DALLAS, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- Brad Richards scored 41 seconds into the game Thursday and the Dallas Stars won their third straight to start the season with a 4-1 victory over Detroit.
The Stars have captured five straight at home against the Red Wings.
After struggling on offense for most of last season, the Stars have averaged 4.3 goals per game in the early going -- tops in the NHL.
Brad Stuart was called for boarding 28 seconds after the opening faceoff and Richards capitalized 13 seconds later by beating Chris Osgood with a slapshot.
Loui Eriksson, Brenden Morrow and James Neal all scored in the second period to give the Stars a 4-0 cushion heading into the third.
Niklas Kronwall ended Kari Lehtonen's bid for a shutout with 8:35 left in the third period, during which the Red Wings outshot the Stars 11-4. Lehtonen made 24 saves.
Osgood faced only 15 shots, stopping 11 of them.
Mike Modano, who played 20 years for the Stars, returned to Dallas for the first time since joining the Red Wings. Modano, the top scorer in NHL history among American-born players, did not take a shot against his former team.
