The Dallas Stars came into this game against the Columbus Blue Jackets looking to gain the two points and have hope for their post season. But with Detroit topping the Nashville Predators with a 5-2 win, the game against the Blue Jackets would no longer matter. The Stars will now close out the regular season against the Detroit Red Wings and look to use their off-season to not only get stronger but find a few new pieces to the puzzle that they hope will make a contending play-off team in the 2013-2014 season.

First Period:

It would only take 19 seconds for Columbus to get on the board with a shot from Cam Atkinson, assisted by Blake Comeau and Brandon Dubinsky. Soon after at 6:54 Eric Nystrom would drop the gloves with defencemen Dalton Sprout with Nystrom clearly landing the better of punches. Both would sit for the next five as their respective teams battled to stay alive. At the end of the first the Stars would be outshot 12-10.

Second Period:

With the Stars future still up in the air the team would come back to play their hardest like every night. They would tie the game on a power play goal from Jamie Benn, with the assists going to Eric Cole and Ray Whitney at 8:43 in the period. This time the period would end with the stars out shooting the Blue Jackets 15-10 for a two period total of 25-22.

Third Period:

It would be during the second intermission that Stars coaching staff would learn of Detroits win. But the team come back for the third ready to do what it takes and keep on fighting, but Columbus would take the lead with two power play goals. The first at 7:56 in the period with Stephane Robidas in the box for inference, from Mark Letestu and Brandon Dubinsky. And again late in the period with Eric Nystrom in the box for interference, the Blue Jackets would take a 3-1 lead at 18:20 with Cam Atkinson scoring his second of the night from Jack Johnson and Dalton Prout.

Notes:

- Head coach Glen Gulutzan said in the press conference that coaching staff knew of Detroits win after the second.

- He also said that players were not told, and locker room TVs were all off, but seems to think a majority of them had found out from other media outlets.

- Aaron Rome was out of the line up as he has  been battling a hip issue that will require surgery to repair.

Riding the momentum of an epic win Sunday against San Jose, the Stars needed any kind of spark in their game tonight against the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings are 8-1-1 in their last ten games against the Stars in the American Airlines Center, and with players like Justin Williams and Jeff Carter playing really hot right now and Jonathan Quick looking like the MVP he was last season, the Stars certainly looked to have their hands full tonight, but as the young players have stepped up the past few games tonight the veterans took charge and lead the Stars to a 5-1 victory over Los Angeles.

First Period

It didn’t take long and the Stars were already on the penalty kill as Loui Eriksson took a double minor for high sticking only 34 seconds into the game. Los Angeles didn’t take long on converting the first powerplay into a goal as Drew Doughty scored his fourth of the season. Dallas killed off the second opportunity and began to grind their way back into this game with physical play. Dallas dominated the last ten minutes of the period and were able to draw the Los Angeles Kings into two penalties they didn’t score on the first one, but six seconds after it expired Alex Goligoski scored his second goal of the season on a slapshot from the point tying the game at one. At the 14:18 mark of the period the game went into a tv timeout and during the break, Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen had skated off the ice and went down the Stars’ tunnel with the teams medical staff and Richard Bachman had entered the game. Bachman had a combined 34 1/2 minutes played in his previous two games and hadn’t had a start since February 26th. Dallas made it the rest of the period allowing three shots on Bachman in the final five minutes of the period. The Kings and Stars were tied at one after one period.

Second Period

No goals were scored in the second, but none the less this period was one of the best the Stars played all season. The Stars penalty kill was really put to the test this period as an Aaron Rome double-minor for high sticking put the Stars in a corner, but a round of applause to Richard Bachman, Eric Nystrom, Vernon Fiddler, Alex Goligoski, Stephane Robidas, Trevor Daley, Brenden Dillon, Cody Eakin, and Eric Cole as they kept the Stars in the game and gave them a big momentum push killing off two penalties in the second period and not really allowing a premium scoring chance for the Kings. Dallas faced 17 LA shots in the period and eight on the powerplay, but they stood strong and kept the game tied at one going into the third period.

Third Period

The Stars opening rush into the offensive zone paid off greatly as Alex Chiasson set up Ray Whitney for his eighth goal of the season just 52 seconds into the period. This seemed to have a domino effect on the Kings as Dallas scored three additional goals this period, including another one by Ray Whitney and two by Vernon Fiddler. Dallas dominated Los Angeles in the third period and shut them down to just five shots giving Richard Bachman 22 saves on 22 shots as the Stars defeated the Los Angeles Kings 5-1.

