Dallas’ two goals Wednesday came from players separated by more than eight minutes of ice time. The defenseman who assisted on both occupied the middle ground between them.
Matthew Seminoff scored while playing 11:13. Kyle Capobianco logged 16:42 and assisted on both goals. Esa Lindell played 19:41 and supplied the insurance marker. None needed the same workload to help the Stars beat Minnesota 2-0 in preseason at American Airlines Center. Their returns are worth considering individually, especially before anyone turns minutes played into a complete measure of usefulness.
It was a close game for most of Wednesday evening. The first goal arrived after 35:33, the second with 9:21 left, and the final shot count was 24 apiece. Dallas’ scoring did not belong to one dominant individual. Seminoff, Capobianco and Lindell were central to the scoring despite different workloads; Artem Shlaine also assisted on the second goal.
Seminoff made his minutes count
Seminoff’s night had an odd beginning. At 1:39 of the second period, he received a five-minute fighting major, matched by Minnesota’s Carson Lambos. That episode occupied the penalty sheet, but it did not define his hockey contribution.
At 15:33 of the same period, Seminoff scored at even strength to break a 35:33 scoreless stretch. Capobianco provided the assist. Seminoff finished with two shots, one goal and a plus-1 rating in 11:13, spread across 16 shifts.
A single goal cannot settle Seminoff’s place in the lineup, but it can change a game. His did exactly that. Dallas entered the second intermission ahead after spending the first one level, and a player with one of the lighter workloads had supplied the difference. There is useful preseason production in that, even without attaching a prediction to it.
Capobianco connected the two scoring plays
Capobianco’s contribution came through distribution. He assisted on Seminoff’s goal and then added a second assist on Lindell’s goal, giving him two points in 16:42 and a plus-2 rating. His 22 shifts were enough to place him in both decisive scoring sequences, even though he did not carry the heaviest workload among Dallas defensemen.
The line also requires some restraint. Capobianco was charged with four giveaways, the highest total on the Stars. That does not erase the assists, nor does it support calling the performance flawless. It does show why a box score can be more useful when read as a collection of tradeoffs: Capobianco earned assists on two scoring plays, while also giving the puck away several times.
Both scoring plays depended on a finish from someone else, but each carried Capobianco’s assist. His two points made him Dallas’ only multi-point player in the game. The four giveaways remain part of the evaluation; they do not remove his name from either successful scoring sequence.
