Blue Jackets lose Laine debut to Stars; Pavelski scores four points

COLUMBUS -- Joe Pavelski had two goals and two assists, and the Dallas Stars spoiled the debut of Patrik Laine with the Columbus Blue Jackets with a 6-3 win at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday.

Laine and Jack Roslovic were traded by the Winnipeg Jets to the Blue Jackets for Pierre-Luc Dubois on Jan. 23. Laine played 20:54 and had two shots, two hits and was minus-2.
"It was tough at the beginning," Laine said. "The legs weren't quite there. My head definitely was not there. My hands were not there.
"And, obviously, a new system and new linemates. But I'm not here to make excuses. I think I wasn't at the level I need to be for this team to be able to win."
Jamie Benn had a goal and two assists, John Klingberg had two assists, and Jake Oettinger made 23 saves for the Stars (5-1-1), who scored four times in the second period for a 5-1 lead.
"He's been playing with a ton of confidence," Pavelski said of Klingberg. "He really wants the puck right now and he's finding lanes and that's all I can ask for. He delivered a couple of good pucks and I got the stick on them and found goals. It's always nice to see a tip go in."

Mikhail Grigorenko had a goal and an assist for the Blue Jackets (4-4-3). Joonas Korpisalo allowed five goals on 23 shots and was pulled in the second period after the fifth goal. Elvis Merzlikins made nine saves in relief.
"They forechecked us pretty hard tonight," Columbus defenseman Seth Jones said. "They were in our face and we couldn't seem to break the puck out clean. We weren't very crisp."
The teams play again here Thursday.

The Stars had lost two straight after opening the season with four wins. Pavelski gave them a 2-0 lead with tips of shots by Klingberg.
Pavelski gave Dallas a 1-0 lead at 3:33 of the first period, with Klingberg's assist his 300th NHL point. He scored a power-play goal 49 seconds into the second period to make it 2-0.
"Joe and John have a pretty good thing going," Stars coach Rick Bowness said. "They work on the tip and screens, so they've been working together very well. They work together in practice, but they're the key guys on this team to ignite the offense."
Jones cut it to 2-1 on the power play at 5:41. Benn answered 17 seconds later to make it 3-1.

Denis Gurianov increased the lead to 4-1 with a power-play goal at 11:30 after Laine was penalized for high-sticking him.
Radek Faksa made it 5-1 at 13:59, banking a backhand past Korpisalo, who was then replaced by Merzlikins.
"We struggled with the pace early on," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "They were a little quicker than we were, then I thought we got our legs underneath us.
"We had some real fluky goals go in, it's not on [Korpisalo], just some weird plays. We played better in the third period."
Grigorenko scored at 3:40 of the third to bring Columbus within 5-2, and Dean Kukan's goal at 7:23 made it 5-3.
"We were passing it around the outside a little too much," Laine said. "It looks great, but we're not creating any scoring chances. In the third, the guys tried to shoot the puck more."
Alexander Radulov scored into an empty net at 18:19 for the 6-3 final.
Although the first game didn't go as hoped, Laine said he is glad the debut is behind him.
"The whole game was tough. It was one of those games," he said. "It's about getting better game by game. I've had one morning skate with the team and that's it. So it's not the ideal situation."
NOTES: Laine's ice time was the most among Blue Jackets forwards. … Pavelski, 36, is the second-oldest Stars/Minnesota North Stars player to have multiple four-point games in a season (he had two goals and two assists in the season opener Jan. 22 against the Nashville Predators). Sergei Zubov was 37 in 2007-08. … Klingberg moved past Brad Maxwell into fourth place for points among Stars/North Stars defensemen. Zubov leads with 549. … Kukan's goal was his second in 88 NHL games in five seasons. He scored Dec. 13, 2019, against the Arizona Coyotes.