Most of that had to do with the Stars, who played well. They skated hard, moved the puck well and limited the scoring opportunities for the Flyers. Most off the puck battles went to the Stars, who just seemed to have more jump in this game than the Flyers.

The Stars, who looked like they were running on empty at times Friday night in Pittsburgh, were an efficient machine Saturday in Philadelphia.

"We have a very strong group here and there's never an excuse for not winning," said Stars coach Dave Tippett. "We recognize the fact that we have some guys who are tired and we throw all that on the table and make sure that that's not an excuse."

Said Flyers coach John Stevens: "We got overwhelmed with their work."

The Flyers looked flat and a step behind even after they had grabbed the early lead in the game. The Stars, on the other hand, didn't look like a team that was running on fumes as it approached the end of a long road trip. They were simply efficient.

Marty Turco wasn't exactly busy in net. The guys in front of him made sure of that. Other than the  strange goal by Randy Jones, who scored off a shot from the corner 41 seconds into the game, the Flyers didn't get many chances in the game.

The Stars' first two goals - scored by Jeff Halpern and Jussi Jokinen - came via the simple formula: get pucks and bodies to the net. Both Halpern and Jokinen went to the net and deflected shots past Flyers goalie Martin Biron.

The power play took care of the rest of the offense. The Stars' power play, which had struggled the past few games, came up big in this game.

Even though it missed the first two times it kept up the pressure and helped build some momentum. The third and fourth times it cashed in with goals.

Antti Miettinen, back in the game, made a nice play to fake a shot and then skate into the right circle to score the first one. Brenden Morrow forced a turnover to set up Mike Ribeiro on the second one.

"It’s one thing to draw [power plays] and get momentum off drawing them, but when you’re scoring on them that’s a key part of the game,” said Stars coach Dave Tippett. "There are parts of the game we had to maximize our energy and special teams were one of them. I thought we did a very good job."

The penalty kill continues to excel, going a perfect 3-3 Saturday night.

Overall it was a big win for the Stars, who seemed ripe for the picking after Friday night's loss in Pittsburgh. The Stars showed some resolve, found their legs and played a solid game.

"Tonight was a great team effort," Turco said. "It was nothing spectacular, but great nonetheless. We did the little things to win the hockey game."

Said Tippett: "This was the best game we played on this trip. I hope we can carry this momentum over to Columbus."

The Stars improve to 3-2-0 on the road trip, which wraps up Monday in Columbus. They are assured of at least a .500 record on the overall trip and finished with a solid six of ten points against a very tough slate of games against the Atlantic Division.

Flyers forward Riley Cote on his elbow to the head of Stars defenseman Matt Niskanen late in the game. Riley received a match penalty for the hit.

• Antti Miettinen, who returned from a groin injury,  did not play in the third period. He was held out as a precaution.
• The Stars didn't register their first shot of the game until 10:02 of the first period.
• Saturday's win was the Stars' first in Philadelphia since March 8, 1994.
• Janos Vas' power play goal with 5:49 left in regulation snapped a 2-2 tie and lifted the Iowa Stars to a 3-2 win in Chicago Saturday night. Toby Petersen had a goal and two assists and Junior Lessard scored a goal and chipped in an assist. Tobias Stephan made 21 saves.