ESPN

Coming off some lackluster efforts, the Dallas Stars showed some jump early Thursday night in Columbus and it was key in a 4-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Stars scored two goals in the first 4:21 of the game and added a third by the 21 minute mark, building a 3-0 lead over the Blue Jackets.

“It was a big start tonight. Those two goals were huge,” said Stars center Jamie Benn, who scored the Stars’ first goal and then sealed the victory with a late empty net goal. “Getting some momentum on the road for our team is big. We definitely want that in the first period.”

The win was the fourth in the last six games for the Stars and temporarily moved them into eighth place in the West. But they dropped to ninth when Phoenix beat Calgary in overtime a short time later to take over the eighth spot.

Despite the strong start, the Stars still had some issues in the game. Columbus scored two power play goals in the second period to make a game of it right to the end.

“Our second period wasn’t very good. We know that,” said Benn. “It was because of bad penalties and turnovers that they got their chances. We need to clean that up.”

Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen helped clean up a lot of the messes, stopping 26 of 28 shots to earn his 20^th win of the season.

“I thought he was real good,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said of Lehtonen. “I thought he cleaned a lot of our stuff up, and most of our stuff was self-inflicted again a little bit. It’s less than before but still some of the same symptoms. We’re going to move forward in that direction for sure. We’re going to cut those things out.”

But early in the game the Stars were buzzing. They were all over the Blue Jackets from the opening faceoff and it paid dividends on the scoreboard.

Benn got to a rebound of a Stephane Robidas shot and scored from the slot to give the Stars a 1-0 lead 1:35 into the game.

Alex Goligoski crashed the net and scored off the rebound after a Tomas Vincour bounced off face of Blue Jackets defenseman Marc Methot at the 4:21 mark to make it a 2-0 game.

“When you’re in the situation we’ve been in, where you haven’t scored too many lately, to score two right away is a good confidence boost for the group,” said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan.

The Stars padded the lead to 3-0 at the 1:05 mark of the third when Robidas scored just as a Dallas power play was expiring.

After that, though, things got a little dicey for the Stars. They gave the Blue Jackets three consecutive power plays later in the second and Vinny Prospal and Rick Nash scored power play goals to make it a one-goal game.

“There was no reason for us to let them back in the game,” said Stars defenseman Stephane Robidas. “We should have just kept the game simple. That was our success in the first, we kept our game simple. We put the puck deep and put pressure on them. (In the second period), we turned the puck over and took some penalties because guys were tired. It’s tough when you play in your own zone. It’s just not the right way to play.”

The Stars shut the door for most of the third period, but the Blue Jackets got some quality chances after pulling goalie Curtis Sanford for the extra attacker. Benn sealed the win, scoring into an empty net from his own blue line with less than a second remaining.

“We were more consistent,” Gulutzan said of his team’s performance. “We turned the puck over a little too much. There were a couple things we learned about ourselves in the second period and the way we need to play, but our third period we came out pretty strong and held the lead pretty good.”

Notes: Sheldon Souray questionable for Friday

*Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said Sheldon Souray took a puck off the foot in Thursday’s game and was questionable for Friday.

*Gulutzan said Richard Bachman would start Friday’s game in Buffalo.

*With Alex Goligoski and Stephane Robidas scoring goals Thursday, the Stars have six goals from defensemen over their last seven games.

*Mark Fistric, Jake Dowell and Adam Pardy were healthy scratches for the Stars.

*Blue Jackets defenseman Marc Methot left the game early in the first period after getting hit in the face with a shot off the stick of Stars forward Tomas Vincour. He suffered a broken jaw. The Blue Jackets also lost forward Jared Boll to a broken foot during the game.

The Dallas Stars opened their two-game road trip with a win, topping the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 at Nationwide Arena Thursday night. Jamie Benn scored two goals and Alex Goligoski and Stephane Robidas also scored for the Stars, who built a 3-0 lead in the first 21:09 of the game. Kari Lehtonen stopped 26 shots for the Stars, who have won four of six games.

