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Arnott tallies twice as Predators top Stars

Oct 12, 2008 - 5:53 AM NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Captain Jason Arnott put the Nashville Predators on his back in the club's first home game of the season.

Arnott scored a pair of goals and added an assist as the Predators skated to a 3-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Saturday.

Defenseman Shea Weber also tallied and J.P. Dumont collected three assists for the Predators, who improved to 4-5-1 in home openers.

"We have to lead by example, whether that's on the scoreboard or just working as hard as we can," Arnott said of himself and Dumont. "Hopefully, the young guys will follow us. We have no superstars on this team, and to me, that's great. I would rather have that than eight superstars on a team. I'd rather have heart and soul."

"After last night (against St. Louis), I kind of gave (Arnott and Dumont) a little challenge, and they responded really well," Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. "They know that they were better than they were yesterday."

Martin Erat set up a pair of goals and Dan Ellis made 19 saves for Nashville, which won three of its four meetings with Dallas last season.

"Sometimes you get 50 shots and you're not tired at all, but then there are games like tonight where I only get 20 and I'm gassed," Ellis said. "A lot of that depends on puck possession and how much time the other team spends in your zone."

"I thought it was a pretty complete game, and we responded in every facet of the game," Trotz said. "As a team, collectively, we have a lot of grit."

Blue-liner Trevor Daley scored and Marty Turco turned aside 29 shots for the Stars, who fell to 0-1-1.

"The last two teams we've played close in on you and don't give you much," Turco said. "We still have some bad habits that occurred in the preseason, and we're kidding ourselves if we think we can have a clean slate after that. We need to take a look deep down individually, and as a team, of who we need to be and where we're at and be realistic about it."

"We don't have everybody on board. That's it," Dallas coach Dave Tippett said. "We're trying to get anything, trying to get a spark anywhere. We didn't have that much spark. I think we have a lot of work to do in a lot of areas."

Just 46 seconds into the contest, Arnott helped get things started. Shortly after Arnott's shot was blocked, Dumont had his chance stopped by Turco. But Weber, who was pinching from the left point, popped the puck past the netminder for his first goal of the season.

"It was one of those situations where J.P. made a good play and the puck squared out and I got some momentum going," Weber said.

The lead did not last long, however, as Daley beat Ellis high to the glove side with a wrist shot from the top of the left faceoff circle at 2:01 for his second tally in as many games.

Arnott put the Predators ahead for good midway through the session. During a power play, Dumont grabbed a loose puck behind the net and backhanded it to Arnott, who beat Turco from the doorstep at 10:54 for a 2-1 edge.

"We tried to think shot first and go to the net," Dumont said. "It worked good for us tonight. We took some shots and, after that, the lanes opened up and we had a few tic-tac-toes."

After a scoreless middle period, Arnott added insurance with 3:47 to go in the third. Standing in front, Arnott received a pass from Dumont and chipped the puck over a sprawled Turco for his second goal of the night.

"That's what (Dumont) gets paid for," Arnott said of the passed he received. "I just try and find an open spot and he seems to find me wherever I am. We have created that kind of chemistry and bond. We are talking all the time, and that's huge. We're not afraid to tell each other what's what, and I think that's what makes us such good teammates and such great friends."