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DALLAS — Jamie Benn reached 1,000 career points with a second-period goal Saturday night, and Jake Oettinger turned aside all 22 Buffalo shots as the Dallas Stars beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-0 at American Airlines Center.
Benn broke a scoreless game at 16:23 of the second period. Nils Lundkvist let a one-timer go from the right point, Justin Hryckowian got a stick on it, and the puck came off the left post to Benn, who put it in from the top of the crease. Lundkvist and Hryckowian were credited with the assists.
Wyatt Johnston added a power-play goal with 42 seconds left in regulation, tapping in a cross-ice pass from Mikko Rantanen at the back door at 19:18 of the third period. Roope Hintz had the second assist, extending his point streak to three games with 2 goals and 3 assists over that stretch.
Benn is the second player in Stars/North Stars history with 1,000 points. Mike Modano finished with 1,359 for the franchise. The 37-year-old captain has 418 goals and 582 assists in 1,271 games, all with Dallas, and he became the 104th player in NHL history to reach the mark.
Oettinger earned his 20th career shutout and his league-leading fourth of the season. Two nights earlier, he gave up 6 goals on 27 shots and was pulled one minute into the third period of an 8-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets. Alex Lyon made 28 saves for Buffalo in his second start of the season.
Dallas improved to 11-6-2 and has won two of its last three games. Buffalo dropped to 8-8-4 and is 0-3-1 over its last four. The Stars went 1-for-5 on the power play and killed all 5 of Buffalo’s chances.
Dallas Stars Respond To Winnipeg Loss With Shutout
Thursday’s loss to Winnipeg was the first time Dallas had allowed 8 goals in a game since 2016, and the players met without the coaches afterward. Saturday’s game was the first half of a back-to-back that ends Sunday at American Airlines Center.
“Kind of getting back in the saddle of the way we want to play,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. “I thought we did a really good job, even through 60. I mean, we’ve talked about it at length. I thought we were really good through two and didn’t give them much.”
“And it’s hard to keep a team down the whole night. … Penalty kill was great, and Jamie’s [1,000th] point, that for me is a special night to stand, sit behind that bench and stand behind that bench and watch that,” Gulutzan continued.
Dallas played without Miro Heiskanen, who missed his fourth straight game with an upper-body injury. Lian Bichsel was placed on injured reserve retroactive to Nov. 12, and Kyle Capobianco was also out, the third pair featured Kyle Burroughs and Trey Taylor after Burroughs was recalled from the AHL’s Texas Stars.
“Credit to the guys. Credit to the guys,” Gulutzan explained. “[Burroughs is a] character guy. He’s gonna give you everything he’s got, and he’s got 200 games, and trust them out there. And [Taylor] is a young kid, so it’s a good little mix, and guys are dug in. Guys are vested.”
“… It’s a character win, really. To see the shutout and coming off what we did, [it] shows character. Guys asked me about that a couple days ago. I mean, it just shows it,” Gulutzan continued.
“So this isn’t a linear progression the whole way this season. You’re gonna get ups and downs, but you can see your character comes through,” Gulutzan added.
Benn’s 1,000th point had been taken off the board Thursday, when David Perron’s late power-play goal against Winnipeg was ruled a kick-in on the ice. Benn would have had the second assist.
“Feels good. Obviously, nice to get it over with,” Benn said. “… I thought we got back to Dallas Stars hockey, and that’s a nice two points.”
The waved-off goal came on Dallas’ final power play Thursday, with Winnipeg already ahead 8-3. Tyler Seguin was asked whether a kicked-in goal would have been a strange way for Benn to reach 1,000.
“It was something that I personally thought about in the last power play last game, and I asked [Perron] about it, and he thought about it too,” Seguin said. “So that was a weird one, but glad he got it tonight.”
Jamie Benn Joins Mike Modano As Dallas Stars Celebrate 1,000 Points
Benn is the 53rd player to reach 1,000 points with a single franchise and the 12th active player with 1,000. He is also the second fifth-round pick to get there, after Alexander Mogilny, who finished with 1,032. Dallas took Benn 129th overall in 2007.
He trails only Modano in franchise history in games played, goals, points, and game-winning goals. Saturday’s goal was the 66th winner of his career, and Modano spent 21 seasons with the franchise.
“It means a lot, obviously, to be mentioned just with him,” Benn explained. “He’s a legend, and probably when you think of a Dallas Stars hockey player, you think of Mike Modano. Did a lot for this organization, the city of Dallas, and just cool to be a part of everything.”
Gulutzan coached Benn in the AHL with Texas and again in Dallas during Benn’s third and fourth NHL seasons. He returned to the Stars as head coach in 2025.
“When I first started coaching here, he was special young kid, and you could see it,” Gulutzan said. “A good young kid, and you could see all these qualities of leadership, and just a great person on and off the ice, and kept in contact over the years for me.”
“And then to come back here and coach him, and we went to the Calder Cup final together in the American Hockey League, and then see him get 1,000 in the same uniform, and then just see how he’s matured as a grown up, and he’s 1,000% a team player. That’s what every coach would want as their captain,” Gulutzan continued.