First period

The Stars came out strong, scoring two goals in the first 4:21 of the game to take an early lead.

Jamie Benn scored 1:35 into the game, picking up a rebound in the slot and whipping it past Columbus goalie Curtis Sanford to give the Stars a 1-0 lead.

At the 4:21 mark, Tomas Vincour put a shot on net that hit Columbus defenseman Marc Methot in the face and Alex Goligoski put the rebound in from close range to make it a 2-0 game.

Kari Lehtonen was sharp in goal for the Stars in the first. He made a couple of good stops, including one on Jeff Carter with just a little more than minutes remaining in the period.

The Stars were 0-1 on the power play and were on their second when the period ended. Columbus had no power plays in the period.

The Stars outshot the Blue Jackets 15-10 through the first 20 minutes.

Second period

The Stars started the second period on a power play and just as it expired they scored to take a 3-0 lead in the game. With Loui Eriksson setting a screen, Stephane Robidas scored on a shot from just inside the blue line at the 1:09 mark.

But the Stars took three consecutive penalties later in the period and the Blue Jackets scored on two of their power plays to climb back into the game.

Vinny Prospal redirected a Fedor Tyutin shot into the net on the first power play to make it a 3-1 game at the 8:32 mark.

Rick Nash finished off a cross-ice pass from Derick Brassard on the Blue Jackets’ third power play to make it 3-2 at 12:12 of the second period.

Columbus outshot the Stars 11-10 in the second. The Stars have a 25-21 advantage through the first two periods.

Third period

The Stars did a good job of bottling up the Blue Jackets in the third period. Columbus pulled goalie Curtis Sanford with a little more than to go and had had a couple of good chances with the extra attacker, but couldn’t get the equalizer.

Jamie Benn scored into the open net from his own blue line with 0.9 seconds remaining to make it a 4-2 final.

Stars lineup

Ott-Benn-Vincour
Eriksson-Ribeiro-Ryder
Nystrom-Fiddler-Dvorak
Petersen-Wandell-Burish

Grossman-Daley
Souray-Robidas
Goligoski-Larsen

Lehtonen (starter)
Bachman

Injured: Morrow (neck/shoulder)
Scratched: Dowell, Fistric, Pardy

FRISCO – The Dallas Stars have been in a bit of a funk lately and Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said the only way the team is going to get out of it is by bearing down and working their way out of it.

“There’s no magic elixir or potion that is going to come,” Gulutzan said. “It’s about digging in. This game is still about that, working together and doing the same things within our structure. That’s what it is about.”

The Stars haven’t come out of the All-Star break the way they wanted. The record is 2-2-0. It could be worse if not for the goaltending of Kari Lehtonen. They’re actually a point closer to eighth place than when they came out of the All-Star break, sitting only two points out of the final spot. But teams have pushed ahead of the in the standings, leaving the Stars in 12^th place at the end of play Wednesday.

The Stars were expecting more, and they’ll need more as they move ahead. That was the message Wednesday as the Stars prepared to head off on a brief road trip.

“The message is we’ve got to dig in here and get to work to right this ship,” Gulutzan said.

The Stars didn’t practice Wednesday, saving some energy now that they are in a stretch where they play at least every other night and travel between each game for the next couple weeks.

The Stars hit the road for the next two games and while the opponents are out of the playoff picture, they won’t be easy matchups. Thursday’s opponent – the Columbus Blue Jackets – are sitting 15^th in the Western Conference, but have been playing better and are on a two-game winning streak.

“They beat Minnesota (Tuesday) night. They are a team that works very hard, they got skilled guys and at this juncture this is an even matchup,” said Gulutzan. “We’re going to have to make sure that we’re ready to play.”

And Friday’s opponent – the Buffalo Sabres – are on a bit of a roll. They’ve picked up points in five straight games (4-0-1) and are coming off a 6-0 rout of Boston Wednesday night. That will be a tough matchup on the second night of a back-to-back, something the Stars have struggled with this season.

