ESPN

Stars coach Glen Gulutzan juggled his lines during Tuesday's loss to San Jose, and he'll roll out different lines for Thursday's game in Nashville.

Brenden Morrow will move to a line with Mike Ribeiro and Loui Eriksson. Michael Ryder will now play with Jamie Benn and Steve Ott.

"(Morrow) is feeling a lot better here lately, the last couple games," Gulutzan said. "We'll get a change and try to spread out some of the offense with Benny and Rydes there. We're going to play a real team game."

Right wing Radek Dvorak will be back in the lineup after missing the last five games with an ankle injury. He'll be back on a line with Eric Nystrom and Vernon Fiddler.

Kari Lehtonen is in goal for the Stars. Pekka Rinne is the likely starter in goal for the Predators.

Stars forward Radek Dvorak will miss tonight's game in Calgary with an ankle injury that forced him to miss three games earlier this month.

"What a warrior, 17 years in the league and getting shot up in the ankle to get through," said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan. "He had a little aggravation from the last game, we sit him here and that’s four days, close to five, and maybe he can be ready for Edmonton. If not, we can go two more and a get a little more healthier player."

Tomas Vincour is expected to take Dvorak's place on a line with Eric Nystrom and Vernon Fiddler.

Ryan Garbutt, who has been a healthy scratch the last four games, is also expected to be in the lineup tonight as well.

Kari Lehtonen gets the start in goal.

Reilly Smith, signed yesterday to an entry-level contract, skated with the team but is still working on getting a work visa so that he can be eligible to play.

Here's the Stars projected lineup.

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

Souray-Robidas
Pardy-Daley
Goligoski-Larsen

Lehtonen

DALLAS -- The Dallas Stars started Thursday in third place in the Western Conference. They ended it in third place in the Pacific Division and barely in a playoff spot. It’s a sign of just how tight the playoff race in the West is.

The Stars, who have lost three of four games, are now in eighth place in the Western, just percentage points ahead of ninth place Colorado and one point ahead of tenth place San Jose.

“Maybe it is a good reality check of how delicate these next eight games are going to be,” said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan.

With the Stars and Canucks playing for the third time in less than a month, things weren't exactly delicate on the ice and a lot of it happened after the whistle, which didn’t play into the Stars’ hands.

“I didn’t think our focus was high. Our game plan at the start was to keep the pace high, stay whistle to whistle,” Gulutzan said. “We wanted to get things deep and go after them. In the first few minutes (Cory) Schneider stood the test and made some real good saves. Then we lost focus. We wanted to get involved in an extracurricular game, some of the exchanges, the penalties and the frustration level was way too high. ... You have to be methodical and focused this time of year. You can’t be up and down like a yo-yo with your emotions."

That extracurricular stuff might have played into the hands of the Canucks, who had played the night before in Chicago.

“It kind of ruins the flow of the game, especially against a team coming off a back-to-back,” said Stars defenseman Alex Goligoski. “Don’t’ want to slow that game down all night, so I think we fell into that a little bit.”

The Stars started strong, creating some early scoring chances but Schneider made strong saves on a Mike Ribeiro redirection and a hard shot by Loui Eriksson from the slot.

The Canucks took the lead at 4:46 of the mark when Henrik Sedin sent a pass from the right boards that was tipped by Don Hamhuis to a wide open Mason Raymond, who scored from close range to give the Canucks the early lead.

The Stars had a chance to tie in the second when Ribeiro was awarded a penalty shot, but Schneider turned away Ribeiro’s bid to keep the Canucks ahead.

“I wasn’t really sure what he was going to do with it. But got him pretty tight and don’t know if he was trying to go past my blocker or through my arm, but stayed with him and made the save,” Schneider said.

The Canucks were able to extend the lead to 2-0 early in the third period when Raymond set up Kevin Bieksa, who had his first shot stopped by Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen but then put his own rebound into the net.

The Stars scored with just over 12 minutes remaining when Schneider came out of the net to play the puck, but it bounced over his stick and Vernon Fiddler put it into the net to make it a 2-1 game.