Game Extras

• Congratulations to Ed Belfour who was named as a member of the 20th Anniversary Team
• Kari Lehtonen left tonight’s game with a “Lower Body Injury” and will be re-evaluated Wednesday.
• PLAYOFF WATCH: With tonight’s win Dallas leapfrogs over Columbus to ninth place in the west and only two points behind eighth place Detroit, and nine games remaining this season and the regular season finale will be against Detroit this year.
• Stephane Robidas and Trevor Daley both ended tonights game a +4 on the scoresheet. The +4 brings Daley and Robidas to an even 0 on the season.
• With tonight’s win Richard Bachman has won his last three decisions in a row including the game against the Minnesota Wild where he played a full 2:32 to pick up the win.
• Kings’ player names you heard a lot of tonight: Regehr, Richards, and Quick. Names you didn’t hear a lot of: Kopitar, Carter, Williams
• Official Attendance for tonight’s game: 16,367
• Three Stars of the Game chosen by John Tranchina of the Associated Press: 1. Ray Whitney 2. Vernon Fiddler 3. Stephane Robidas
• Keep Dallas Pesky honorable mention to Richard Bachman as he made 22 saves on 22 King shots in relief of Kari Lehtonen tonight.
• The Stars have a couple of days off before they travel to Music City to finish their season series against the Nashville Predators Friday, puck drops at 7:00 pm

Things have not been going well for the Stars lately, the are in the middle of a three game losing streak and have lost four of the last five scoring only 12 goals as a team in that span. Tonight they finished their season series against Pacific Division leading Anaheim tonight. Tonight was the third game in a row between the two teams with Anaheim taking the first two in a convincing fashion. Tonight however Anaheim was different as their captain Ryan Getzlaf would miss tonight’s game after an akward fall he took in Wednesday night’s game. The Ducks certainly missed their captain who had five points in the first two games against the Stars this week as Dallas ends their losing streak in a convincing fashion.

First Period

The game started off similar to the previous two against the Ducks as the Stars had problems clearing the puck from their own zone and were creating many turnovers in the period. Kari Lehtonen was sharp in erasing Dallas’ mistakes in the opening half of the period. A play out of nowhere gave Dallas their first goal of the game at the 9:03 mark of the period when Lane MacDermid scored his second goal as a Star as he and Antoine Roussel crashed the Anaheim net and MacDermid finished the play with a nice backhand shot. Dallas didn’t keep their lead for long as 18 seconds later, Andrew Cogliano got a tip-in goal after a puck took an odd bounce around Kari Lehtonen and that quick the game was tied at one. The game picked up physically as these teams looked like they had played the past two games against each other, eventually producing a fight against Antoine Roussel and Emerson Etem. At the same time of the fight, Lane MacDermid was called for a high sticking penalty. On the ensuing powerplay it only took thirteen seconds for a goal to be scored, but it was Dallas scoring the goal as Eric Nystrom hustled down a cleared puck beating Anaheim goaltender Viktor Fasth to the puck and having an open net to shoot at giving Dallas a 2-1 lead. The game got more intense as the period moved along, Anaheim became frustrated with Dallas and started to take penalties because of it all the time in the offensive zone eventually paid off for the Stars as the newest Stars rookie Alex Chiasson scored his first of his NHL career tipping in a Vernon Fiddler pass. Dallas dominated the final ten minutes of the first period and helped themselves to a 3-1 first period lead.

Second Period

Dallas looked to keep their tendencies for bad second periods behind them this game as this was needed, because Anaheim is one of the best second period teams in the league. Dallas caught breaks early in the period as a double minor was called on Anaheim’s Matt Belesky. Dallas didn’t score on the powerplay opportunity, but they kept Anaheim pinned in their own zone for the majority of the time. Anaheim used the momentum of the penalty kill to counter attack in the Dallas zone. Two powerplay opportunities for the Ducks in the last ten minutes of the period pushed the Anaheim attack, but the Stars penalty kill and Kari Lehtonen completely buckled down and allowed nothing. The Stars were out shot 9-6 in the period, but kept their 3-1 lead intact.

Third Period

Dallas looked to protect the lead and play strong defensive hockey in the final period, Anaheim tried to create offensive chances, but the Stars defense stopped all their attempts and Kari Lehtonen saved all shot attempts. Late period penalties put the nails on the coffin of the Ducks comeback attempt as Dallas was able to win in Anaheim 3-1.