“… So to stand there and see him get his [1,000th] point, it’s pretty special,” Gulutzan added.
Oettinger said Benn deserved more recognition than he typically receives. His 22 saves kept the captain’s milestone goal as the game-winner.
“It’s unreal. I mean, he’s been the heart and soul of the team ever since I’ve been here and long before I’ve been here,” Oettinger said. “So he’s, I mean, everything you want [in] a captain and a leader, and he’s been one of the best Dallas Stars of all time.”
“So it’s awesome. We’re all just happy for him and honored to have been out there for a lot of his points,” Oettinger continued.
Jake Oettinger, Penalty Kill Hold Off Buffalo Sabres In Third Period
Dallas outshot Buffalo 10-6 in a scoreless first period while killing three penalties, on Lundkvist for tripping, Johnston for hooking, and Benn for holding. Buffalo killed two Dallas power plays in the period, both on slashing minors to Jiri Kulich and Zach Benson. The Stars outshot the Sabres 10-5 in the second before Benn scored.
Buffalo’s best push came in the third. Jason Robertson went off for slashing at 4:36. Thomas Harley and Rasmus Dahlin took coincidental slashing minors at 7:23, and Sam Steel’s tripping penalty 43 seconds later gave Buffalo a 4-on-3. Oettinger later stopped Jack Quinn on a breakaway by kicking out his right leg, then denied Quinn again seconds later.
Oettinger made 11 saves in the third. Buffalo pulled Lyon for an extra attacker in the final two minutes, and Benson was called for goaltender interference at 18:39, which put Dallas on the power play for Johnston’s goal.
The Sabres went 0-for-5 on the power play, including two chances in the third period. Oettinger had allowed 14 goals across his previous three starts, and he was asked whether he felt more locked in than usual Saturday.
“Just one of those. The guys played so well in front of me the first two periods, and then I knew I was gonna have to put my footprint on the game,” Oettinger explained. “I wanted to be a difference maker and felt like I had the opportunity to do that tonight and was happy to make a couple good saves.”
“But there was so many big plays guys made in front of me, breaking up passes, blocking shots, stuff like that. It was a full defensive effort,” Oettinger continued.
Eleven of Buffalo’s 22 shots came in the third period, including both of Quinn’s chances. Oettinger had been pulled from his previous start, Thursday against Winnipeg.
“Low-volume work through two periods, but then some quality, quality saves,” Gulutzan said. “So for me, that’s the true sign. It’s like I tell power play, PK, and goaltending, when are you getting these saves? And we got them when we needed them.”
The late saves came with Dallas protecting a one-goal lead. The Stars did not score their second goal until 42 seconds remained.
“Ton. I mean, he was phenomenal tonight. I mean, he’s always pretty much phenomenal,” Seguin said. “… We were all off that last game, so we wanted to play better for him tonight too. But he was the top player.”
Dallas Stars Find Better Second Period After Players-Only Meeting
Dallas had led Winnipeg 2-0 after one period Thursday before the Jets scored 5 times in the second. The Stars held Buffalo to 11 shots through two periods Saturday.
“Everybody. You guys know what happened last game, and postgame, players only, and just wanted to get back to what we do best, which is how we defend, and everything else kind of takes care of itself,” Seguin said.
Oettinger spoke after Thursday’s loss about the team needing to respond. Saturday, Buffalo did not score at even strength or on any of its 5 power plays.
“I thought it was awesome. Just the talk, the little things in between periods, stuff like that,” Oettinger said. “I think guys were bought in and fired up and wanted to play hard for each other and prove that that was a one-off, and we did that.”
Winnipeg had outshot Dallas 14-9 in the second period Thursday. Saturday, the Stars outshot Buffalo 10-5 in the second and scored the game’s first goal.
“Second period was much better. Much better period. Maybe the key is just don’t score in the first. That’s what we’re saying,” Gulutzan said. “But I like the way our guys played, and I said this to you before, it’s not an effort problem. It’s not a character problem. It’s not a talent problem.”
“It’s just you got to get out of these little ruts. But there’s growth, there’s learning to get out of these things. And today’s a little step. Tomorrow will be a really nice test to see how much of a step we took,” Gulutzan continued.
Dallas Stars Injury Notes And What’s Next
Radek Faksa won 12 of 17 faceoffs, and Dallas won 62% of draws overall. With three regular defensemen out, Harley played 28:01 and Esa Lindell played 27:11. Burroughs made his season debut and was credited with 1 hit in 8:50.
Oettinger has now shut out Buffalo twice this season, after a 4-0 Dallas win in Buffalo on Oct. 8. Sabres coach Lindy Ruff credited Lyon and Buffalo’s defensive play but said the Sabres had four or five point-blank chances they needed to finish, NHL.com reported. Lyon, who also started Thursday’s overtime loss in Chicago, told reporters that good, mentally strong teams find their way through stretches like this one.
Dallas hosts the Florida Panthers on Sunday at American Airlines Center, with puck drop at 7 p.m. CT. Heiskanen is doubtful. Buffalo continues a six-game road trip Tuesday at the Philadelphia Flyers at 6 p.m. CT.
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