But the Stars could never get the equalizer on Schneider, who stopped 25 shots to improve to 17-7-1 on the season.

“Gave us a chance to win, played well, moved the puck well, everything you could ask from a goalie,” said Bieksa.

Notes

*The Stars were 0-3 on the power play in the game and had no shots on their chances with the man-advantage.

*Stars defenseman Mark Fistric missed Thursday’s game with an abdominal strain. He is expected to miss at least one week.

*Toby Petersen, Ryan Garbutt, Tomas Vincour and Jordie Benn were healthy scratches for Dallas.

*Canucks forward Daniel Sedin missed Thursday’s game with a head injury suffered Wednesday when he was elbowed by Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith.

*Thursday’s attendance was 16,618.

The Dallas Stars will be without right wing Radek Dvorak and defenseman Sheldon Souray for Tuesday night's game at Minnesota.

Dvorak injured is ankle in Saturday's 2-0 win over Anaheim. Souray will miss his second straight game with a lower body injury.

With Dvorak out of the lineup, Adam Burish will play on the right wing with left wing Eric Nystrom and center Vernon Fiddler.

Ryan Garbutt, who has a scratch the last game, will be back in on the fourth line with center Tom Wandell and right wing Tomas Vincour.

Here's the projected lineup for the Stars tonight:

Eriksson-Ribeiro-Ryder
Morrow-Benn-Ott
Nystrom-Fiddler-Burish
Garbutt-Wandell-Vincour

Fistric-Robidas
Goligoski-Larsen
Pardy-Daley

Lehtonen

Keeping pucks out of their net has been a key factor in the Dallas Stars’ current run, and a big help in that department has been the team’s penalty kill. The Stars have allowed just one opposition power play goal during the team’s 9-0-1 run that has pushed them to the top of the Pacific Division and the third seed in the Western Conference.

The Stars have killed 30 of 31 (96.8%) opposition power plays during those ten games, helping them climb from 18th in the league in penalty killing three weeks ago (81.6 percent) to 10th in the NHL (83.2 percent) after going 4-4 in Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Anaheim.

“That’s just commitment from those guys,” said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan. “Vernon Fiddler, Radek Dvorak, Adam Burish, Eric Nystrom and Mike Ribeiro’s killing a lot. Steve Ott and Loui Eriksson have been good. All our D have chipped in.

“Guys have just dug in. (Assistant coach) Paul Jerrard has kind of taken over in the second half and done a heck of a job with the PK. … The players have dug in, they block shots and the goaltending has been spectacular.”

During those 31 power plays over the last 10 games, goalies Kari Lehtonen and Richard Bachman have combined to stop 50 of 51 shots for a shorthanded save percentage of .980. Lehtonen has stopped 45 of 46 shorthanded shots over his eight starts during the run.

“We’re trying to keep a little more pressure early on. I think earlier in the season they were coming into our zone too easy. I think we’ve been able to clear the pucks much better,” Lehtonen said. “Just giving more pressure I think. That just takes their time away, and they are not able to set up and make nice plays. That makes it more simple for me, too.”

And that one power play goal the Stars have allowed over the last ten games was on a five-on-three situation against Minnesota.

They’ve gone ten straight games without allowing a five-on-four power play goal. The last five-on-four power play goal they’ve allowed was in the February 19 game against Nashville, which happens to be the last time they lost in regulation.

“I think we're pretty robotic now. We're all doing the same thing,” Ott said of the team’s work on the penalty kill. “We have a strong focus on faceoffs in our own end to know what we’re doing. Our preparation I think is a lot better now. It just seems like everybody's continuing to roll. We know how long to stay out there. We know how to do the right plays. I think all those things are adding up to an easier penalty kill.”

