DALLAS _ The Dallas Stars did not want to let Tuesday morning bleed into Tuesday night.
Hours after the Stars fired coach Jim Montgomery for "unprofessional conduct," the team beat the Devils 2-0 at the American Airlines Center. Joe Pavelski and Radek Faksa scored for the Stars as Ben Bishop picked up his first shutout of the season.
"Something like that's not easy," Pavelski said. "It's odd, I don't know the proper word. It's something where once it happens, there's still a big game. There's still an endgame for this group, and we didn't want to waste this game because of something like that."
The Stars named Rick Bowness the interim coach, and Dallas looked very much like the team it did under Montgomery. They were aggressive on the forecheck, stingy in their own zone and backstopped by elite goaltending. It was a formula that led the Stars to the second round of the playoffs last season and into a playoff position this one.
"Throughout the year so far, Monty's done a great job of preparing this group and I think today was an example of that, what he's established here with this group," Pavelski said. "It's a good foundation for us to come out, play hard, we know what we want to do and accomplish and guys did a tremendous job just competing and playing to our identity."
Faksa added: "I think nothing changed. We played the same, just Monty wasn't there."
Faksa scored the first goal of the game just 1:42 into the first period on a wraparound goal that beat Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood. Pavelski banged home a Roope Hintz rebound about 10 minutes later. The goals were both Pavelski and Faksa's seventh of the season.
Just as teammates Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and John Klingberg mentioned in the morning, Faksa and Bishop said Tuesday was weird for them, first hearing about a coaching change and then going on business as usual in the evening against the Devils.
"It was a really weird day," Faksa said. "It was a tough day, but I'm glad we won. We focused on the game, we tried to not focus on other stuff. I think we played pretty well and we deserved to win today."
"In sports, unfortunately, people lose their jobs, people get traded and you don't have much time to react," Bishop said. "You can't sit there and soak it all in. You've got to get back to work, and I thought the guys did a great job."
Bowness himself called the day "crazy" before reflecting on his return to the head coaching position.
"As excited as I am to be in charge again and be behind the bench, this was not the way I envisioned it, nor is it the way I wanted it," Bowness said. "I came here to work with Monty and work with what I think is one of the best organizations in the league, a lot of great players and to win the Stanley Cup with Monty. As excited as you are, there's a downside to this. This is not what I came here for, really. It's not."
As the Stars dominated the first period, scoring as many goals as the Devils had shots on goal, Bishop was rarely tested on the other end. He made two saves, including a blocker save on Kyle Palmieri on a feed from Taylor Hall.
"Just stick with the same routine you've been doing," Bishop said. "Doesn't matter if you're getting 20 shots a period or two, just stick with the same routine and noting really changes. Try to stay busy in there and don't let your mind wander."
The Stars finished the game with a 35-26 shot advantage despite New Jersey's third-period push when the Devils outshot the Stars 16-7.
"Regardless of structure, the guys were working their butts off," Bowness said. "They really were. They wanted to be on the ice. You've got to love that about athletes that they're energized like that, and they want to be a factor. They want to be an impact on the ice."
