Stars blow by Blue Jackets 7-3, run winning streak to four games
/Andrew's Dallas Stars Page
The Dallas Stars' push up the Western Conference standings continued Saturday night and by the end of the night they were in a playoff spot. For the second straight game the Stars chased a starting goalie with three first period goals and Saturday they added four more, beating the Columbus Blue Jackets 7-3 at Nationwide Arena.
The win was the fourth straight for the Stars, pushed them five games over .500 at 23-18-7 and gave them a spot in the top eight in the conference based regular season tiebreakers. They are tied with several teams at 53 points, but with fewer games played than everyone but Edmonton, the Stars were in 7th at the end of the night.
Not bad for a team that was sitting in last place in the conference at the end of November. The Stars are 16-7-3 since November 30.
"The way the team's banded together to play a certain way is most important," Stars goalie Marty Turco said. "We're going to need to continue to do this. Even tonight when they started scoring you didn't see too much panic in our game.
"I felt like we were in control for most of the game - and that's the way we like it."
The Stars got the early lead but then had to hold off several strong pushes from the Blue Jackets, who cut the lead to 3-2 early in the second period and had some strong momentum going their way. The Stars didn't crack and were able to extend the lead.
"We were opportunistic early," Stars coach Dave Tippett said. "We had the early lead and the game was probably played even. [James] Neal's goal to push the lead to [4-2] was a huge goal. After that, anytime they had any kind of push, we were able to rebuff it and get one back on the board and push the game along."
Neal led the charge for the Stars, scoring two goals and adding an assist. Loui Eriksson, Brian Sutherby, Steve Ott, Trevor Daley and Andrew Hutchinson also scored for the Stars. Mike Modano had two assists and Turco stopped 35 of 38 shots for his 22nd win of the season.
"Turcs comes up with save after save. That's what you need if you're going to win," Neal said. "He's putting some real solid games together. We're responding and playing good hockey. It's a good feeling around here. It's fun and guys are playing well."
Neal's goal off the rebound of a Matt Niskanen shot 5:58 into the game put the Stars up 1-0 and was the first of three Dallas goals in a span of 4:45 that would chase Columbus' sensational rookie goaltender Steve Mason.
Eriksson scored off the rush at 8:22 when he got his own blocked pass back and flipped the puck past Mason. A key turning point in the game may have come on the Stars' third goal. Just moments after Blue Jackets forward Manny Malhotra hit the post, the Stars moved up ice and Sutherby scored off a rebound off the endboards to make it 3-0 just 10:43 into the game. That was it for Mason, who was replaced by Wade Dubielewicz.
"Mason was pulled because of his performance and to change the tempo of the game." Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock said.
The Blue Jackets got a goal from Kristian Huselius late in the first and a power play goal from Fedor Tyutin early in the second to make it a 3-2 game. But the Blue Jackets, despite some good pressure, couldn't get the equalizer.
Neal scored off the rebound of a Modano shot with 6:31 left in the second period and then Ott knocked home the rebound of a Jere Lehtinen shot off the rush with 1:02 left in the second to restore the Stars' three-goal lead.
"They pushed pretty hard the first 10 minutes of the second period," Tippett said. "Once Neal scored, we pushed it right the other way. I thought that dictated the game, the second 10 minutes of the second period."
"We made it 3-2 and we had a lot of momentum," Hitchcock said. "That fourth goal was a real killer. That hurt us."
Columbus' Jared Boll scored 4:34 into the third and the Blue Jackets had some momentum, but Daley's shot from the point less than three minutes later basically sealed the win for the Stars. Hutchinson rounded out the scoring for the Stars when he scored from the point with 1:58 remaining.
The loss was just the third in the last 13 home games for the Blue Jackets, who had a chance to move head of that pack of team at 53 points.
"A complete defensive breakdown. There's no surprise or secret out there," Blue Jackets defenseman Mark Methot said. "It was embarrassing."
Notes: Stars defenseman Darryl Sydor was hit in the foot/ankle with a puck late in the game, left and did not return... The Stars recalled Fabian Brunnstrom from Manitoba of the AHL Saturday but he did not play....
| First Period |
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The Stars struck quickly in the first period, scoring three times in a 4:45 span to take a 3-0 lead over the Blue Jackets. James Neal opened the scoring, getting the rebound of a Matt Niskanen shot, getting into position to get the shot off and beating Columbus goalie Steve Mason at the 5:58 mark to make it 1-0. The Stars made it 2-0 of the rush when Loui Eriksson had his pass blocked, got the puck back and flipped it past Mason 8:22 into the game. The Stars scored off the rush again at the 10:43 mark. Just seconds after Columbus' Manny Malhotra hit the post, the Stars came up ice, Brian Sutherby grabbed the rebound off the end boards and stuffed into the net to make it a 3-0 game. That ended the night for Mason, who was pulled from the game and replaced by Wade Dubielewicz. The Blue Jackets were able to cut into the lead with 2:28 left in the period when Kristian Huselius roofed a backhand shot over Marty Turco. Score after first
period: Dallas 3, Columbus 1 |
| Second Period |
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The Blue Jackets made it a one-goal game just 1:38 into the second period. Just seconds after a 1:00 five-on-three power play expired, Fedor Tyutin scored on a shot from the point on a the five-on-four advantage. The Blue Jackets put on some good pressure in the second, but the Stars countered when Columbus turned the puck over in their own end and Neal scored off a rebound of a Mike Modano shot with 6:31 left in the period. The Stars took control of play after that and made it a 5-2 game with 1:02 remaining in the period when Jere Lehtinen put a shot on net off the rush and Steve Ott scored off the rebound. Score after second period: Dallas 5, Columbus
2 |
| Third Period |
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The Blue Jackets made it a 5-3 game 4:34 into the third period when Jared Boll tapped home a Jason Williams pass. But Trevor Daley scored from the point at 7:10 of the period and Andrew Hutchinson scored from the point at the 18:02 of the mark to round out the scoring. Final score: Dallas 7, Columbus 3 |
| Official Scoresheet | Official Super Stats |