When the Stars met the Canucks in Dallas on February 26, center Vernon Fiddler’s imitation of Vancouver defenseman Kevin Bieksa’s angry face became a sensation. It made Canucks coach Alain Vigneault crack up on the bench, was featured on NHL.com and became a YouTube hit. (The video is below)

Well, with the two teams playing again tonight, Fiddler’s Bieksa impersonation is top of mind again. The Vancouver media had some questions for Fiddler this morning and here’s how the conversation went:

On if he thinks about it when he gets back into game mode tonight

“It’s part of the game. Obviously it hurt the caveman’s feelings a little bit. He was talking about it. It’s the game within the game and it’s part of what we do out there.”

Any chance he’ll do it tonight, if given the opportunity

“I don’t know. We’ll see what happens.”

When told people want to see it

“Most people do. Their bench got a kick out of it. That says the kind of guy he is.”

Asked if he takes requests

“I do.”

Does he have other faces

“I might have a few out there. We’ll see what happens on the ice.”

Asked to give a Bieksa angry face

“No, you can go to YouTube to see it.”

It wasn’t pretty, but it was two big points for the Dallas Stars. The Stars scored three goals on just 15 shots and got a solid performance from goaltender Kari Lehtonen to defeat the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 on Friday night and pull to within two of the Pacific Division lead.

“It was an important game for us to come out and establish ourselves on this road trip,” said Stars defenseman Sheldon Souray. “We’re in a dog fight. It sounds like a broken record, but we’re looking at the standings every night and we’re trying to take care of our own business. It was a good start to this road trip. We didn’t paint a Picasso, but we were strong when he had to be and we got the two points. Our goalie was good. We needed this win.”

The Stars’ pushed their points streak to six games (5-0-1) and improved to 6-1-2 over their last nine games. They remain in eighth place in the Western Conference standings, but tied seventh-seeded San Jose in points (Sharks have played two fewer games) and increased their lead over Los Angeles, currently in ninth, to three points.

“Naturally, you kind of look at the standings before the game and you realized if we win this game we are starting to catch teams and put ourselves in a playoff spot,” said Stars forward Adam Burish. “The goal is to keep getting points because it is so darn tight.”

Friday’s game was tight as well. There was no scoring in a first period that the Stars manage just four shots on goal.

The Stars scored twice in a 4:10 span of the second period to take a 2-0 lead. Vernon Fiddler backhanded a puck on net, where Eric Nystrom and Radek Dvorak had set up shop and Dvorak knocked the puck past Oilers goalie Nikolai Khabibulin at the 8:35 mark.

The Stars made it a 2-0 game when Philip Larsen shot rebounded to the front of the net off the endboards, Khabibulin was knocked out of position by his own defenseman and Tomas Vincour put the puck into an open net at the 12:55 mark.

"We made two poor net plays and that was the difference in the game,” said Oilers coach Tom Renney.

The Stars gave the Oilers little in the third period, limiting them to just four shots on goal.

“We played really tight the whole third period,” said Lehtonen, who stopped 19 of 20 shots. “They didn’t get to start any kind of comeback.”

The Oilers pulled Khabibulin for an extra attacker, but Michael Ryder scored into an empty net with 1:28 remaining to give the Stars a 3-0 lead.

The Oilers spoiled Lehtonen’s bid for a shutout with 29.4 seconds left when Sam Gagner scored off a one-timer from the left circle to make it a 3-1 final.

The shutout was lost, the Stars still gained two big points.

“Not our best outing, but we’ve got to take points right now and not worry about how we’re getting there,” said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan. “We’ve got to get points.”

Notes

*The Stars improved to 4-1-2 in their last seven road games.

*The Stars did not take any penalties in the game. It’s the second time this season they haven’t been penalized in a game. The January 3 game against Detroit was the other.

*The Stars were 0-2 on the power play.

*Adam Pardy and Toby Petersen were healthy scratches for the Stars.

The Dallas Stars pulled to within two points of the Pacific Division lead with a 3-1 win at Edmonton on Friday night. The victory pushed the Stars’ point streak to six games (5-0-1) and gave them a 6-1-2 mark over their last nine games. Radek Dvorak, Tomas Vincour and Michael Ryder scored for the Stars, who had only 15 shots on goal in the game. Kari Lehtonen stopped 19 of 20 shots.

