Jamie Benn did not soften his assessment after the Dallas Stars lost in Nashville on Saturday.
"Obviously, we're not where we need to be," the captain said, according to NHL.com. "(We've had) slow starts. First periods have been terrible. It's on the players in here."
Two nights later he was at the center of the response. Benn scored a goal, set up the winner and was named the first star as Dallas shut out the San Jose Sharks 5-0 on Monday at American Airlines Center for its first victory of the season.
In 14:20 of ice time he put four shots on goal and finished plus-2, according to the NHL's box score.
Benn opened on a line with Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson, Stars Thoughts reported. The three combined for six points.
The opening period, the one Benn had singled out, ended with Dallas in front. Late in the period, Benn drove a shot that Yaroslav Askarov believed he had covered. Hintz kept the puck alive off the end boards, and Miro Heiskanen threw a backhand toward the crease that caromed off defenseman Dmitry Orlov and the goaltender's right pad.
NHL.com credited Hintz and Benn with the assists, and the goal, with 1:09 left, stood as the winner.
Joel Kiviranta doubled the lead 3:17 into the second period. About three minutes later, Benn got on the board for the first time this season. Robertson, working below the goal line, slipped a pass between his own legs to Benn at the left post, and the captain jammed the puck in at 6:19.
"You could see on that one little play... with (Robertson) behind the net that they were in sync," Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said, per Stars Thoughts. "They both knew what the little play was, and it goes in the net. That might look like a little thing, but that's a big thing. That's two hockey IQ players reading off each other."
Robertson scored himself late in the second, and Mikko Rantanen added a third-period goal. Jake Oettinger recorded his 17th career shutout behind a team that outshot San Jose 26-13.
