Wilson, Capitals hand Stars 1st loss of season

WASHINGTON -- Tom Wilson scored for the third straight game to start the season, and the Washington Capitals defeated the Dallas Stars 3-2 at Capital One Arena on Thursday.

Dylan Strome and Taylor Raddysh scored, and Charlie Lindgren made 22 saves for the Capitals (2-1-0), who won the final two games of their season-opening three-game homestand, beating the Vegas Golden Knights and the Stars.

“Those are two really good teams coming into our building, right at the top of the Western Conference for a reason,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. “To come out with four points against those two teams we should feel confident about what we’re building here from an identity and how-we-play standpoint."

Colin Blackwell and Jason Robertson scored for the Stars (4-1-0), who were looking to start the season 5-0-0 for the first time since 2006-07. Casey DeSmith made 23 saves.

“They did a good job boxing us out, not allowing us to get that second-, third-chance opportunities,” Blackwell said. “I thought Casey stood on his head tonight. He did really, really well for us and gave us a chance at the end there.”

Dallas went 0-for-4 on the power play. Washington was 0-for-5.

Blackwell gave the Stars a 1-0 lead at 12:19 of the first period, scoring a short-handed goal on a breakaway when he deked Lindgren before sliding the puck in.

Wilson tied the score 1-1 at 55 seconds of the second period. Connor McMichael got to a loose puck along the left boards and passed to Pierre-Luc Dubois, who redirected the puck to a charging Wilson for a shot from the slot.

“Good linemates, they’re finding me in good spots,” Wilson said of his goal-scoring streak. “When they’re going in, they’re going in, so keep shooting the puck and it’s been a good start as a group.”

Strome gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead at 6:15, scoring on a shot from the point through a screen.

“We just worked a little harder in the second period and got rewarded,” Strome said. “We’ve talked a lot since the start of camp about getting guys at the net and you can see a lot of our goals this year…I feel like at least half, where we’ve had really good net front.”

Robertson tied It 2-2 at 13:09 when he knocked in a loose puck after Wyatt Johnston’s shot from the point hit teammate Roope Hintz in front.

Raddysh, who signed as a free agent on July 1, gave the Capitals a 3-2 lead at 17:32 on a wrist shot from the left point through traffic for his first goal of the season.

Hintz hit the post with 2:03 left in the game just after a Dallas power play ended.

“I really liked our first period,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “I thought it was a really good road period. I thought they were heavy and harder in the second period and that kind of turned the game. Had a couple chances in the third.”

NOTES: Dallas had won five straight against Washington. … Center Oskar Back, 24, had an assist on Blackwell’s goal for his first NHL point in his fifth game. … Johnston extended his point streak to five games (one goal, four assists). … Capitals defenseman John Carlson (assist) passed Kevin Hatcher for the ninth-most points by an American-born defenseman in NHL history. Carlson has 678 points (152 goals, 526 assists) in 1,012 games. … Washington defenseman Martin Fehervary blocked seven shots.