Game Extras

• Congratulations to Alex Chiasson who scored his first career NHL goal tonight.
• Get well soon to Lane MacDermid who left early in the first period with a “upper body injury”
• Well Dallas went 2-2-1 against the Pacific Division leading Anaheim Ducks this season.
• Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan were not as effective tonight with Ryan Getzlaf out of the lineup.
• First time since March 23rd that Dallas has allowed 2 or fewer goals.
• Three Stars of the game: 1. Kari Lehtonen 2. Corey Perry 3. Stephane Robidas
• The Stars continue their string of games against the Pacific Division as San Jose is the next stop for the Stars, Puck drops at 3:00 pm.

The final game of the Dallas Stars’ big homestand would be the first of three in a row against the Pacific Division leading Anaheim Ducks. Dallas is still in the hunt for a playoff spot and this week will really test them against one of the best in the west. Glen Gulutzan said that the Stars would be all out today after falling flat against the Kings on Sunday and it looked that way after one period, but the Stars couldn’t provide a full sixty minutes tonight.

First Period

The Dallas Stars set a physical tone in the first period as Jamie Benn, Eric Nystrom, and AHL call up Francis Wathier took a hit on a white jersey whenever they could and made Anaheim work for every inch of ice they got. Dallas looked to create offense as well, Loui Eriksson had the best opportunities for the Stars in the first period as he had a couple of good looks at Anaheim goalie Viktor Fasth.  Anaheim did get shots on Dallas goalie Kari Lehtonen, but Lehtonen looked sharp in the beginning. After one period Anaheim outshot Dallas 9-6, but the score was tied 0-0.

Second Period

Dallas kept the pressure on Anaheim in the second period resulting in the Stars earning two shots on the powerplay, which they didn’t convert on, but they created some great opportunities. Soon after Anaheim received their first shot on the powerplay off a Stephane Robidas hooking minor, and the offense ignited for the Ducks. The first Duck goal was on the powerplay as Cam Fowler and Ryan Getzlaf set Bobby Ryan up for an excellent shot which he fired past Kari Lehtonen for his tenth goal of the season. A little over two minutes later at the 12:52 mark of the period the Ducks struck again as Bobby Ryan from behind the Dallas net found a streaking Corey Perry and set Perry up for goal number twelve this season. The Ducks final goal of the period came at the 15:02 mark of the period as Matt Belesky finished his own play he created with a backhand shot giving the Ducks a 3-0 lead after two periods.

Third Period

Dallas had opportunities to get back into the game throughout the third period including two chances on the powerplay, but couldn’t get any offense going. Anaheim’s Teemu Selanne added an empty net goal at the end of the game to give Anaheim a dominant 4-0 victory over Dallas to end their five game homestand.

Game Extras

• Congratulations to Stu Barnes who was announced as a member of the 20th anniversary team
• An attempted April Fools prank by the Stars in which they were unveiling their “new jerseys” which were just the old Mooterus jerseys did not go well with the fans tonight.
• Season debut of Francis Wathier as he was recalled to bring some size and toughness to the Stars lineup
• Tough not to notice the positive impact Sheldon Souray brings to the Ducks defensive core.
• Anaheim’s best players: Selanne, Getzlaf, Ryan, and Perry combined for six points tonight.
• Official game attendance: 13,748
• Three Stars of the Game chosen by Bruce Levine of KTCK 1310 The Ticket: 1. Bobby Ryan 2. Viktor Fasth 3. Ryan Getzlaf
• The Stars will travel to Anaheim to take on these same Ducks on Wednesday. Puck drops at 9:00 pm

Photo: Jerome Miron

Dallas with a big win against the Wild on Friday kept their playoff hopes alive entering today’s game. Dallas sat ninth in the conference just one point out of the eight spot in the conference. A win against Los Angeles would be huge for the Stars and they are very capable of doing so, as they have beat LA in their two previous meetings this season, and Los Angeles was coming off a game Saturday night against the Minnesota Wild.

First Period

The start was a rough one for the Stars as it only took 25 seconds for the Kings to get on the board, Jeff Carter shot a backhand that slowly floated past Kari Lehtonen, who didn’t even see the puck. The period did not go well for the Stars as Los Angeles dominated them in all aspects. The Stars were outshot 13-4 and on their best scoring opportunities they missed the net. Kari Lehtonen was a mistake eraser in the first, but his offense couldn’t get anything going as the Stars were lucky to be down 1-0 after the first period.