Back-to-back No. 10

Thursday’s game at Columbus and Friday’s game against Buffalo will be the Stars’ tenth set of back-to-back games this season. The first nine haven’t gone well. The Stars have a 4-12-2 record in those games, including a 4-4-1 mark in first games of the back-to-back and a 0-8-1 record in second games. Excluding the goal awarded for a shootout victory, the Stars have been outscored 36-14 in those second games.

Dallas Stars at Columbus Blue Jackets
Thursday February 9
6:00 p.m.
TV: Fox Sports Southwest
Radio: KTCK-1310 (AM)

About the Stars

The Stars (27-23-2) lost 4-1 to Phoenix Tuesday night at American Airlines Center. The Coyotes, who were playing their second game in as many nights, jumped two points ahead of the Stars in the standings.

“We weren’t very good again. Even with a real good goalie performance, we got outworked by a team that played last night,” said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan. “When you get outplayed and outworked and your goaltender stands on his head to keep it close, I’ve got a big problem with that.”

The Stars are 2-2-0 since the All-Star break.

Injuries: Brenden Morrow (neck/shoulder) is out.

About the Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets (15-32-6) defeated Minnesota 3-1 Tuesday night. It was the second straight win for Columbus following a six-game winless streak.

“What we’ve done is wipe the slate clean and try to be the best team we can be the rest of the way,” said Blue Jackets forward R.J. Umberger. “It’s about pride. Pride in your job, and pride in the sweater you’re wearing. We played like that tonight.”

The Blue Jackets signed veteran forward Vinny Prospal to a one-year, $2.5 million contract extension on Wednesday.

Injuries: D Brett Lebda (hand), D James Wisniewski (ankle), D Nikita Nikitin (knee), D Radek Martinek (concussion), LW Kristian Huselius (groin) and C Mark Letestu (hand) are out.

Series notes

*This is the fourth and final meeting between the two teams this season.

*The Stars are 2-1-0 in the series.

*The Blue Jackets are 1-2-0 in the series.

*October 15, at Dallas: Stars 4, Blue Jackets 2
October 18, at Columbus: Stars 3, Blues Jackets 2
December 29, at Dallas: Blue Jackets 4, Stars 1

A few tidbits for your Thursday morning.

*With last night's win over the Ducks, the Stars improved to 4-4-2 in the first games of back-to-back sets this season. As has been mentioned often, it's the second game that's been the big issue. They are 0-7-1 in those games so far this season. Here's a look at how the Stars have fared in back-to-backs in 2011-12.



*A power play note from last night's game. Defenseman Sheldon Souray, who has been averaging 2:24 of power play time per game this season, didn't see any PP time last night. The Stars went with blue line combinations of Alex Goligoski-Stephane Robidas and Trevor Daley-Philip Larsen last night. They give up the big cannon, but that's a pretty mobile group on the blue line.

*The Los Angeles Kings beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 last night on a power play goal by Drew Doughty with 0.4 seconds remaining in regulation. Video replays below show that the game clock stopped briefly at 1.8 seconds, restarted and then Doughty scores.

Here's an excerpt from the NHL.com recap:

Columbus' Samuel Pahlsson took a hooking penalty with 1:06 left in regulation, and the Kings buzzed away in the Jackets' zone. Curtis Sanford made a pair of stops in the final eight seconds on Anze Kopitar, and with time running out the puck came to Doughty, whose snap shot through traffic barely beat the final horn. Referee Steven Walkom originally waved off the goal, but video replay showed the puck crossed the goal line with less than a second to play -- though television replays indicated that the game clock stopped briefly with 1.8 seconds remaining before starting again.

Here's the video. Watch the clock when it hits 1.8 seconds.