First period

The Oilers outshot the Stars 7-4 in the first period. The Stars had the only power play, but weren’t able to generate much.

Oilers fans booed Stars defenseman Sheldon Souray every time he touched the puck. This was Souray’s first game back in Edmonton since his departure from the Oilers after last season.

Second period

There were two goals scored in the second and Dallas tallied both. Radek Dvorak scored at the 8:35 mark to give the Stars a 1-0 lead. Vernon Fiddler backhanded the puck on net and Dvorak won the battle for the puck in front of Oilers goalie Nikolai Khabibulin and put it over the goal line.

The Stars struck again at the 12:55 mark. After a puck rebounded off the end boards, Khabibulin was knocked out of position by one of his teammates, and Tomas Vincour put the puck into a wide open net to make it a 2-0 game.

Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen was sharp in the second period, stopping all nine shots he faced.

The Oilers outshot the Stars 9-6 in the second and had a 16-10 advantage through the first 40 minutes.

Third period

The Stars kept the Oilers chances limited in the third period and Michael Ryder scored into an empty net to make it a 3-0 game with 1:28 remaining.

The Oilers spoiled Lehtonen’s bid for a shutout when Sam Gagner scored off a one-timer with 29.4 seconds left to make it a 3-1 final.

Stars lineup

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

Souray-Robidas
Fistric-Daley
Goligoski-Larsen

Lehtonen (starter)
Bachman

Scratched: Pardy, Petersen
Injured: Dowell (finger), Morrow (neck/back)

Here's video of Stars Vernon Fiddler's imitation of an angry Vancouver defenseman Kevin Bieksa that had Canucks coach Alain Vigneault cracking up on the bench Sunday afternoon.

FRISCO -- Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk said there were some potential deals that he had to sort through prior to Monday’s NHL trade deadline, but when it came time to make a decision he liked where his current team stood and decided to let the players know.

“At the end of the day we had a responsibility to put the best team on the ice right now to challenge to make the playoffs,” Nieuwendyk said. “There’s no doubt I’ve been pleased with the way we’ve been playing lately. I know we have a tough road ahead, but it’s also a message to this team that we do believe in them and that this group has shown some resiliency.”

So, Nieuwendyk stood pat at the deadline. He opted not to move a player like Steve Ott, who was believed to be highly coveted. Sheldon Souray, another guy the Stars probably could have dealt, stayed as well.

“No moves today,” Nieuwendyk said just after the deadline passed Monday afternoon. “A pretty uneventful day league-wide, it seemed, but our plan has been pretty consistent, we weren’t going to do anything unless it made sense for now and for the future. Nothing in that regard really presented itself. I think it made it challenging in the last few weeks, too, with the way our team has performed and that’s a good thing, because they really stepped up and shown they were here for the fight.”

The Stars have won four straight games, moved into a playoff spot and are now putting heat on some of the teams ahead of them in the standings. They are just one point out of seventh and just three points out of both sixth place and the Pacific Division lead.

“The way I look at this deadline is we’ve got some pretty good players coming back to us in Brenden Morrow and Jamie Benn, so let’s not forget about that either,” Nieuwendyk said. “With the boost of energy that Ryan Garbutt has given us, we have some pieces that are going to help us going forward here. “

Benn, who has missed the last six games with a leg injury, is expected to skate with the team on Tuesday, and could play Wednesday. Morrow, who has missed the last 13 games with neck, shoulder and back issues, could start skating later this week.

The return of those two players will be a big boost to a team that has turned things around of late and seems to be getting things in order at the right time.

“Three weeks ago, it was hard to figure out what our team was all about, we were having a lot of difficulties, so that’s been encouraging to see how this group, in the absence of Benn and Morrow, how they’ve really come together,” Nieuwendyk said. “I think Mike Ribeiro, Michael Ryder and Loui Eriksson have stepped up and provided what a number one line should provide and we’re getting great minutes always from the (Vernon) Fiddler line. I think Adam Burish has stepped his game up, I think a lot of guys have stepped their game up and said, ‘Hey, we got to make a push here.’