Second Period

The second wasn’t much better for the Stars, Los Angeles kept the puck in the Dallas zone for most of the period, and when Dallas had offensive opportunities they couldn’t make passes and they struggled to get shots on Los Angeles goaltender Jonathan Bernier. Dallas’ first shot of the period didn’t come until the 13:16 mark of the period and they made it count as Alex Goligoski made a Zubov-like pass to Jamie Benn who went right to Bernier and slipped a backhand shot five hole to tie the game at one. Dallas managed to get three more shots off by the period’s end, but at this point the shots were 31-8 in favor of the Kings as Lehtonen kept the Stars in the game after two.

Third Period

It looked as if Dallas was just hoping for overtime this game as they just didn’t seem to have it. Los Angeles kept them pinned in their zone often and it eventually cost them, as a bad pass by Tomas Vincour turned into a turnover and Kyle Clifford was able to set up Brad Richardson for his first goal of the season. It went from bad to worse as just 1:09 later LA added another goal as the Kings crashed the net on an offensive attack and Justin Williams got the goal, giving the Kings a 3-1 lead with just over 13 minutes remaining in the period. Dallas got an opportunity to get back in the game as Mike Richards took a penalty midway through the period, and Dallas took advantage on the powerplay as Ray Whitney scored his seventh goal of the season. Dallas offensive zone problems continued and Jonathan Bernier only faced 15 Dallas shots the entire game as the LA Kings skate out of Dallas victorious, 3-2 in regulation.

Game Extras

• Congratulations to Brett Hull, who was named to the Dallas Stars 20th anniversary team
• HAPPY EASTER FROM KEEP DALLAS PESKY!
• Stars’ center Vernon Fiddler was not in today’s game, due to an injury he suffered against the Wild on Friday. The first game Fiddler has missed as a member of the Stars.
• Toby Petersen was recalled from the AHL and played in Fiddler’s spot today, his last NHL game was exactly one year ago today against the San Jose Sharks.
• Nobody on the Stars got over two shots on goal, Jake Muzzin led the Kings with five.
• Official game attendance: 15,719
• Three Stars of the Game chosen by Mark Stepneski of DallasStars.com: 1. Brad Richardson 2. Kari Lehtonen 3. Anze Kopitar
• The homestand finishes for the Stars tomorrow as the Anaheim Ducks come to town for the first of three in a row against the Ducks. Puck drops at 7:30

Dallas meets Minnesota tonight in a rematch from Monday night’s disastrous defeat. Monday’s loss pushed Dallas back down to tenth in the western conference. With a huge amount of Pacific Division games on the horizon Dallas needed to start winning and looked to start tonight.

First Period

Dallas opened the game establishing control of the puck in the Minnesota zone as they were sending a message to Wild goaltender Matt Hackett that tonight was not gonna be an easy game. Dallas’ pressure paid off early as Mikko Koivu took an early period penalty that put Dallas on their first powerplay of the game. Off an offensive face-off win by Jamie Benn, Ray Whitney had a slap shot set up for him and he fired the puck past Hackett for his sixth goal of the season. Dallas continued to apply offensive zone pressure and soon were rewarded with another goal at the 7:31 mark of the period when Tomas Vincour scored his second goal of the season. Dallas looked to have dominated the period outshooting the Wild 17-7 , but a costly mistake by Alex Goligoski led to a Wild goal as noted Stars killer Devin Setoguchi scored goal number twelve this season at the 18:48 mark or the period. The first period ended with the Stars up 2-1.

Second Period

It was another struggling second period for the Stars as Minnesota bounced back this period, and Dallas continued with their second period woes. The Wild tied the game on the powerplay off Jared Sturgeon’s fifth goal of the season after an undisciplined roughing minor by Brenden Dillon. Minnesota carried the momentum this period and until the final minutes when Dallas made an offensive push and the trio of Eric Nystrom, Jamie Benn and Jaromir Jagr almost took the lead right back, but outstanding saves by Matt Hackett kept the game tied at two after two periods.

