With the Stars having traveled from California on Friday and then facing an afternoon tilt Saturday afternoon, Smith turned in a sparkling 29-save performance as the Stars beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 at the American Airlines Center.

It reminded coach Dave Tippett of a situation back in November when the Stars had a long flight out east and an afternoon game at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers.

"The exact same thing happened when he had to fly four hours and play an afternoon game in New York earlier this year. Smitty was outstanding," Tippett said of Smith's 39-save performance back in November. "We flew four hours yesterday, a one o'clock game and Smitty was outstanding. That's four points to our favor. Thank you."

Smith was sharp throughout the game, but especially so in the second period when the Blue Jackets made a strong push. He had a couple of big stops on Rick Nash and a nice one on Jiri Novotny.

"He's worked hard in practice. When you are not getting a lot of starts you've got to get that game time in practice," said Tippett. "Smitty has worked very hard."

Smith's last start came on January 10. His last win was on December 29. He came into the game on a personal three-game losing streak.

"It's been a long time since I got one in the win column," Smith said on the Stars broadcast after the game. "I was just doing every I could to battle and giving the boys a chance. We were fortunate to get a few there and got a big win."

Those big saves in the second came as the Stars protected a one-goal lead at the time. The Stars had one goal on four shots at that point, a Brenden Morrow tally off a pretty no-look pass from Antti Miettinen.

The Stars made it a 2-0 game on shot number five when Stu Barnes, wide open in front of the Columbus net, took a pass from Krys Barch and beat a helpless Fredrik Norrena.

Two goals on five shots summed up the other story of the day besides Smith: the Stars made the most of their opportunities. The third goal came when Steve Ott finished off a four-on-two rush in the third period to put the Stars up 3-1.

"We were opportunistic, we were efficient. However you want to put it, that's what we were," said Tippett.

Smith's big saves and the Stars' ability to make the most of their opportunities got them the win against a Columbus team that had the better of play at times.

"It wasn't the best game for us today, but the bottom line is that we got two points," said Stars captain Brenden Morrow. We have a lot of guys right now with some spark and that is really bringing us some energy."

It all added up to a gritty win for a team that looked like it was running low on energy and playing a team that had been waiting for them in Dallas.

"You can't imagine how difficult that is. I give our players a lot of credit," said Tippett. "Columbus is here yesterday and has a practice to get ready for the game. We get in late. It is what it is. I give our guys a lot of credit, especially Smitty, for going in there and finding a way to get points."

And they were big points. The Stars kept pace with Pacific Division leading Anaheim, Sunday's opponent at the AAC, and created separation with Columbus, one of the teams chasing them in the Western Conference standings.

"The standings are real tight right now and we can't give away home games," said Ott. "We had a big effort from Mike Smith too keep us in there and tomorrow it doesn't get any easier because we've got another afternoon game."

And it's against the Ducks, who are on a roll right now.

• Stars defenseman Sergei Zubov missed the game due to injury. He will have an MRI on Monday and will be re-evaluated then.
   
• Forward B.J. Crombeen played in his first NHL game Saturday afternoon. He was a plus-one, had three hits and picked up a fighting major.
   
• The Stars are 21-3-3 all-time against the Columbus Blue Jackets.