ESPN

Phoenix Coyotes captain Shane Doan has a disciplinary hearing this afternoon with the NHL's Department of Player Safety for his hit on Stars forward Jamie Benn in Tuesday night's game at American Airlines Center.

Doan hit Benn in the head with an elbow during the second period of the game, a 4-3 shootout victory for Dallas, and received a minor for elbowing. Stars coach Glen Gulutzan called the hit a "suspendable offense."

Benn was shaken up on the play, but returned to game later in the period.

Save of the game last night and definitely a save of the year candidate was this acrobatic stop by Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen on Phoenix defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson in overtime. It was a huge difference maker in the Stars getting out of the game with two points instead of one. Considering how tight the standings are, that one point is huge.

Here's the video.

Those were two big points for the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night. They stayed in first place in the Pacific Division and third in the Western Conference.

But things are still incredibly tight. The Stars lead in the division is just one point and their lead over ninth place is one point. Everybody chasing the Stars in the division and in the conference race picked up points, except for the San Jose Sharks. So, there is still a lot of work to do.

The Kings beat the Sharks 5-2 in Los Angeles Tuesday. The Kings, who have won five in a row, moved into second in the division and into eighth place in the West. Los Angeles and Phoenix are tied at 84 points, one behind the Stars, but the Kings have played one fewer game than the Coyotes and they get the higher ranking because of a better points percentage.

The Sharks, who were trending up a couple days ago, have dropped two straight and are now three points out of the Pacific Division lead and tenth in the West, two points out of a playoff spot.

Colorado beat Calgary 2-1 in overtime Tuesday night. The Avalanche are at 85 points, the same amount as the Stars, but they have played two more games.

The Avalanche are 5-0-1 in their last six and 7-1-1 in their last nine. Four of Colorado’s last five wins have come in either the shootout or overtime.

The Flames are winless in three games, but they have points in two of those games, so that’s helped them hang around things. They are in eleventh place, two points out of a playoff spot.

Chicago won again Tuesday night, routing Columbus 5-1. The Blackhawks, who have won four straight and have points in six straight (5-0-1) are now challenging Nashville and Detroit for that fourth seed, which brings home ice in the first round.

The Blackhawks play Vancouver tonight with a chance to Detroit and Nashville at 92 points.

Here is a link to some photos of last night's Dallas Stars-Phoenix Coyotes game. You can see all the photos by Shannon Byrne here or by clicking below on the image of Mike Ribeiro scoring the lone goal of the shootout against Coyotes goalie Mike Smith.

DALLAS -- Stars coach Glen Gulutzan believes Phoenix captain Shane Doan could be looking at a suspension for a hit on Dallas forward Jamie Benn in Tuesday’s 4-3 Dallas shootout win American Airlines Center.

Doan caught Benn with an elbow in the second period of the game, prompting a major scrum that saw a total of 64 penalty minutes handed out. Doan, picked up a fighting major along with Dallas captain Brenden Morrow, was given an elbowing minor for the hit on Benn.

“I think it is a suspendable offense. He targeted the head with his elbow,” said Gulutzan. “The league will look at it for sure and decide. But it’s deliberate.”

Phoenix coach Dave Tippett said after the game he hadn’t looked at the hit yet, but did express concern about losing Doan to a possible suspension.

“I haven’t looked at it yet but we’ll see how that goes,” Tippett said. “We’re lacking a few bodies right now. That would be one we couldn’t miss but we’ll see how that turns out.”

Benn was shaken up on the hit, but did return to the game. He was shaken up another hit in overtime, but returned to take part in the shootout.

Here’s video of Doan’s hit on Benn:

DALLAS -- The Dallas Stars got an important two points Tuesday night, but they weren’t thrilled with how they got them. The Stars blew a 3-1 lead in the third period before beating the Phoenix Coyotes 4-3 in a shootout at American Airlines Center.

“I think we did good things but we’ve got to find ways to keep that two-goal lead and not give those guys a chance to get back into the game,” said Stars forward Michael Ryder, who scored two goals and had one assist. “We made a couple mistakes, a couple turnovers that ended up in our net. We came here for two points and we got that, but they got one.”

The win kept the Stars, who snapped a two-game losing streak, in first place in the Pacific Division and third in the Western Conference. The Stars are one point ahead of both Los Angeles and Phoenix in the division and they are now three points ahead of San Jose.

