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Niemi shuts out Penguins in Stars debut

Jerome Miron / USA TODAY Sports

Antti Niemi had the Pittsburgh Penguins crying uncle during Thursday's season opener.

The Dallas Stars goaltender, acquired from San Jose this past summer, stopped all 32 shots against for his first win in a new uniform, silencing a revamped Penguins offense in the process.

Pittsburgh's top forwards were held at bay all night, with Evgeni Malkin (four) and Phil Kessel (six) combining for almost one-third of the team's total shots, with Sidney Crosby failing to get a puck on Niemi altogether.

Defenseman Kris Letang led all players in the game with seven shots, while Mattias Janmark (who scored his first NHL goal), Ales Hemsky, and Jamie Benn did the damage for the Stars.

Niemi also contributed offensively, and made history in the process.

Pittsburgh's next chance to score its first goal of the season comes Saturday against the Arizona Coyotes.

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