Carlsson scores in NHL debut, Ducks lose to Stars

ANAHEIM – Leo Carlsson scored in his NHL debut for the Anaheim Ducks, a 3-2 loss to the Dallas Stars at Honda Center on Thursday.

Carlsson, the No.2 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, missed the first two games of the season with a lower-body injury sustained during practice Oct. 6.

"It was good," Carlsson said of his debut. "I thought the second period was not that good, I didn't have legs and stuff, but the first and the third period were good."

Miro Heiskanen had a goal and two assists for Dallas (2-0-1). Joe Pavelski had a goal and an assist, Roope Hintz also scored and Jake Oettinger made 27 saves.

The Stars went 2-for-5 on the power play and killed all four of Anaheim's penalties.

"I thought both our special teams were really good tonight and that's obviously a key part of our identity," Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said. "They both came through tonight, big time."

Troy Terry had a goal and an assist, and John Gibson made 21 saves for Anaheim (1-2-0).

Terry gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead at 4:37 of the first period. Trevor Zegras took a one-timer from just inside the blue line with Carlsson providing a screen. Oettinger made the save, but the rebound came out diagonally to Terry at the bottom of the left circle and shot the puck past the Stars goalie.

The Ducks outshot the Stars 13-1 through the first 11:15 of the game but were outshot 12-1 in the second period.

"The second period, we didn't play well," Anaheim coach Greg Cronin said. "We turned pucks over, we slowed it down and Dallas took advantage of that."

The Stars did not have a shot on goal during their first two power plays but scored on the first shot of their third.

After the Ducks were called for too many men on the ice, Hintz scored off a rush 16 seconds into the power play to tie it 1-1 at 10:03 of the second.

The Stars went back on the power play later in the period when Jakob Silfverberg was penalized for tripping Hintz, and Pavelski scored off a deflection 15 seconds into the man-advantage to give Dallas a 2-1 lead at 18:06.

Carlsson's scoring play began when Terry took possession along the boards in the Stars zone and set off on a 2-on-1. He waited until he reached the top of the right circle before sliding a pass to Carlsson on his left, who scored over Oettinger's blocker to tie it 2-2 at 1:01 of the third.

"In the first period he was a little bit measured in his game and then he started picking it up," Cronin said of Carlsson. "He hasn't played in a while, so you've got to give him credit, he comes out against this Stanley Cup favorite in the West, Dallas has a heck of a team, and I thought as the game went on he just kept getting better and better."

Terry said he was impressed with Carlsson's combination of strength and speed.

“He makes life easy for me as a winger," Terry said. "Not putting too much pressure on him. I’m just proud of how his first game went. He’s a special player.”

Heiskanen was credited with a goal when his centering pass went off the skate of Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler and into the net for the 3-2 final at 6:47.

"Of course that's not the start we wanted, but it's a great comeback," Heiskanen said. "I think we battled hard after the first (goal). It's a great win for us."

NOTES: Carlsson is the second-youngest player in Ducks history (18 years, 297 days) to score in his NHL debut. Mason McTavish, the No. 3 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, was 18 years, 256 days when he scored Oct. 13, 2021, in a 4-1 win against the Winnipeg Jets. … The Stars have won eight of their past nine against the Ducks and are 81-38-15 all-time against Anaheim. ... Oettinger is 6-0-0 against the Ducks in his career, his longest winning streak against any opponent. ... Oettinger earned his 80th career win in 142 games played, becoming the second-fastest to reach the mark in Stars/North Stars history (Ed Belfour, 140). … DeBoer coached his 1,100th NHL game (562-400-138). ... Anaheim defenseman Tristan Luneau also made his NHL debut. The second-round pick (No. 53) in the 2022 NHL Draft played 15:59. ... Ducks forward Adam Henrique did not play because of an illness.