The Stars got a big game from their top line of Loui Eriksson, Mike Ribeiro and Ryder, who scored all three goals for Dallas. Ribeiro also scored the lone goal of the shootout.

“We’ve been working well lately for the past while and we’re reading off each other and working hard and trying to do the right things and it seems to be going in for us,” said Ryder.

Kari Lehtonen was superb in goal, making 27 saves in regulation and overtime and stopping all three shooters in the shootout.

“He gave us the points,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said of Lehtonen’s performance.

The Stars struck first in the game, getting a goal from Eriksson off the rush just 2:12 into the game. The Coyotes answered a little more than three minutes later on a goal by Lauri Korpikoski.

The Stars took a 2-1 lead on a power play goal by Ryder at the 5:26 mark and less than 30 seconds later there was a major scrum after Phoenix captain Shane Doan caught Stars forward Jamie Benn in the head with an elbow. A total of 64 penalty minutes were handed out, including fighting majors to Doan and Stars captain Brenden Morrow.

Gulutzan did not like Doan’s hit on Benn.

“I think it is a suspendable offense. He targeted the head with his elbow,” Gulutzan said. “The league will look at it for sure and decide. But it's deliberate."

Phoenix coach Dave Tippett said he hadn’t seen a replay of the play yet.

“I haven’t looked at it yet but we’ll see how that goes,” Tippett said.

The Stars were able to extend their lead later in the period when Ryder got to a puck in the crease and put it past Coyotes goalie Mike Smith to make it a 3-1 game.

But the Coyotes came back in the third, getting a shorthanded tally from defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and then a power play goal by Ray Whitney to tie the game.

“We shot ourselves in the foot,” said Gulutzan. “We couldn’t get it through our heads that turning the puck over is dangerous.”

Lehtonen came up with big saves down the stretch and in overtime, including a great pad save on Ekman-Larsson in the extra period.

“Yeah, that’s a really good save,” said Ekman-Larsson. “I think I hit the pad there, so yeah, almost.”

In the shootout, Lehtonen stopped Mikkel Boedker, Whitney and Doan.

“I was pretty comfortable there,” Lehtonen said. “We look at lots of tape and have a little clue of what they are doing. I was happy it worked out that way.”

Ribeiro scored the lone goal for the Stars, eluding an aggressive move by Smith and then slipping the puck into the net.

“I didn’t expect [Smith] to come out,” Ribeiro said. “I expected him maybe to poke check, but I guess he was nervous seeing what I was doing, but we shouldn’t have even been there. It should have been over way before that”

Notes

*The Stars lost defenseman Mark Fistric to a pulled muscle in the second period. He did not return to the game.

*Jamie Benn was banged up in overtime, going into the corner boards hard during a collision with Phoenix forward Antoine Vermette. Benn left the game, but then returned for the shootout. He appeared to be fine after the game.

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

*The Coyotes were without RW Radim Vrbata (illness) and LW Taylor Pyatt (upper body) for Tuesday’s game.

*Tuesday’s attendance was 17,012.

Here are some postgame quotes following the Dallas Stars’ 4-3 shootout victory over the Phoenix Coyotes at American Airlines Center on Tuesday.

Stars coach Glen Gulutzan on giving up the two-goal lead in the third period

“We shot ourselves in the foot. We couldn’t get it through our heads that turning the puck over is dangerous.”

Gulutzan on the play of goaltender Kari Lehtonen

“He gave us the points.”

Gulutzan on Phoenix captain Shane Doan’s hit on Stars forward Jamie Benn

“I think it is a suspendable offense. He targeted the head with his elbow. The league will look at it for sure and decide. But it's deliberate."

Stars forward Michael Ryder

“I think we did good things but we’ve got to find ways to keep that two-goal lead and not give those guys a chance to get back into the game – made a couple mistakes, a couple turnovers that ended up in our net. We came here for two points and we got that but they got one.”

“It was an emotional game and I think everyone was pretty involved and into it. It’s good to see guys with a lot of emotion and standing up for each other.”

Stars center Mike Ribeiro on his line with Michael Ryder and Loui Eriksson, which scored all three Dallas goals

“Those guys are elite players. They can score, pass and play well defensively. They can do everything right on the ice and it’s easy to play with those guys. They’ve been scoring most the goals on our team. They’re just amazing players and it makes my game easy.”