DALLAS -- That was ugly for the Stars. They came in as heavy favorites against the worst team in the NHL and couldn't get the job done in a 4-1 loss at American Airlines Center. Some quick thoughts on tonight's game:

* That was a Columbus team that had not won a regulation road game all season before Thursday. And with Boston and Detroit looming, those were two points the Stars certainly wanted (and probably thought they'd get) on home ice. That's not what the Stars had planned.

* Columbus led after two periods eight times before doing so again on Thursday. Coming in, they were 2-4-2 in those games with no regulation wins and were outscored 48-24 in the third period. But they managed to reverse the trend against Dallas.

* The storyline coming into the game was all about Kari Lehtonen's return. He was out for 12 games with a groin strain and returned to face the team with the worst record in the NHL. Lehtonen faced a steady diet of shots and the Blue Jackets had better scoring chances than the Stars through the first 40 minutes despite being outshot.

* Lehtonen had some nice saves, especially late in the second period. Here are some highlights of three saves made in the final few minutes:

-- Mark Letestu had a nice attempt on a back hand in close and Lehtonen got the blocker up to stop it.

-- Jeff Carter came in and appeared to have a rebound attempt, but Lehtonen skated out and smothered the puck before Carter could get to it.

-- Vinny Prospal received a quick pass from Rick Nash to the right of the net and fired one as Lehtonen slid over and managed to get just enough of his glove on it to turn it away.

The saves kept the score 2-1 Columbus going into the third period.

* The Stars struggled defensively the whole night. Philip Larsen had a rough game. He turned pucks over and wasn't able to get a body on some of the Blue Jackets' key personnel. That included Rick Nash, who scored Columbus' third goal after Larsen couldn't get to him. Nash simply skated around Larsen and rifled a shot on net for the goal.

* Vernon Fiddler scored the Stars' only goal of the first period as part of a lively shift. Fiddler put in a rebound after racing to the front of the net. He provided plenty of energy and also was very good in the faceoff circle (12-for-17 through two periods).

* The Stars' power play was an area of concern coming into the game and they got two chances late in the third period down two goals and couldn't do much of anything. At one point, the crowd booed the Stars' inability to move the puck and set something up in the offensive zone. Dallas was 0-for-3 on Thursday and is now 2-for-20 over the last six games and 3-for-28 over the last eight. Yikes.

Goalie Kari Lehtonen, who has missed the last 12 games with a lower body injury suffered Nov. 26 against the Phoenix Coyotes, was activated off injured reserve by the Stars on Wednesday.

To make room on the roster, defenseman Stephane Robidas was placed on IR retroactive to Dec. 19.

Lehtonen, 28, is 13-4-1 with a 2.35 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage in 19 appearances this season. His 13 wins led the NHL at the time of his injury.

Robidas, 34, missed the last three games after suffering a lower body injury against the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 19. He has recorded 11 points (2 goals, 9 assists) in 32 games this season.

The Stars host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.

Some thoughts and observations after the Dallas Stars ran their winning streak to four games with a 3-2 victory at Columbus Tuesday night.

*The shots were 40-18, but it didn’t look that bad. At least to me. The first period was what it was. The Blue Jackets were desperate; the Stars weathered the storm and got out of it scoreless. That was a victory of sorts. The last part of the second period was pretty bad, and Kari Lehtonen was really good. The shots were 16-7 I the third, but the Stars were playing with a two-goal lead for most of hit and I didn’t really feel like they were on their heels. Columbus was just shooting a lot of rubber on net.

*Kari Lehtonen was outstanding again. He had 38 saves and was the difference in the game. He’s just playing at a high level right now. I thought this quote from Sheldon Souray was classic: "If Kari was a baseball player he would probably be Nelson Cruz right now.”

*The line of Steve Ott, Jamie Benn and Loui Eriksson had another strong game. They are the team’s best and most consistent line right now. They produced a couple of goals tonight – the first two of the game – and were a combined plus-six.