“We’re in the soup with about five other teams for those final two playoff spots and I think our guys are believing now, now that we’ve beaten a team like Vancouver, that we’re going to be a tough opponent.”

FRISCO -- Stars defenseman Sheldon Souray will miss his second straight game with a foot injury. Souray, who took a puck off the foot in Thursday's game at Columbus, is listed as day-to-day.

"He's got a bruised foot, not broke or anything," said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan. "It's kind of the same thing Robi (Stephane Robidas) had, hard shot in the foot. There's probably some spider cracking in there. I would say he is day-to-day."

Souray did skate with the team this morning.

Center Vernon Fiddler, who took a puck in the ankle in Friday's game at Buffalo and was limping afterwards, is fine, according to Gulutzan. Fiddler skated this morning with his usual linemates, Eric Nystrom and Radek Dvorak.

Kari Lehtonen will start in goal today for the Stars as they battle the Los Angeles Kings. The Stars, who begin the day in 10th place, are three points behind eighth-seeded Phoenix and four points behind the seventh-seeded Kings. The Stars have two games in hand on both teams.

The Kings are wrapping up a six-game road trip today. They've gone 1-3-1 in the first five games and they are struggling to score, having tallied just six goals in those five games.

"It sounds like us," said Gulutzan. "It's tough. You have to play a certain way in this league, and it's tough. They have a little bit of a defensive identity in their game, and tonight we have to be good defensively to keep it tight against them. They have guys that can score - (Justin) Williams, (Anze) Kopitar and (Mike) Richards. They've got guys that can put the puck in the net."

It's not just a big a big game as the standings. It's also the final game of the season series and although the Stars have won three of the first five, both teams have six points. The Stars are 3-2-0 and the Kings are 2-1-2. The winner tonight wins the season series and owns that tiebreaker if it ever comes to that.

Here's the projected Dallas lineup based on this morning's skate.

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

Goligoski-Robidas
Daley-Grossman
Fistric-Larsen

Lehtonen

The decision to go with Kari Lehtonen in goal on back-to-back night’s turned out to be a good one for the Dallas Stars. Lehtonen was brilliant Friday night in Buffalo, but it wasn’t enough for the Stars to get two points, as they couldn’t hold a 2-0 third period lead and lost 3-2 in a shootout to the Sabres at First Niagara Center.

The Sabres forced overtime, scoring with 38.3 seconds left in regulation.

“I thought right from the beginning we managed our game pretty good and limited their chances. We did what we wanted to do defensively. It came down to the last minute and they had to pull their goalie,” said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan. “Those things happen in the league. I’m sure we’ll look at the last minute, but the shot gets through, it gets through to the guy on the backside – they’ve got an extra guy – and they get a bounce. That’s just the way it is.”

With the shootout loss the Stars remained winless in the second games of back-to-backs with an 0-8-2 record.

The point they picked up in the game moved them to within one point of eighth place in the Western Conference.

“Obviously we were looking for two points and we were close,” said Stars forward Tomas Vincour, who scored his second goal of the season in the game. “We had a good game and we’ll take the one point and we’ve to get ready for Sunday.”

The Stars took a 1-0 lead late in the first period by cashing in on the game’s first power play. Alex Goligoski’s shot from the left point was tipped into the net by Michael Ryder.

Lehtonen, who originally wasn’t scheduled to start the game, made that lead hold up in the second period, making some great stops including a couple on Buffalo forward Drew Stafford with the Sabres on the power play.

“He’s at the top of his game right now, that’s for sure,” Gulutzan said of Lehtonen.

The Stars extended the lead to 2-0 when Steve Ott knocked Sabres defenseman Christian Ehrhoff off the puck in the corner and Jamie Benn set up Vincour, who scored from close range to give the Stars a 2-0 lead at the 4:17 mark.