Coyotes coach Dave Tippett

“Well, we made a couple mistakes in the second period to give them a lead and I thought our guys came out with a mindset that we’re just going to go hard at them in the third and find something. If you look at the last part of the game and the overtime, it’s a game we deserved to win.”

Tippett on Doan’s hit on Benn

“I haven’t looked at it yet but we’ll see how that goes.”

Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson on the save that Kari Lehtonen made on him in overtime

“That’s a really good save. I think I hit the pad there, so yeah, almost.”

DALLAS -- Dallas Stars defenseman Mark Fistric left Tuesday's game with what the Stars said was an upper body injury. After the game, Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said it was a pulled muscle.

"We'll see how he responds tomorrow," Gulutzan said.

Fistric left the game early in the second period with the injury.

Stars forward Jamie Benn was skaken up a couple of times in the game, but Gulutzan said Benn appeared to be fine. Benn took an elbow to the head in the second period from Coyotes captain Shane Doan, but returned to the game.

In overtime, he went hard into the boards during a collision with Coyotes forward Antoine Vermette, but was back on the bench at the end of the game and took part in the shootout.

"He's a tough, tough kid. I haven checked on him. I don't know if it was his wind of whatever. They just told he would be back for the shootout," Gulutzan said. "I didn't see the hit (in overtime). I am assuming everything is fine."

The Dallas Stars held on to first place in the Pacific Division with a 4-3 shootout win over the Phoenix Coyotes at American Airlines Center on Tuesday night.

The Stars hold a one point lead over the Coyotes in the division race and will hold a one point lead over the winner of tonight’s San Jose-Los Angeles game as well.

The Stars had a 3-1 lead going into the third period, but the Coyotes scored a shorthanded goal and a power-play goal to tie the game and force overtime.

The Stars’ top line of Loui Eriksson, Mike Ribeiro and Michael Ryder combined for three goals and six assists. Ryder had two goals, one assist, Eriksson had one goal and two assists and Ribeiro had three assists.

Ribeiro also scored the lone goal of the shootout. Kari Lehtonen made 27 saves and stopped all three shots he faced in the shootout.

First period

The Stars scored 2:12 into the game to take a 1-0 lead. Off the rush, Loui Eriksson roofed a shot over Coyotes goalie Mike Smith from the bottom of the right faceoff circle.

The Coyotes answered at the 5:14 mark when Ray Whitney sent a pass from the corner to Lauri Korpikoski, who beat Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen with a blast from the slot.

The Coyotes had two power play chances in the period, but couldn’t take advantage.

Stars close to scoring again, but a Michael Ryder shot from the slot hit the post.

Shots were 9-5 in favor of Phoenix.

Second period

The Stars had a good chance early in the second, but Mike Smith stopped Vernon Fiddler’s close range backhand shot off an odd-man rush.

Smith had another nice save on Michael Ryder with just under 16 minutes to go and then made a spectacular glove save on a glove save on Loui Eriksson less than 30 seconds later.

The Stars got their first power play of the game at the 4:43 mark of the second and quickly cashed in. Loui Eriksson sent the puck across the crease to Michael Ryder, who one-timed it past Smith to give the Stars a 2-1 lead at the 5:26 mark.

There was a major scrum less than a minute later after Coyotes captain Shane Doan hit Stars forward Jamie Benn in the head with an elbow. Stars captain Brenden Morrow went after Doan with each getting five minutes for fighting, and Doan picking up an elbowing minor for the hit on Benn. There were also a series of roughing penalties and ten-misconducts to both teams, and the Stars ended up with a power play. Benn was shaken up by the hit, but returned to the game.

Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen came up with a big stop with just seven minutes left in the period, denying a Antoine Vermette shot from the left circle with Phoenix on the rush.

The Stars extended their lead to 3-1 with 5:18 left when Eriksson took a pass from Mike Ribeiro and chipped a puck on net off the rush and Ryder got to the puck in the crease and tapped it into the net for his second goal of the night and 32nd of the season.

Third period

The Stars announced at the beginning of the period that defenseman Mark Fistric was out for the rest of the game with an upper body injury.

The Stars had their third and fourth power plays of the game in the first half of the third period, but the Coyotes scored shorthanded on the second to make it a 3-2 game. Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson took a pass from Daymond Langkow off the rush and scored from the right circle at the 8:51 mark.