*The Ott goal looked like a stoppable goal on Steve Mason’s part, but Ott won a defensive zone draw to start off the play and then finished off the rush. The Benn goal was a classic. He skated through four Columbus defenders and then roofed a shot over Mason.

Benn, who doesn’t like to talk about himself, offered this take on the goal: “I kind of got pretty luck. I made two little turns there, the goalie poked and I guess it was just luck.”

There was a little more to it than luck. It was classic Benn.

*Another game where Sheldon Souray is all over the stats sheet. Another big assist. His point shot was tipped in by Michael Ryder to put the Stars up 3-1 just 1:11 after the Blue Jackets made it 2-1. That’s five points (one goal, four assists) in six games for Souray. He was a plus-two and is now a team-best plus-six on the season. He also had two more minor penalties, giving him 19 penalty minutes for the season.

*The penalty kill gave up a goal, but it came up big in the game, especially in the second when it killed off back-to-back chances, including some five-on-three time. It’s a key part of the Stars’ early season success.

*Glen Gulutzan did a little line juggling in the third period with the lower lines, but it was nothing major. He moved some different guys in on the wing with Vernon Fiddler and Adam Burish.

*Overall, another big two points and a good way to start off this stretch of four straight on the road. Big test this weekend with a back-to-back in Anaheim and Los Angeles. Two good teams. Two divisional opponents. Looking forward to see how they stack up in those two games.

The Dallas Stars opened a stretch of four straight games on the road with a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena Tuesday night.

The Stars were outshot 40-18, but Kari Lehtonen made 38 saves and Steve Ott, Jamie Benn and Michael Ryder provided the goals as the Stars (5-1-0) ran their winning streak to four games and won their first road game of the season (1-1-0).

Lehtonen improved to 5-0-0 on the season. He has a 1.58 goals against average and a .953 save percentage.

"If Kari was a baseball player he would probably be Nelson Cruz right now,” said Stars defenseman Sheldon Souray. “He's really making all the difference in the games right now. We've done some good things. We've put some periods together, some stretches, but we've had some where we've sat back and let them take a lot of shots. When we have he's made the saves and been the difference for us."

Lehtonen was key in the first period, when the winless Blue Jackets (0-5-1) made a strong push and then again late in the second when Columbus had some extended zone time and quality chances.

“When things are going well it’s fun and it’s nice to play,” said Lehtonen. “I don’t want to say it’s easier, but sometimes you get lucky when things are going well. I just have to keep working and hope it stays the same way.”

The Stars weathered the hard charging Blue Jackets through a scoreless first and took the lead early in the second on a goal by Ott, who beat Columbus goalie Steve Mason with a shot from the top of the right circle off the rush at the 4:17 mark.

“Our first period was good,” said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan. “I thought for a road game with them having a lot of energy, we were good for the first 30 minutes.”

The Stars’ PK came up big in the middle of the period, killing off back-to-back Columbus power plays, including a 31 second five-on-three chance.

After weathering another Columbus flurry late in the second, the Stars took a 2-0 lead on a highlight reel goal by Benn, who got the puck near the Columbus blue line, beat four Blue Jacket defenders and roofed a shot over Mason from close range at the 1:31 mark.

“He can get the puck away from guys and that’s what he did,” said Gulutzan. “Then he can make quick plays on improv. He’s a lethal scorer that way.”

The Blue Jackets cut the lead to 2-1 on a power play goal by Derick Brassard, who scored on the rebound of a Rick Nash shot, but the Stars answered 1:11 later when Ryder tipped home a shot by Souray from the left point.

Columbus defenseman Kris Russell made it a 3-2 game with 2:55 remaining but the Blue Jackets couldn’t get the equalizer and the Stars held on for their fifth win in six games to open the season.

"[The 5-1-0 start] is huge. It's a lot better than starting off slowly,” said Lehtonen. “It's really hard to get those wins back. It's important to get them early and hopefully we can play solid from here on out."

