Rookie Jason Robertson had a goal and an assist in the first period, leading the Dallas Stars to a 5-2 win and a two-game sweep of the Detroit Red Wings.

... That was a special moment.”Joe Pavelski had two goals and two assists and Alexander Radulov also scored twice for the Stars, who had a scoreless first period. Five of Dallas’ goals came in the second, including three on the power play and an unassisted short-handed wrist shot by Esa Lindell. Pavelski and Kiviranta added power-play goals in the third period, those against Pekka Rinne, who entered after Saros allowed five goals on 20 shots. CAPTAIN HURTStars captain Jamie Benn was injured when his right leg buckled awkwardly after a collision with Viktor Arvidsson in the second period. Three of the shots game in the first period, including a wraparound attempt into Khudobin’s pads and a hard second shot on the rebound.

The Stars' return comes after 17 players tested positive for COVID-19, even though most were asymptomatic. Their first four scheduled games, all on the road and including an early Stanley Cup Final rematch with Tampa Bay, were postponed. “Right now, listen, we're all ready for a game,” Stars coach Rick Bowness said after practice Thursday at their home arena. Now the Stars are the last team to open the NHL's 56-game, division-only regular season. About 5,000 fans will be allowed for Stars games, well below the hockey capacity of 18,532, though the NBA's Dallas Mavericks are playing their home games there without fans.

The triumph of winning the NHL championship in a bubble was certainly no less sweet for the Tampa Bay Lightning. He played 964 regular-season and 137 playoff games to get to this point, losing in the final twice before. Tampa Bay had Point and No. Coach Jon Cooper thought the attitude needed to change from wanting to beat every opponent 9-0 because that’s not realistic in playoff hockey. ... Alexander Volkov made his NHL playoff debut for Tampa Bay, which also saw Patrick Maroon become just the eighth player to win the Cup in back-to-back seasons with different teams (St. Louis).

EDMONTON, AB – As soon as Steven Stamkos scored on his first shot since February, his Tampa Bay Lightning celebrated on the ice and the bench with 211 days of pent up excitement. The Lightning were just fine with Stamkos offering moral support sitting in the middle of the bench. The game was everything that has made Tampa Bay one of the best teams in hockey for more than half of the last decade. While Tampa Bay got a significant talent back, Dallas was without a key veteran role player. ... To make room for Stamkos, Tampa Bay scratched Carter Verhaeghe.

EDMONTON, AB The biggest boost for the Colorado Avalanche in must-win game after must-win game comes from an unlikely source their third-string goaltender. Michael Hutchinson stopped 27 shots and the Avalanche beat the Dallas Stars 4-1 on Wednesday night to force a decisive Game 7 in their second-round playoff series. He deserves all the credit.Rookie defenseman Cale Makar scored the go-ahead goal in the second period, while Nikita Zadorov and Mikko Rantanen also added goals. Nathan MacKinnon scored an empty-netter for the Avalanche, who staved off elimination for a second straight game to tie the series at three wins apiece. We never thought it was going to be a sweep or an easy series, Stars forward Tyler Seguin said.