Phoenix went on its fourth power play of the game with 5:30 left when the Stars were called for too many men on the ice, and the Coyotes scored 28 seconds when Ray Whitney scored off the rush, beating Lehtonen with a shot from the left circle with 5:02 left in regulation.

Overtime/Shootout

The Stars lost Benn in the overtime after a violent collision in the corner in the Coyotes defensive zone, but he was back on the bench at the end of the game.

Lehtonen came up with a spectacular save on Ekman-Larsson with 1:44 left in the overtime, stacking his pads on a shot from the left circle to get the game to a shootout.

Ribeiro scored the lone goal of the shootout and Lehtonen stopped all three Phoenix shooters.

Stars lineup

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

Souray-Robidas
Fistric-Daley
Goligoski-Larsen

Lehtonen (starter)
Bachman

Injured: None
Scratched: Petersen, Pardy, Garbutt, Vincour, Jordie Benn

DALLAS -- While the Dallas Stars will be healthy coming into tonight’s game, it is a different story for the Phoenix Coyotes.

Right wing Radim Vrbata (undisclosed) and left Taylor Pyatt (undisclosed) both left Sunday’s game at Edmonton and are game-time decisions for tonight, according to Phoenix coach Dave Tippett. Vrbata leads Phoenix with 30 goals this season. Defenseman Adrian Aucoin (lower body) is out.

Mike Smith was the first goaltender off the ice for the Coyotes and should be the starter for the Phoenix. No surprise there.

Tonight’s Stars-Coyotes game is one of two big showdowns in the Pacific Division. The Sharks and Kings are playing in Los Angeles as well. The Stars (1st Pacific/3rd West) and Coyotes (2nd Pacific/7th West) are tied at 83 points. The Kings (3rd Pacific/9th West) and Sharks (4th Pacific/10th West) are tied at 82 points.

Tippett has been in this business a long time, and he’s never seen the standing as tight as what’s going on this season.

“The Pacific Division is as tight as it is going to get,” Tippett said. “We always talk about there are two ways to make the playoffs, win your division or make the top eight. I never envisioned them both being so close.”

DALLAS -- Defenseman Sheldon Souray and right wing Radek Dvorak will both be in tonight when the Dallas Stars take on the Phoenix Coyotes at American Airlines Center.

Dvorak has missed the last three games with an ankle injury and Souray has missed the last four with a charley horse.

"I am excited to come back in and be a part of what the guys are doing here and what we are trying to accomplish," Souray said. "It's always a lot more fun to step in the lineup when the games are so meaningful."

First place in the Pacific Division and the third seed in the Western Conference is at stake in tonight's game.

"It's a huge game," said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan. "We're focusing on tonight and how we need to be tonight. It's a division rival, it's the last time we play them and it's our biggest game of the year."

Kari Lehtonen is in goal tonight for the Stars.

Here's what the Stars are expected to roll out for a lineup tonight.

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

Souray-Robidas
Goligoski-Larsen
Fistric-Daley

Lehtonen

Games in hand are great, but they don’t mean much if you don’t win them. The San Jose Sharks played their game in hand on the Dallas Stars and Los Angeles Kings Monday night and lost it, falling 5-3 to the Anaheim Ducks.

The Sharks blew an opportunity to take the Pacific Division lead, and instead fell to 10th place in the Western Conference. They’re tied at 82 points with Los Angeles, but the Kings own the regulation/overtime wins tiebreaker.

The Sharks and Kings play Tuesday night. It’s one of several key games in the Western Conference playoff race.

The Stars, of course, are playing the Phoenix Coyotes at American Airlines Center. First place in the Pacific Division and the third seed in the Western Conference are at stake in that one.

Colorado is hosting Calgary as well. The Avalanche are currently in 8th place and the Calgary is in 11th place, two points off the pace.

Should be a great night of hockey.

DALLAS -- Dallas Stars defenseman Mark Fistric chuckled when it was mentioned to him that Tuesday’s game against the Phoenix Coyotes was the biggest of the season -- until the next game.

“Yeah, we’ve been saying that for the last 30 games,” Fistric said with a laugh. “But it’s huge. You look at the standings and where everyone is right now, it’s a huge game. Any way you look at it, it is game one of the playoffs for us.”

