The Chicago Blackhawks wasted no time getting on the board. 11 seconds after the first puck drop, Richard Panik scored from a sharp angle on Antti Niemi just before the referee blew the whistle. But the Stars used this early goal simply as motivation.
At the 7:21 mark of the first, Brett Ritchie scored to tie the game at 1-1 after a beautiful pass from Antoine Roussel. Curtis McKenzie scored 2:28 later to take the 2-1 lead for Dallas, which they took into the locker room at the end of the first.