Recap: Khudobin returns to form in 3-1 victory over Avs on Thursday

DALLAS -- After going winless in their first three preseason games, the Stars have hit their stride.
Goals from Michael Raffl, Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz provided the offensive punch in a 3-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche at American Airlines Center on Thursday in front of an announced crowd of 12,022.

The win, Dallas' third in a row, improved its record in exhibition play to 3-1-2.

BOXSCORE / PHOTO GALLERY

In his second start of the preseason, Anton Khudobin looked like his old self. The veteran netminder turned aside 26 of 27 shots in the victory, an encouraging bounce-back performance in his second appearance of the preseason. Khudobin entered the game with a 5.15 goals-against average and .857 save percentage from his previous start.
Making his preseason debut, Hintz didn't appear to miss a beat. Skating on his familiar line with Robertson and Joe Pavelski, Hintz finished the game with a goal and four shots in 15:55. His goal provided insurance and came just 14 seconds after Colorado got on the board with a strike from JT Compher.

The loss dropped the Avs' record to 1-4-0. Darcy Kuemper made 26 saves on 29 shots.
Raffl got the Stars on the board at the 12:44 mark of the first when he picked off an attempted clearing pass and fired a shot past Kuemper to give Dallas a 1-0 lead.

The Stars doubled their lead at the 8:26 mark of the middle frame when Robertson snuck a shot five hole for his third goal of the preseason, tying him with Jamie Benn for the team lead.
Though this isn't the actual highlight, the renactment is spot on.

After Compher got the Avs on the board with a rebound chance in the closing minutes, Hintz responded immediately with a blistering shot from the bottom of the left dot.
Dallas will close out the preseason against the Avs on Saturday at Ball Arena before opening the regular season on Thursday, Oct. 14 against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Kyle Shohara is the Digital Manager for DallasStars.com and writes about the Stars/NHL. Follow him on Twitter @kyleshohara.