‘Nice To Be Back’: Esa Lindell Returns, David Perron Debuts As Dallas Stars Beat Columbus Blue Jackets
DALLAS — Esa Lindell returned from a five-game absence and David Perron played his first game for the Dallas Stars on Saturday night, as Dallas beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 at American Airlines Center. Lindell had been out with a lower-body injury since Oct. 20.
Dallas allowed 10 goals in its last two games without him, losses to the New Jersey Devils and Montreal Canadiens. He went straight back to the top pair with Miro Heiskanen, while Thomas Harley played with Nils Lundkvist, and Lian Bichsel skated with Tyler Myers.
“It was nice to get back battling with the boys,” Lindell said. “Felt like it was a long time away on the sideline. Luckily, it went pretty quickly. It’s nice to be back.”
Dallas Stars Kill Columbus’ Only Power Play With Esa Lindell Back
Columbus got one power play, in the second period, after Lundkvist was called for hooking. Dallas killed it. The Stars have not allowed a power-play goal since Martin Nečas scored on a 5-on-3 for Colorado on Oct. 13.
Jake Oettinger made 24 saves. The Blue Jackets outshot Dallas 25-17 and scored only on Damon Severson’s tap-in at 6:21 of the third period.
“Like we’ve seen, it’s hard to win in this league,” Lindell explained. “Every team tries to push … but we stood strong, and then Jake made some saves. Got those big points again.”
Lindell has played nine games this season. He has spent his entire NHL career with Dallas, which drafted him in the third round in 2012.
David Perron Plays 11:31 In First Game Of 20th NHL Season
Perron, 38, signed a one-year, $850,000 contract with the Stars on Oct. 16. He had been an unrestricted free agent since July 1.
On Saturday he played on the third line with Arttu Hyry and Jamie Benn. He logged 11:31 and had one missed shot.
“I thought the guys helped me out quite a bit,” Perron said. “The first and second period was a little fast, almost. A lot of spots to be on the ice, you have to react a lot quicker. I felt like the third was better.”
“It’s nice now, you can start building on something. That was the first one,” Perron continued. “We move forward, have a day off tomorrow, and on top of that, getting a win.”
St. Louis drafted Perron 26th overall in 2007. He won the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019, and the Stars are the eighth team of his career. He split last season between the Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings.
Several Stars remain out. Matt Duchene is expected to miss about three months after core surgery, Oskar Back is on long-term injured reserve with a finger injury, and defenseman Kyle Capobianco is expected to miss four weeks with a leg injury.
Hyry finished with a goal and an assist, scoring into the empty net with 0.3 seconds left. Mikko Rantanen and Harley scored in the first period.
The Stars are 8-5-1 after finishing their six-game homestand at 4-2-0. Dallas visits the Washington Capitals on Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT.
