Stars honour slain Dallas officers before, during NHL opener

Dallas Stars left wing Antoine Roussel (21) skates with the puck against Anaheim Ducks defenseman Sami Vatanen (45) . (LM Otero/AP)

DALLAS — The Stars honoured five officers slain in downtown Dallas this summer by wearing decals of their badges on their helmets during the season opener Thursday night.

Family members of two of the slain officers, Dallas police Sgt. Michael Smith and the Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer Brent Thompson, participated in the pregame ceremonial puck drop. The captains for both teams, Jamie Benn of the Stars and Ryan Getzlaf of the visiting Anaheim Ducks, joined them at centre ice.

When introduced, the families got a long and loud ovation in the arena only a few blocks from where the five officers were killed by a sniper on July 7.

The other officers killed were Dallas police Sr. Cpl. Lorne Ahrens and Dallas police officers Michael Krol and Patrick Zamarripa.

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