It may be considered a small miracle, but the Stars somehow didn't allow a goal in the first period. It's only the second time in the last eleven games that Dallas has held the opponent scoreless in the first twenty minutes. Lehtonen didn't really have to do too much that period. He stopped all nine shots he faced, but very few were real scoring chances.
Nashville is playing a defensive game, packing in the slot and keeping rebounds away from the Stars forwards. Rinne had a good first period, stopping all eight shots that he faced. He's getting a lot of help from his defenders though. They have their sticks in the lane and are blocking a lot of passes and shots.
The biggest news of the period for the Stars is that Jamie Benn is actually on the first power play unit (no, really he is. Honest) along with Loui Eriksson, Michael Ryder, Mike Ribeiro and Stephane Robidas.. They were immediately able to get three shots and two good scoring chances on Pekka Rinne. Unfortunately, none of those shots got past him but it was certainly encouraging to see some danger in the power play unit. All the fans have been calling for this for months though so you have to wonder what Gulutzan was thinking all this time keeping him tucked away on the second unit.
Nashville outshot Dallas 9-8 in the period. Somehow, Philip Larsen was the team leader in shots on goal (with two) after the first period.