Third Period

Dallas immediately went on the attack in the Minnesota zone to open the third and it didn’t take them long to score as Eric Cole scored his sixth goal of the season and third as a Star just over a minute into the third period. Soon after the goal Minnesota got into penalty trouble as Mikko Koivu and Ryan Suter were both called for seperate minors at the same time giving Dallas an early period 5-on-3 man advantage. It took Dallas only 10 seconds into the first powerplay to score as Jaromir Jagr passed to Ray Whitney, who drew two of the Minnesota defenders, passed to Jamie Benn who shot the puck into a wide open net as Hackett had commited to Whitney taking a shot. Benn’s goal was his seventh of the season and first in over a month, and the second assist which went to Jaromir Jagr was career assist number 1,000. Minnesota could not stay out of penalty trouble and their penalty kill didn’t bail them out. Dallas’ powerplay struck again at the 12:40 mark of the period as Cody Eakin scored his sixth goal of the season. Soon after the Eakin goal, Minnesota’s fourth line came out and was looking to let out some frustration. Zenon Konopka grabbed a hold of Reilly Smith and after trying to shove him into the Wild bench, Konopka dropped his gloves and started throwing punches causing all players from both teams on the ice to get involved. The scrum resulted in three game misconducts as Zenon Konopka was sent away, as was Mike Rupp from Minnesota who was throwing punches at Jaromir Jagr trying to draw him into a fight, Antoine Roussel was given a game misconduct as a result of coming to the aide of Reilly Smith.  Soon after the big scrum ensued Eric Nystrom was on the ice for the Stars and looking to respond to Minnesota’s aggresive play and challenged defenseman Justin Falk to a fight, as the Stars were not gonna end this game quietly. The rest of the period went without a spark as Minnesota did score another goal at the 19:00 mark, but Dallas’ big push on the powerplay in the third sealed the fate of the Minnesota Wild as Dallas wins this one 5-3.

Game Extras

• Congratulations to Mike Modano as he was named a member of the Dallas Stars’ 20th anniversary team
• Congratulations to Jaromir Jagr as the 12th player in NHL history to record 1,000 assist, and the first European born player.
• Richard Bachman recorded the win tonight. Kari Lehtonen was having an equipment issue in the third period and Richard Bachman came in relief. While Bachman was on the ice, Jamie Benn scored what would become the game-winning goal thus giving Bachman the win. Bachman played for two minutes and thirty-two seconds and didn’t face a shot on goal.
• Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise, and Ryan Suter, three of Minnesota’s best players combined for 1 point and four minor penalties.
• Scoring Streaks: Jaromir Jagr’s four game goal streak came to an end, but he pushed his point streak to five games with assist 1,000 tonight.
• Jamie Benn’s goal tonight was his first since the Gordie Howe Hat Trick game against San Jose.
• Official Game Attendance- 17,376
• Official Three Stars of the game chosen by Mike Heika Dallas Stars Beat Writer for the Dallas Morning News: 1. Jaromir Jagr  2. Jamie Benn  3. Ray Whitney
• It’s an Easter showdown for the Stars in their next game as they continue their homestand against the Los Angeles Kings, puck drop at 5:00

The Stars haven’t been a great home team so far this season and they really needed to put that in the back of their heads tonight as they opened up a crucial five game homestand in their season finale against the Colorado Avalanche. These two teams just met last Tuesday in a game that was real chippy through out. Dallas sat in tenth place in the standings and a win tonight would push them back into the top eight of the Western Conference. Dallas put the pedal to the metal early in the game and put Colorado in a situation where they could not mount enough of a comeback.

First Period

The action started right off the first puckdrop as Colorado wanted to get the jump on Dallas early, but the Dallas players made a solid defensive stand on their first shift and created an offensive counter-attack which led to Derek Roy’s fourth goal of the season just 34 seconds into the period. Colorado is notably a bad first period team so Dallas needed to take advantage of it. As the first period moved along a skating game developed as the Avalanche attempted to use their bigger bodies to wear down the Stars and Kari Lehtonen, and the Dallas Stars played a defensive minded game and counter attacked.  Dallas got it’s first chance on the powerplay when Brenden Morrow drew a tripping call on Colorado forward Cody McLeod. Dallas didn’t need long to cash in on the man advantage as Jordie Benn and Eric Cole seemed to have both touch the puck and shoot it past Semyon Varlamov. The goal was credited to Jordie Benn at the 9:57 mark of the first period. Colorado outshot Dallas 11-10 in the period but the Stars possessed the 2-0 lead after the first.