Notes

*Eric Nystrom, acquired last week from Minnesota, made his Stars debut Tuesday. Nystrom, who skated on the fourth line with Jake Dowell and Tom Wandell, played 8:11, had one shot on goal and two hits.

*Toby Petersen, Krys Barch and Mark Fistric were the healthy scratches for the Stars Tuesday night.

The Dallas Stars ran their winning streak to four games with a 3-2 win at Columbus Tuesday night. The Stars were outshot 40-18, but got 38 saves from Kari Lehtonen and goals from Steve Ott, Jamie Benn and Michael Ryder. The Stars, who kicked off a stretch of four straight on the road, are now 5-1-0 overall and 1-1-0 away from home.

First period

There was no scoring in the first, although the Blue Jackets did get a puck past Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen about five minutes into the game. The goal was waved off for goaltender interference.

The Blue Jackets outshot the Stars 12-4 in the period and had the only power play of the first 20 minutes, but weren’t able to generate much with it.

Stars forward Jake Dowell and Columbus forward Cody Bass picked up fighting majors late in the period.

Second period

The Stars took the lead 4:17 into the second period when Steve Ott scored off the rush, beating Steve Mason to the glove hand side with a snap shot from the top of the right faceoff circle.

The Blue Jackets had back-to-back power play chances, including 31seconds of five-on-three time, but couldn’t get the equalizer against Kari Lehtonen and the Stars.

Columbus, which had a 24-11 shots advantage through the first 40 minutes, kept up the pressure later in the second, but Lehtonen was rock solid in net and ended the period with 12 saves, giving him 24 through the first two periods.

Third period

The Stars made it a 2-0 game 1:31 into the third when Jamie Benn skated through four Columbus defenders and roofed a shot over Mason for his second goal of the season.

Columbus cut the lead to 2-1 with a power play goal. Derick Brassard scored off the rebound of a Rick Nash shot, slipping the puck past Lehtonen at 5:05 of the third.

Just 1:11 later the Stars extended the lead to 3-1 when Michael Ryder tipped a Sheldon Souray shot from the left point past Mason.

Columbus made it interesting late, getting a goal from Kris Russell with2:55 to make it a 3-2 game. But the Blue Jackets couldn’t get the equalizer with Mason pulled and the extra attacker on the ice.

Stars lineup

Morrow-Ribeiro-Ryder
Ott-Benn-Eriksson
Burish-Fiddler-Dvorak
Wandell-Dowell-Nystrom

Goligoski-Pardy
Souray-Robidas
Grossman-Daley

Lehtonen (starter)
Raycroft

Scratches: Petersen, Barch, Fistric
Injured: None

Forward Eric Nystrom, acquired last week in a trade with Minnesota, will make his Stars debut tonight against the Blue Jackets in Columbus.

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"The timing is good for him to get acclimated with the way we want to play," Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. "For him coming in here, we are going to need some energy because they are going to have some energy. It will help."

While the Blue Jackets are winless (0-4-1) so far this season and should be a motivated team, Gulutzan said his 4-1-0 team needs to focus on what it needs to do.

"Obviously, everyone knows their struggles. We're not really worried about (their motivation). We've played one good game in our last three," Gulutzan said. "In order to be a good team you've got to play good teams back-to-back. There's no reason we can't. We got rest, we got in here early. We got something to eat. We had a pregame skate. It's about our game."

Here are some photos of Saturday night's Dallas Stars-Columbus Blue Jackets game at American Airlines Center. You can see all the photos by Shannon Byrne here or by clicking below on the photo of Brenden Morrow scoring the Stars' first goal of the game.

The Dallas Stars improved to 4-1-0 on the season with a 4-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets Saturday night at American Airlines Center.

Mike Ribeiro had three assists, Brenden Morrow and Michael Ryder each had one goal and one assist and Loui Eriksson and Sheldon Souray also scored goals.

Goaltender Kari Lehtonen stopped 13 shots for the Stars, who outshot Columbus 33-15 on the night.