But 27 seconds later Stars forward Radek Dvorak was in the penalty box for holding, and Buffalo cashed in on the power play chance to make it a 2-1 game. Jason Pominville centered the puck from the right circle and Thomas Vanek redirected it past Lehtonen at 5:04 of the third.

The Sabres, who outshot the Stars 13-3 in the third, pulled goalie Ryan Miller for the extra attacker with just over a minute remaining and they scored with 38.3 seconds remaining to tie. Tyler Myers got a shot on net from just inside the blue line and Derek Roy scored off the rebound.

“Myers made a great shot, Stafford did a great job in front and I found the puck,” said Roy. “We need big goals like that to win games.”

In overtime, Lehtonen came up with another huge save, making a pad save on a wide open Vanek with two seconds remaining.

But in a five-round shootout, the Sabres got goals from Brad Boyes and Nathan Gerbe, while only Jamie Benn could find the back of the net for the Stars.

“I think we played a pretty good game overall. I think we maybe sat back a little too much in the third and gave them some momentum. I think we had only three shots,” said Ryder. “It’s a big point for us, but we would have liked to get two. Give those guys credit, they came at us hard and managed to tie up in the last minute and they won in a shootout. Overall, we had a good game. It’s just a matter of us sticking to the game plan in the third.”

Notes: Morrow out for a while longer

*Stars captain Brenden Morrow, who has missed the last three games with neck/shoulder problems, could be out another at least another couple weeks.

*Stars center Vernon Fiddler was injured in Friday’s game when a puck shot by teammate Mark Fistric hit him in the ankle area. "He's limping around,” said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan. “We'll get an x-ray and see what goes on there."

*Sheldon Souray missed Friday’s game with a foot injury. He was hit by a puck in Thursday’s game in Columbus. He is day-to-day.

*Adam Pardy and Toby Petersen were healthy scratches Friday.

*The Stars are 16-0-1 when leading after two periods.

*The Stars haven’t won a game in Buffalo since Stanley Cup clinching win in 1999. They are 0-4-2 in Buffalo since then.

Stars coach Glen Gulutzan is shuffling his lines a bit for tonight's game in Columbus and that means an opportunity for right wing Tomas Vincour, who will move up into the top six and play with Jamie Benn and Steve Ott.

"It’s an opportunity for him. The message isn’t score our you’re going to get moved. The message is play the way we want you to, play your tail off and see what we can do," said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan.

Vincour has one goal and two assists in 20 games with the Stars this season, but he has scored when in the minors, registering 11 goals in 18 games with the Texas Stars of the AHL.

"At some point Tomas Vincour is going to score in the NHL. We just hope it is sooner than later," Gulutzan said.

Michael Ryder, who has been playing with Benn and Ott, is expected to lineup with Mike Ribeiro and Loui Eriksson tonight. Eric Nystrom will move back to a line with Vernon Fiddler and Radek Dvorak.

Tonight's a big game for the Stars, who have been lackluster since the All-Star break. Gulutzan said at this points it's up to the players to recognize what's at stake.

"We have to prepare them for the game, but the players have to get up and play it," Gulutzan said. "Most coaches aren't motivating for 82 games. You prepare for 82 games, you get them ready and there are different points of the season, but this is one where that motivation has to come from within."

Kari Lehtonen is in goal tonight.

Gulutzan said he'll probably go with Richard Bachman tomorrow night in Buffalo.

The defense will remain the same as the past few games.

Mark Fistric, Jake Dowell and Adam Pardy appear to be the scratches for tonight's game.

Pardy was recalled from his conditioning assignment in the AHL today. He had four assists in two games with the Texas Stars, including three last night in a 6-3 victory over Milwaukee.

FRISCO -- Stars captain Brenden Morrow, who missed Saturday's game with a neck/shoulder issue, is expected to miss at least the next three games.

The Stars placed Morrow on injured reserve Friday, and he would have been eligible to come off IR in time to play during the Stars upcoming two-game road trip later this week.

But Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said he doesn't expect Morrow to be ready when the Stars hit the road later this week for games at Columbus (Thursday) and at the Sabres (Friday).

"We're not looking for him this trip. I don't think he'll be on this trip with us," Gulutzan said. "We're just preparing like he is not going to be here, and we'll wait to see what transpires over the next five or six days."

Morrow missed one game break prior to the All-Star break and six games earlier this season due to the same issue.

Here's how Monday's practice lineup looked. The only notable change was that Adam Burish and Tomas Vincour flipped lines with Burish moving up to the third line with Vernon Fiddler and Radek Dvorak.

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

Souray-Robidas
Grossman-Daley
Goligoski-Larsen
Fistric-Pardy

Lehtonen
Bachman

The Dallas Stars were looking for a strong start coming out of the All-Star break and they got it Wednesday night in Anaheim, routing the Ducks 6-2 at Honda Center.

The victory lifted the Stars (26-21-2) to within one point of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

“We have to keep moving forward like this if we want to make the playoffs,” said Stars defenseman Stephane Robidas, who scored a power play goal and led Dallas with eight hits.

Six different players scored goals for the Stars, who had scored two goals or fewer in their last six games.

“We’ve had trouble scoring goals lately, but we’ve got our guys back in the lineup and we’re more healthy,” said Robidas. “A lot of our goals were shots and traffic and rebounds. It wasn’t all like tic-tac-toes. We’ve got to keep things simple and play well defensively. I think there are some corrections that need to be made in that regard, but overall we are pleased with the effort and obviously we are very happy with the win.”

Center Jamie Benn, who had missed the last five games due to an appendectomy, had one goal and two assists in the game, as did Michael Ryder. Robidas, Eric Nystrom, Vernon Fiddler and Sheldon Souray also scored for the Stars, who scored six goals in regulation for the third time this season.

“We were a little more in an offensive mode. We were thinking a little more about scoring,” said Souray. “In the last game (1-0 win over Anaheim) we were just wanting to keep it close and get comfortable in close game.”

The Stars got a stellar performance from goaltender Kari Lehtonen, who stopped 33 of 35 shots. He came up big early in the game when the Stars were still shaking off a little bit of the rust from the break, and was solid throughout.

Special teams were big for the Stars as well. The power play, which had been struggling prior to the break, was 1-3. The penalty kill was 4-4.

The Stars, who fell behind early, took control of the game with three goals in a 3:54 span late in the first period, turning a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 lead heading into the first intermission.

Eric Nystrom knocked home the rebound of an Alex Goligoski shot from the left point to tie the game. Vernon Fiddler won a puck battle against Anaheim defenseman Luca Sbisa in the neutral zone, slipped by Ducks defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky in the slot and then beat Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller five-hole to the give the Stars a 2-1 lead. Benn scored on a breakaway following an Anaheim turnover to make it a 3-1 game.

Stephane Robidas scored on the power play to make it a 4-1 game in the second. Sbisa scored for the Ducks to cut the lead to 4-2 a little more than a minute later, but Sheldon Souray and Michael Ryder scored third period goals for the Stars to put the Ducks away.

Anaheim, which entered the game on a 9-1-1 run, had a six-game home winning streak snapped.

“We played bad tonight,” Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau said. “It wasn’t fun to watch.”

For the Stars, it was a step in the right direction as they try to climb into the top eight in the Western Conference.

“It’s little steps. There are some building blocks to build from,” said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan. “Was our game clean? By no means, but it can get better. That’s what we have to do, but we’ll take the points and use that as a stepping stone.”

Notes

*Defenseman Nicklas Grossman did not play Wednesday due to the flu. He could play Thursday.

*Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said Richard Bachman would start Thursday’s game in San Jose.

*Adam Pardy and Toby Petersen were healthy scratches Wednesday.

*Sheldon Souray scored his first goal since November 4.

*Stephane Robidas scored his first since November 6.