Despite a strong showing in the third period, the Arizona Coyotes fell 3-1 to the Dallas Stars, bringing their record to 0-5-1. The Coyotes got off to a slow start in the first period and the Stars took advantage. In the end, they were over matched with the Stars garnering 34 shots on goal while the Coyotes only accumulated 28. Once the Coyotes were able to solve the issue of the Stars clogging up the neutral zone, they were able to sustain pressure in the offensive zone for long stretches. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to get many pucks by goalie Ben Bishop.

There were some positives to take away from the game. The defensive breakdowns were less than those experienced in the Boston game. Additionally, the NHL debut of Adin Hill left both the team and fans with favorable impressions of the 21-year-old netminder. Hill was recently called up from the AHL affiliate of the Coyotes, the Tucson Roadrunners, after posting a shutout on Saturday night.

Scoring Summary

First Period

1-0 Dallas (Faksa: 1): Mattias Janmark attempted a wraparound but it was stopped by Hill. Radek Faksa was able to put the rebound in the back of the net before the young goalie could recover.

Second Period

2-0 Dallas (Hamhuis: 1): All of the Coyotes were caught puck watching when Dan Hamhuis snuck in to the left hand circle. Where he one-times a cross ice pass from Tyler Pitlick and scored.

2-1 Coyotes (Demers: 1): It’ started with Anthony Duclair stealing the puck from the Stars in the Coyotes defensive zone. He passes it to Max Domi who dances around John Klingberg at the blueline and then leaves it for Jason Demers to pick up and score with a pretty wrister.

Third Period

3-1 Dallas (Radulov: 1): In the final minutes of the game Hamhuis was able to clear the puck up the ice to Tyler Seguin. Seguin passed the puck to Alexander Radulov who backhanded it in to the empty net for hist first goal in a Stars uniform.

Three Answers

Adin Hill NHL debut?

Hill was one of the bright spots of the game saving 31 of the 33 shots that he faced. For the majority of the game he appeared calm and collected, one might even say he appeared chill. Despite the pressure of playing his first NHL game Hill was able to make some beautiful saves against Dallas’ Jamie Benn and Jason Spezza. There was one scary moment when he decided to play the puck behind the net that could’ve turned out worse but thankfully it didn’t.

New look Coyotes?

There was a new look on the top lines but not exactly the same as the lines Head Coach Rick Tocchet used in practice on Monday. Instead a familiar duo reappeared on the top line, Domi and Duclair were centered by Derek Stepan. This meant Tobias Rieder and Clayton Keller joined Christian Dvorak on the second line. The third and fourth lines were unchanged from the practice lines.

Will they finally get their first win?

Not tonight but they get to try again on Thursday against the same team, this time at home.

Players of the Game

Arizona - Adin Hill: As mentioned above Hill was impressive in his first NHL start and gives the team hope that the goaltending of the future looks to be in good hands. It will be interesting to see if he gets any additional starts before Raanta returns.

Dallas - Dan Hamhuis: Hamhuis scored the game winning goal added an assist and was part of the penalty killing unit that shut down the Coyotes 5-on-3 power play.

Three Stars

3. Jason Demers

2. Adin Hill

1. Radek Faksa

Paw Prints

• For more on the Dallas Stars check out Defending Big D.
• This is the worst start to a season in Arizona franchise history, at 0-5-1, and the Coyotes remain the only winless team in the NHL.
• Oliver Ekman-Larsson played in his 500th NHL game tonight.
• Zac Rinaldo returned to the NHL after serving his five-game suspension from an infraction committed in 2015.
• Jason Demers scored his first goal as a member of the Coyotes tonight.

Looking Ahead

The Coyotes face the Dallas Stars again on Thursday night at Gila River Arena the puck drops at 7 p.m. and the game can be viewed on Fox Sports Arizona and Fox Sports Southwest.