Fabian Brunnstrom scored three goals in his NHL debut to match the league record, Mike Modano had two goals and the Dallas Stars beat the Nashville Predators 6-4 on Wednesday night for their first victory of the season.

Brunnstrom broke a 4-4 tie with 3:25 left when he struck from close range off a feed from Brad Richards. The Swede became the third player in NHL history to score a hat trick in his first game, joining Alex Smart of the Montreal Canadiens (Jan. 14, 1943) and Real Cloutier of the Quebec Nordiques (Oct. 10, 1979).

Modano's empty-netter _ the 530th goal of his career _ sealed the win with 3.3 seconds left.

Martin Erat tied it at 4 for Nashville with 9:01 left in the third period on a goal upheld on video review. Marty Turco stopped Erat's rebound attempt, but replays showed the puck was over the goal line when Turco controlled it.

Brunnstrom gave Dallas a 4-3 advantage at 14:13 of the second period after Ryan Jones' first career goal 23 seconds earlier had drawn the Predators even.

Brunnstrom scored from the slot for his first career goal at 11:45 of the second period for a 3-2 lead.

The Stars outbid several NHL teams in May to sign the skilled Swedish left wing, but Brunnstrom was a healthy scratch in Dallas' first two games.

Stephane Robidas added a power-play goal for Dallas (1-1-1).

Radek Bonk and Patric Hornqvist also scored for Nashville. Continued...