas goalie Anders Lindback from the right side.
Josi added an empty-netter with 3 seconds remaining.
Lindback finished with 29 saves.
The assist on Nystrom's goal completed a Gordie Howe hat trick for Gaustad, who got into a fight with Dallas' Vernon Fiddler in the first period.
Roussel put the Stars ahead at 7:14 of the opening period. From the left point, Trevor Daley passed to Roussel at the right faceoff dot, and Roussel skated to the bottom of the circle and sent a shot that deflected off the skate of Nashville defenseman Ryan Ellis and past Rinne.
Weber tied it with less than a minute remaining in the second as he elevated a wrist shot from the right point that ended up skipping between Lindback's pads. It was his second goal in two games.
Weber prevented the Stars from opening a two-goal lead midway through the second when he stopped a shot by Tyler Seguin from the right circle while Rinne was out of position after making a save seconds before.
A seventh round draft pick of the Predators in 2007, Lindback spent two seasons in Nashville as Rinne's backup. After spending the last two seasons with Tampa Bay, he signed with the Stars on July 1.
NOTES: Nashville has given up the first goal in both of their games this season. ... Weber led NHL defensemen in goals last season with 23. ... The home team won all five games between the two teams in 2013-14. ... Roussel scored a career-high 14 goals last season. He was the only player in the NHL who had over 150 penalty minutes and 25 points.