Second Period

The Stars got off to a quick start in the second as well, it only took 58 seconds for them to score as Eric Nystrom who was line mates with Jaromir Jagr and Jamie Benn, scored his fourth goal of the season. Dallas kept the pressure on the Avalanche and soon it resulted in another goal as Cody Eakin got his fifth goal of the season, creating a 4-0 Dallas lead. That goal would mark the end of Semyon Varlamov’s night as he allowed four goals on fifteen shots. Old Stars rival J.S. Giguere would take the net for the remainder of the game. The Avalanche seemed to come alive with the goalie change as they were putting the Stars defense under more pressure, causing defensive zone turnovers and causing the Stars to play large amounts of time in their own zone. This was the cause of the Stars defeat last Wednesday against the Avalanche. The pressure soon cost the Stars as Brenden Dillon was in the box for holding the stick and Colorado scored on the ensuing powerplay as PA Parenteau scored his thirteenth goal of the season with just under one minute left in the period. After two periods the Stars still had a comfortable 4-1 lead.

Third Period

Colorado kept up their offensive zone pressure to begin the third, and again they cashed in with another goal as Paul Stastny scored his eighth goal of the season at the 1:37 mark of the third period. Dallas began to turn the period around with better defense, and making the game clock enemies of the Avalanche as well. An offensive push into the Colorado zone created the insurance goal the Stars needed to put the game away as Jaromir Jagr went behind the Colorado net and shot a wrap around that went off the skate of a Colorado defender and past JS Giguere. A little bit of a chippy end to the game as Brenden Dillon had possessed the attention of Cody McLeod and Shane O’Brien all game resulting in all three players getting misconducts. The Stars start an important homestand with a big win, defeating the Colorado Avalanche 5-2.

Game Extras

• Congratulations to Craig Ludwig who was named as a member of the Stars 20th anniversary all-time team
• Congratulations to Jordie Benn who scored his first NHL goal tonight.
• Streaks: Ray Whitney’s five game point streak came to an end tonight. Jaromir Jagr now has a three game goal streak and six points in his last three games
• Chasing 1000: Jaromir Jagr added an assist on the Eric Nystrom goal tonight giving him 999 career assist.
• Jamie Benn’s last goal was exactly one month ago, but in that span he is still producing with nine assists.
• Attendance count for the game: 17,311
• Official Three Stars of the Game chosen by Bob Sturm of KTCK 1310 The Ticket: 1. Derek Roy 2. Jordie Benn 3. Jaromir Jagr.
• Keep Dallas Pesky Honorable Mentions: Eric Nystrom and Jamie Benn
• The Stars continue their homestand Monday as Zach Parise and the Minnesota Wild play the Stars in the second of their three game set this season. Puck drops at 7:30

It was a day where nobody was really knew what was going to be expected tonight, at the beginning of the day we were expecting no Ray Whitney due to a injury suffered last night and possibly a Jack Campbell debut, but by game time Ray Whitney was ready to go and Kari would be in net hoping to bounce back after a couple of goals allowed by him led to a Stars defeat last night. The game didn’t look promising in the beginning, but Kari Lehtonen put on his Superman cape and kept Dallas in the game until they could steal it in the third period.

First Period

Los Angeles was all over Dallas in the first period, Kari Lehtonen was barraged with pucks and the Stars forwards and defenseman looked tired and were constantly taking hits as the Kings looked to wear down the Stars bodies early. Dallas didn’t help the cause with two penalties that needed to be killed. The Stars were able to hang on and muster five shots on goal that were no problem for Jonathan Quick. The Stars were outshot, out hit, and mostly out played in the first, but the score remained 0-0 after one period.

Second Period

More of the same from the first period occured in the second as Los Angeles kept the pressure on the Stars and waited on them just to break down. In the closing moments of the period the Stars fought back and established some time in the Los Angeles zone. Dallas was still outshot 18-10, but were keeping up their resilient play. At the end of two periods the game was still 0-0.

Third Period

The Stars used the third to strike back, Los Angeles was just unable to convert on their offensive chances, and the Stars used their failures to create counter attacks to the Kings’ zone. A great opportunity was created for Trevor Daley who was stoned by Jonathan Quick on a fantastic glove grab.  At the 6:34 mark the Stars resilient play finally paid off as Jamie Benn led a counter attack with Jaromir Jagr and Eric Nystrom at his side. Benn dropped the puck for Jagr who then fired a backhand off a King defender and behind Jonathan Quick. The Stars continued to prevent premium scoring chances for the Kings and Kari Lehtonen stopped all shots fired at him. Dallas got a support goal at the 10:34 mark of the period as Cody Eakin took a Dustin Brown hit to get the puck up ice and start a Dallas counter attack which finished with a Ray Whitney slap shot goal. That was more than enough offense as the Stars as Kari Lehtonen kept his shutout and beat the Kings 2-0 in Los Angeles.

