The Dallas Stars and Mason Marchment set franchise records on Monday night, as they dominated the Pittsburgh Penguins 7-1.
Dallas, which had only scored 39 goals in 13 games before Monday, took full advantage of Pittsburgh’s struggling defense. In their second win in three games, the Stars did most of their damage in the first period and controlled the game from there.
The six goals scored in the first period tied the franchise record for most goals in a single period. The record had previously been set by the Minnesota North Stars, who scored six goals in the first 20 minutes of a 7-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on March 16, 1971.
The franchise record for most goals in any period is eight, which was set by Minnesota in the second period of a 15-2 win over Winnipeg on Nov. 11, 1981.
The six goals scored on just 12 shots were also the most goals Pittsburgh had ever given up in the first period at home.
Five Dallas players finished with two or more points in the game, and Marchment (one goal and three assists) tied a team record with four points in one period. This feat had been achieved 10 times before, with Tyler Seguin and Valeri Nichushkin being the most recent to do it on Dec. 7, 2013, against Philadelphia.
Marchment scored his goal when Brendan Smith cleared the puck from the Stars’ zone while both teams were changing lines. The puck bounced off the boards behind the Penguins’ net and into the slot, where Marchment beat Matt Grzelcyk and Kris Letang to score past Joel Blomqvist, making it 3-0 and ending Blomqvist’s night with 9:44 left in the period.
Marchment, who had two goals and six assists in his first 12 games of the season, also assisted on goals by Matt Duchene, Miro Heiskanen, and Seguin. He added a fifth point, just one off his career high, when he and Duchene helped set up Wyatt Johnston’s goal in the third period.
Heiskanen scored twice, including an unassisted goal, marking his first two goals of the season and the fifth two-goal game of his career. Logan Stankoven also added a goal for Dallas.
Pittsburgh’s goalie, Alex Nedeljkovic, took over for Blomqvist after he allowed three goals on four shots. Nedeljkovic settled down and made 28 saves, but the Penguins lost for the third time in their last four games. Tristan Jarry, who was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday, was a healthy scratch for the game.
Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger, who had been pulled after giving up four goals in less than 30 minutes in a loss to Winnipeg on Saturday, bounced back with 20 saves on Monday. The only goal he allowed was a second-period score by Anthony Beauvillier.
