DALLAS (AP) When Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill started his third coaching search in five years Christopher Tanev Jersey , he took a look at their talented roster that is still among the youngest in the NHL.Their new coach is certainly accustomed to dealing with youth.Jim Montgomery was introduced Friday by the Stars, becoming the second head coach in three years to go directly from the college ranks to the NHL.”I think the game is changing, and in the end it’s dealing with people,” Nill said. ”It’s dealing with the younger players, and on top of it, winning, and he’s done that.”Montgomery was 125-57-26 the past five seasons at the University of Denver, including a national title in 2016-17. As a player, he was part of a national championship at Maine in 1993.”We loved our life in Denver and I loved my job, and the only way I was going to move from a great position was for an opportunity that was better,” said the 48-year-old Montgomery, who has four young children.Before Denver, he spent three seasons as head coach and general manager for Dubuque of the United States Hockey League. The Fighting Saints were 118-45-21 from 2010-13, when they won two USHL titles.Montgomery is a departure from the first two hires by Nill Authentic Daniel Sedin Jersey , grizzled NHL veterans Lindy Ruff and Ken Hitchcock.Hitchcock, who coached the Stars to their only Stanley Cup title in 1999, returned as their coach for only one season before retiring last month and becoming a consultant for the team. The Stars have missed the playoffs eight of the last 10 seasons.Philadelphia has made the playoffs in two of the three seasons since Dave Hakstol was hired by the Flyers from collegiate power North Dakota.”Jimmy’s been successful at every level that he’s been at,” Hakstol said. ”He’s a smart guy that he’s going to take what he does and he’s going to take it to the NHL level.”Montgomery inherits a Dallas squad led by high-scoring forwards Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. Benn, a two-time All-Star and team captain who turns 29 this summer, was among those attending Montgomery’s introductory news conference. At 26, Seguin is already a five-time All-Star.The Stars also have one of the league’s top-scoring defensemen in John Klingberg, and goalie Ben Bishop, who is signed for five more seasons.”When I look at this lineup, I really get excited,” Montgomery said. ”It has everything you want. It has star power. … You have depth, you have size, you have skill, you have speed at every position.”The Stars were solidly positioned for the playoffs in March before an eight-game losing streak that started with six losses on the road. Still Womens Derek Dorsett Jersey , Dallas improved significantly in a year, finishing with 92 points under Hitchcock after only 79 in the last of their four seasons with Ruff. The 79 points were the second-fewest in a full season for the team since moving to Dallas in 1993-94.Montgomery played in 122 career NHL games from 1993-2003, his last nine games coming with the Stars. He also played for St. Louis, Montreal, Philadelphia and San Jose.”I hope my coaching career is going to last longer,” Montgomery joked.Only two head coaches had gone directly from college to the NHL before Hakstol and Montgomery.Ned Harkness was the first, when he went from Cornell to Detroit in 1970 and was 12-22-4 as head coach before becoming the Red Wings GM. Bob Johnson went from Wisconsin to Calgary in 1982 and had a 234-188-58 record in six seasons as an NHL head coach. Johnson team’s made the playoffs in all six of his seasons, five in Calgary and his only season in Pittsburgh for a Stanley Cup title in 1991.Nill said his final list of 10 candidates includes five veteran coaches and five others who could be given an opportunity as an NHL coach.”He’s a guy that’s been on our radar screen,” Nill said of Montgomery. ”He had that passion, that fire. He’s built his resume up the right way. It’s about winning, and he’s found a way to do it, and especially a way to do it in today’s game.”— BOSTON (AP) Buffalo star Jack Eichel went down with an injury and his teammates responded with one of their best performances of the season.Scott Wilson had a goal and an assist during Buffalo’s big second period, helping the Sabres cool off Tuukka Rask and the Boston Bruins with a 4-2 victory on Saturday night.”I thought the guys made a terrific effort tonight,” Buffalo coach Phil Housley said. ”One of the best games I’ve seen us check.”Eichel left midway through the opening period http://www.tampabaylightningteamshop.com/authentic-steven-stamkos-jersey , favoring his right knee after falling awkwardly on a check by Boston defenseman Matt Grzelcyk along the boards behind the Bruins’ net.”He got tangled up in the corner,” Housley said. ”We’ll know tomorrow when he sees our doctors.”Evander Kane and Benoit Pouliot also scored during the second and Rasmus Ristolainen added an empty-netter with 29 seconds remaining. Former Bruins goalie Chad Johnson made 25 saves as the Sabres picked up the road win with their fathers along for the trip.”To see Jack go down like that, that’s a big hole to fill,” Pouliot said. ”(The win) feels good for the dads and for everyone.”The Sabres had lost four of five and entered with the NHL’s second-fewest points.Rask stopped 24 shots, but lost in regulation for the first time since Nov. 26. It snapped his career-best 21-game streak with at least a point (19-0-2), the fourth-longest in team history.The Bruins were bothered by their subpar effort.”I think it was pretty obvious that wasn’t our best game – the way we want to play – but those games happen,” Rask said.Boston center Patrice Bergeron agreed they had a poor effort from the start.”We were flat,” Bergeron said. ”When you do that, you don’t deserve it – plain and simple.”Ryan Spooner and David Backes accounted for Boston’s goals. The Bruins failed to get a point for just the second time in 24 games (18-2-4).Backes scored with 59 seconds left after Rask was replaced by an extra skater. But Ristolainen fired one nearly the length of the ice for his fifth of the season.Kane made it 1-0 when he broke in on a clean breakaway after Bruins forward David Pastrnak flubbed a pass near the right point and Sam Reinhart passed the puck to the winger. Kane fired a hard wrist shot that beat Rask on the glove side inside the right post 7:44 into the second.Wilson made it 2-0 just over five minutes later when he collected a loose puck that was blocked by Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid and slipped a wrist shot into the net.Spooner’s goal sliced the lead in half before Pouliot one-timed Wilson’s pass by Rask at the end of a 3-on-1 break with 71 seconds left in the second.Rask made a pair of nice pad stops in a relatively quiet opening period. Boston’s first shot on goal by a forward came in the final minute.NOTES: Kane’s goal snapped his 10-game scoreless stretch. … Sabres C Jacob Josefson played his 300th NHL game. … Bruins D Kevan Miller missed his fourth straight game because of an upper-body injury. … The teams play again Feb. 25 in their final regular-season matchup.UP NEXTSabres: Host Colorado on Sunday. They beat the Avalanche in the only other meeting this season.Bruins: At New Jersey on Sunday. Boston won the first meeting, at home on Jan. 23.