Game Extras

• The Stars have won four in a row at Staples Center after tonight’s win
• Five game point streak for Ray Whitney with a goal tonight.
• Goal 677  and career point 1675 for Jaromir Jagr tonight
• First shutout of the season for Kari Lehtonen and career shutout 22.
• Alex Goligoski got his 15th assist on the season on the Ray Whitney goal.
• Philip Larsen made the lineup tonight in just his fourth game in the past month and played 11:27 all even strength time with three shots on goal.
• Second time this season that the Stars have won the second game of a back to back set. Something they only did once last season.
• Three Stars of the Game chosen by the LA Media: 1. Kari Lehtonen 2. Alex Goligoski 3. Jonathan Quick
• The Stars start a make or break homestand this Saturday as the Avalance roll in for the first of five games at the AAC for the Stars. Puck drops at 7:00 pm.

Bad isn’t a strong enough term to define this homestand, for the Stars, in the three previous games the Stars have mounted a total offense of two goals and have given up thirteen, so to say that offense was needed is an understatement. The latest trends for the Stars forced head coach Glen Gulutzan to do a lot of line shuffling and tonight the Stars lineup looked like this.

1. Ray Whitney    Jamie Benn  Loui Eriksson
2. Brenden Morrow    Derek Roy  Erik Cole
3. Reilly Smith    Cody Eakin   Jaromir Jagr
4. Eric Nystrom  Vernon Fiddler   Antoine Roussel

And on Defense

1. Stephane Robidas    Brenden Dillon
2. Trevor Daley      Alex Goligoski
3. Jordie Benn    Jamie Oleksiak

Philip Larsen remains a healthy scratch for the Stars and Ryan Garbutt is still out with his lower body injury. Kari Lehtonen started in net for the Stars and would go against Joey MacDonald for the Flames. Mikka Kiprusoff missed the game to be with his wife for the birth of a child.

First Period

Dallas had a sour taste in their mouth from the game against Chicago and they were quickly setting the tone for this game, they were quick to get shots on the net and were ready to scrap for rebounds and get any type of goal they could. Their hardwork paid off as the first goal came off a defensive mistake as an intended pass by Erik Cole went off a Calgary defender and past MacDonald for Cole’s fifth goal of the season and second as a member of the Stars. A little under three minutes later the fourth line was rewarded for constant good shifts in the offensive zone as Eric Nystrom put back a rebound for his third goal of the year, two of which have come against the Flames.  Kari Lehtonen also was rewarded with his second assist of the season. The Stars weren’t done as Loui Eriksson finished the first period off with another goal giving the Stars a 3-0 lead to end the opening frame.

Second Period

More of the same for the Stars in the opening half of the middle frame they continued to dominate Calgary, the Stars had a chance to increase their lead on the powerplay, but failed to do so. The second half of the period was a completely different story as the Stars were finding themselves in penalty trouble which opened the doors for Calgary to come right back into the game. Cody Eakin first received two minors (Interference, Roughing) for a hit on Matt Stajan that almost looked like kneeing. Cody Eakin and the penalty box got very familiar tonight as he also had a fighting major against Calgary captain Jarome Iginla, and his two minors in the second.  It took Calgary very little time to score on the ensuing powerplay as Jiri Hudler tipped in a TJ Brodie shot for his sixth goal of the season. The Flames were shortly on the powerplay again as Jordie Benn was sent to the box for tripping, and Calgary once again scored on the powerplay as Jay Bouwmeester fired a backhand past Kari Lehtonen and cutting Dallas’ lead to one. Calgary had Dallas on it’s heels this period as they made it a hockey game again, 3-2 Stars after two periods.

Third Period

The Stars were looking for a way to make space between them and the Flames, and a break finally came for them as Loui Eriksson got his second goal of the game and gave the Stars a 4-2 lead with 7:54 left in the game. The two goal lead was short-lived however as Alex Tanguay completely blew by the Dallas defense and netted a backhander for his ninth goal of the season. Dallas put together a strong defense with just under five minutes left in the game. Their defense paid off as Calgary was unable to get a decent shot on net and the Stars were able to hang on and get a victory in the homestand defeating the Calgary Flames 4-3.