First period

The Blue Jackets, who came into the game 0-20 on the power play, cashed on their first chance of game when Vinny Prospal redirected Fedor Tyutin’s shot from the left point into the net at 6:46 of the first period.

The Stars drew even at 11:25 when Mike Ribeiro sent a cross-ice pass through the crease to Brenden Morrow, who whipped the puck into the open side of the net to make it a 1-1 game.

Second period

Columbus took a 2-1 lead 1:13 into the second. After a Stephane Robidas shot from the top of the right circle went wide of the net, the puck went to R.J. Umberger and he set up Alexandre Giroux, who busted in on goal and beat Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen with a snap shot.

The Stars drew even at the 9:21 mark when Steve Ott’s centering pass from the corner bounced off Loui Eriksson’s stick, a Columbus defender and into the net.

Third period

Sheldon Souray put the Stars up 3-2 at the 1:36 mark of the third, beating Mason with a blast from the left point for his first goal as a Star.

The Stars made it a 4-2 game with a power play goal from Michael Ryder, who took a cross-crease pass from Morrow and scored on a one-timer with 6:08 remaining in the game.

Stars lineup

Morrow-Ribeiro-Ryder
Ott-Benn-Eriksson
Burish-Fiddler-Dvorak
Dowell-Wandell-Petersen

Goligoski-Pardy
Souray-Robidas
Grossman-Daley

Lehtonen (starter)
Raycroft

Scratches: Fistric, Barch, Nystrom
Injured: None

Columbus Blue Jackets at Dallas Stars
Saturday October 15
7:00 p.m.
TV: TXA-21
Radio: KTCK-1310 (AM)

About the Stars

The Stars (3-1-0) defeated St. Louis 3-2 Thursday night at American Airlines Center. Kari Lehtonen stopped 36 shots and the Stars scored at even strength, shorthanded and on the power play in the game.

“Specialty teams was the difference,” said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan. “We got one shorty, one power play and that kind of helped us out and goaltending for sure.”

Lehtonen will start in goal Saturday.

The Stars activated defenseman Adam Pardy from injured reserve Friday and sent defenseman Philip Larsen to Texas (AHL). Pardy likely will play Saturday. Recently acquired LW Eric Nystrom could play as well.

Injuries: Adam Pardy (rib) is probable.

About the Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets (0-3-1) lost 3-2 in a shootout to Colorado Wednesday. The Blue Jackets took a 2-1 lead early in the third but Colorado, which outshot Columbus 16-1 over the final 20 minutes, tied the game with 40 seconds remaining.

"We got back on our heels," Columbus coach Scott Arniel said. "We got a lead and we were trying to protect the lead and we were a little bit afraid of making a mistake."

Forward Alexandre Giroux, called up from the AHL on Thursday, could be in the lineup for the Blue Jackets on Saturday.

Injuries: RW Derick Brassard (groin) is questionable. RW Jared Boll (broken thumb), LW Kristian Huselius (pectoral muscle), G Mark Dekanich (ankle) are out.

Series notes

*This is the first of four meetings between the two teams.

*The Stars were 2-1-1 against the Blue Jackets last season.

*The Blue Jackets were 2-2-0 against the Stars last season.

*The Stars are 27-8-5 all-time against Columbus.

Statistical tidbits

*Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen is 3-0-0 with a 1.30 goals against average and .966 save percentage this season.

*The Stars are 21-23 (91.3%) on the penalty kill this season.

*Columbus is 0-20 on the power play over so far this season.

*The Stars are 2-19 (10.5%) on the power play.

*The Blue Jackets are 11-15 (73.3%) on the penalty kill.

*Columbus has won 52.1% of faceoffs through four games.

*The Stars have won 45.6% of faceoffs.

Here are some photos from last night's Dallas Stars-Columbus Blue Jackets game. You can see all the photos by Shannon Byrne here or by clicking below on the image of Steve Ott getting tripped up in front of Columbus goalie Mathieu Garon.