Maybe this scoring by committee thing can actually work.

The Stars worked their strategy to a tee Friday, getting goals from Niklas Hagman, Joel Lundqvist, Brenden Morrow and Sergei Zubov in a 4-1 win over the Boston Bruins in the home opener at American Airlines Center.

But just as important as who scored was how they scored. Hagman made a slick, backhand goal while playing on a line with Jere Lehtinen and Jussi Jokinen. Morrow converted a beautiful pass from Zubov into an off-wing one-timer (maybe one of the most skilled goals of his career). The Stars' captain then went hard to the net and set the screen for Zubov's goal on the power play.

Finally, Lundqvist whipped in a one-timer from the slot with a defender draped all over him. The man who sent him the deft pass? How about rookie defenseman Matt Niskanen, who finished with two assists on the night.

"We need guys chipping in," coach Dave Tippett said. "You look at the opportunities they had, and they're hard-working opportunities. You can get that throughout the lineup."

Of course, the Stars are hoping to mix that hard work with skill. Lundqvist showed he can score "goal scorer's goals" in last season's playoffs. The quick conversion of the Niskanen pass in the first period was a goal scorer's goal. Hagman is a guy who, with 17 goals last season, showed he has the skill to score. Tippett said Hagman can do even more.

"He's a good player, he's quick, he's a confident player right now," Tippett said. "We think he can be 20-plus."

Even Morrow is showing he can score from beyond the 10-foot range that he has joked is his limit.

To be fair, the Bruins aren't a great team, so the performance has to be taken with a grain of salt. When told the Stars looked like a different team than they did in a 4-3 loss to Colorado in the season opener, Mike Modano chuckled a little.

"Well, Colorado is a little better with the puck than Boston," said Modano, who got his first point of the season with an assist in the second period. "So it was a little bit different tale of two teams."

Still, it was a game at home the Stars needed to win. They needed a good "bounce-back" game from Marty Turco, and they got it. Turco had 24 saves and was the backbone of a quiet, confident team game. The Stars needed to establish some dominance at home and started off well (bringing the announced sellout crowd to its feet on several occasions). They also needed to get two points in the standings before heading to Nashville tonight for their third game in four nights.

"It was just a good team game," Turco said.

Turco, for one, admitted it was nice to play with a lead instead of chasing the game. He added that it was important the team didn't just sit on one or two goals. It pushed to extend the lead.

"We want to stress that this year," he said.

The Stars can do that, he said, by concentrating on this scoring by committee theory.

"There's been a lot said about the modest changes to our club, but we feel there have been changes," Turco said. "We feel the dynamic has changed. We're not scared to put anybody out there at any time. We feel that there are no weaknesses at all."

At 1-1-0, that theory has to be proved, but the Stars, who have scored seven goals in two games, believe they are better equipped to try to prove it

"We think we can score," Modano said. "We've always been a good defending team, but when we have a chance to make plays now, we need to be able to make them."