Game Extras

• Congratulations to Guy Carbonneau as he was named to the Dallas Stars 20th Anniversary all-time team
• A great game for the Stars as nobody was a minus tonight.
• Ray Whitney is on a three game point streak
• The Stars best players led them to victory tonight. Jamie Benn: 1 assist  Jaromir Jagr: 3 shots  Loui Eriksson: 2 goals  Ray Whitney: 2 assists  Derek Roy: 1 assist
• Congratulations to the Kiprusoff family on the birth of their new son.
• Tonight’s official attendance: 16,057
• Official Three Stars of the Game chosen by Bruce Levine of KTCK 1310 The Ticket.  1. Loui Eriksson 2. Ray Whitney  3. Eric Nystrom
• The Stars will now hit the road for two in their hunt to get back into the playoffs, on Wednesday the Stars will play the Colorado Avalanche, puckdrop at 8:30

The Stars enter game two of a four game homestand on a two game losing streak and in need of points to keep up with the rest of the Western Conference. Tonight the Stars faced off against the Anaheim Ducks, in their last meeting the Stars dominated the Ducks in a 3-1 victory. Anaheim has been hot all season being just four points behind Chicago for first in the West. Stars Captain Brenden Morrow made an unexpected return to the lineup after missing the past two games with a groin injury. The Stars are still without center Jamie Benn who sits out with a wrist injury. Dallas played their heart out tonight, but in the end just didn’t have enough fire power to capitalize on their scoring chances.

First Period

A real back and forth game developed in the first period as the Stars and Ducks traded chances back and forth. Goaltenders Kari Lehtonen and Jonas Hiller put on a show making unbelievable stops. The Stars were the first to score in the game as Ray Whitney scored his first since returning from injury off of a broken play and giving Dallas a first period lead. The first period was pretty even, but the Stars led the Ducks 1-0 after one.

Second Period

Anaheim came ready for the second period. They had an early period powerplay after Vernon Fiddler was given an extra roughing minor after engaging in a fight with Luca Sbisa. The Ducks didn’t convert on the powerplay but they did have momentum on their side. At the 7:28 mark of the period Andrew Cogliano tied the game on his tenth goal of the year after he put back a rebound from an amazing Kari Lehtonen save. After the goal Dallas had opportunities to tie the game including a post hit by Reilly Smith, many chances for Loui Eriksson, and a controversial call when Jonas Hiller coughed up an enormous rebound and Derek Roy stuffed it behind Hiller and into the net, but the refs had quickly blown the play dead so no goal for the Stars.  Anaheim kept Dallas on their heels in the second and had a tie game going into the final period.

Third Period

Dallas had many opportunities to take back the lead including two power play opportunities. The best chance for the Stars came on their second powerplay of the period as Jaromir Jagr sounded the goal horn, but he also hit the post and the puck went out. The Stars peppered Jonas Hiller with 12 shots in the period, but couldn’t get one past him and the game went into overtime tied at one.

Overtime/Shootout

Neither team took a big momentum push in the overtime period, The Stars got four shots to Anaheim’s one, but nothing too threatening. The game went to a shootout.

• Bobby Ryan went first for the Ducks and scored on a smooth backhand move.
• Loui Eriksson went first for the Stars and tried the Jussi Jokinen sweep to the backhand, but Hiller made the save.
• Teemu Selanne went next for the Ducks, but missed the net on a forehand shot.
• Ray Whitney went second for the Stars and also missed the net on a forehand shot.
• Ryan Getzlaf went third for the Ducks and started wide and went with a sweeping move to his backhand and shot the puck past Kari Lehtonen giving the Ducks a 2-1 victory in a shootout.

Game Extras

• Congratulations to Steve Ott who was named as a member of the 20th Anniversary Team.
• The referees for tonight’s game were Kevin Pollock and Marc Joannette and the Linesmen were John Grandt, and Bryan Pancich
• All though Dallas had some questionable calls go against them, they still went 0-for-5 on the powerplay.
• The Stars really missed Jamie Benn this game, on some of their powerplays they had Eric Cole, Jaromir Jagr, and Ray Whitney as the forward set, but none of whom play center.
• This is the second time this season Dallas has had a three game losing streak.
• Tonight’s attendance announced at 15,775
• Official Three Stars of the game chosen by Mark Stepneski of StarsInsideEdge.com: 1. Jonas Hiller 2. Kari Lehtonen 3. Ryan Getzlaf