ST. LOUIS_Jamie Benn scanned the middle of the ice, looking for a cutting teammate, hoping to set up a teammate for a power-play scoring chance. He ended up doing neither, and actually lured St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington into a trap, the hidden highlight of his hat trick on Saturday night.
Benn swept a no-look finish between Binnington's legs during the second period_his second goal of the night during the Stars' 4-1 win over the Blues on Saturday night_and announced his return to the Dallas lineup with authority. It was subtle yet flashy, sneaky yet gaudy, nasty and gorgeous.
"I thought it was a pretty good veteran move against a rookie goalie," Stars coach Jim Montgomery said. "I thought he was passing, too."
"Pretty nice, I've seen him do it before," Stars forward Jason Spezza said. "It's a good way when you get a different goalie that doesn't know you that well, I think he did a good job of hiding what he was doing and I think he knew what he wanted to do the whole way."
It highlighted Benn's second multi-goal game in his last four, and showcased that the Stars captain is rounding into shape at the right time of the year, even coming off an injury. Benn missed the previous two games with an upper-body injury, healing until he could fully return to help his team in a tight playoff race in the Western Conference.
It was Benn's first hat trick since April 7 of last season against the Los Angeles Kings. It was the first hat trick of the season for a Stars player.
The win was the Stars' second straight victory, boosting their playoff position and actually pulling within three points of the once streaking Blues. St. Louis has losses in four of six games since the Stars ended their 11-game winning streak last week in Dallas.
The Stars penalty kill was superb, killing all three Blues power plays. Ben Bishop was steady, making 29 saves. John Klingberg bounced back from a rough showing in Los Angeles by whipping his eighth goal of the season past Binnington. Benn_in his return, in his play_owned the night.
"It's not fun watching, that's for sure," Benn said. "For the games that I did watch, our team played pretty good. It was obviously nice to get back out there with them."
Benn can be one of the rarest players in the league, with the large frame and physicality to dominate and intimidate, to go with the hands and shot and skill to pile up the points. Saturday was as good an example as any.
Benn got on the scoreboard early with a tipped shot from Taylor Fedun, beating Binnington just 3:08 into the game. He followed that up with the no-look goal in the second period, and was on the ice trying to protect a two-goal lead late when he deposited an empty-netter from his own zone.
Before the game, Montgomery said Benn would bring "toughness, skill, will, leadership" to the Stars after his absence.
"It was superb," Montgomery said. "Having him back, you could tell there was more jump by our team and a lot more confidence. Obviously, his will and his determination on his goals was really important to our victory."
"Coming back and being vocal and driving the bus for the whole team out there on the ice," Klingberg said. "Huge impact for us to have him back."
"To get your captain back and best player and he showed up tonight," Spezza said. "Really made some big time plays at the right times. It was opportunistic and that's how you have to be on the road."