After a three day break, Tuesday’s game against the Coyotes kicks off the final ten games of the regular season that will determine if the Stars will make the playoffs.

“We are looking at these ten games like a playoff series,” said Stars captain Brenden Morrow. “We want to win game one.”

The Stars enter Tuesday’s game tied with the Coyotes at 83 points, but the Stars hold the Pacific Division lead because they have played one fewer game than Phoenix and have the better points percentage. A win and the Stars hold onto the division lead. A loss and the Stars are looking up at the Coyotes in the Pacific.

It's not just a battle for the division lead. It's a battle to keep from falling out of the top eight. Both teams are just one point up on ninth place in conference and a loss, especially a regulation loss, moves one of them closer to being out of a playoff spot.

“It’s so tight that one or two games and you can drop out that fast. We understand that and we know what we have to do,” said Stars forward Michael Ryder. “It’s just a matter of us going out there and playing the way we can, and not focus too much on other teams and what they do.”

The two teams have followed similar paths to where they are now - the Stars holding the third seed in the West and the Coyotes sitting in the seventh spot. Both were out of a playoff spot at the All-Star break, but both have put together impressive runs after the break. Phoenix went 11-0-1 at one point, and the Stars were on a 10-0-1 run until losses to Winnipeg (Wednesday) and Chicago (Friday).

“We went on that run and were still not that far ahead. That’s just the way it is. You can’t afford to lose too many in a row,” said Ryder. “With ten games left we’ve got to give it all we can.”

This will be the sixth and final meeting between the two teams this season. The Stars are 2-2-1 in the series, and the Coyotes are 3-0-2, including victories in the last three games.

“It’s going to be a tough game against Phoenix. Both teams are fighting for their lives,” said Morrow. “It’s going to be the first team that blinks that is going to lose the game. We’ve got to play a full 60 minutes.”

And Fistric said it’s going to the Stars playing their game for 60 minutes to secure points against the well-disciplined, defensive-minded Coyotes.

“We’ve got to go in with the mentality to play our game and don’t shy away from it,” said Fistric. “That’s how Phoenix beats teams. They play consistently and force teams to shy away from their game. I think our plan has to be play Stars hockey, and play for a full 60 minutes.”

Notes: Souray, Dvorak probable for Tuesday

Stars defenseman Sheldon Souray (charley horse) and right wing Radek Dvorak (ankle) both practiced Monday and both are probable for Tuesday’s game against Phoenix. Souray has missed the last four games and Dvorak has missed the last three.

Phoenix Coyotes at Dallas Stars
Tuesday, March 20
7:00 p.m.
TV: NBC Sports Network
Radio: KTCK-1310 (AM)

About the Stars

The Stars (39-28-5) are coming off a 4-1 loss to Chicago on Friday. It was the second straight loss for the Stars following a six-game winning streak and 11-game points streak. Chicago scored two goals in the first 1:42 of the game to take the early lead and then two goals early in the third period to put the game away.

“We put ourselves in a hole there, and you never want to do that against a good team like Chicago,” Benn said. “We did a better job in the second, but had another bad start in the third that crushed us. We shied away from our game a bit. We need to play the simple game, get pucks deep, and win the blue lines. We can’t shoot ourselves in the foot with bad starts.”

The Stars head into Tuesday’s game in a four-way battle San Jose, Phoenix and Los Angeles for the Pacific Division title. They are tied with the Coyotes at 83 points and have one game in hand.

“We’ve just got worry about our games and what we can control,” said Stars captain Brenden Morrow. “That’s Phoenix on Tuesday.”

Kari Lehtonen is scheduled to start in goal for the Stars on Tuesday.

Injuries: RW Radek Dvorak (ankle) and D Sheldon Souray (lower body) are probable.

About the Coyotes

The Coyotes (36-26-11) are coming off a 3-2 shootout win in Edmonton on Sunday. The Coyotes overcame a 2-0 deficit, scoring two goals in the third period to force overtime and then won the game in the shootout.

“You look at the way the game went and we weren't playing the way we needed to be," Coyotes captain Shane Doan said. “They played really, well but we were just able to find a way. We're feeling a bit fortunate right now.”

Coyotes coach Dave Tippett earned his 400^th career victory in Sunday’s game.

“401 on Tuesday would work for me,” Tippett said.

The Coyotes are 2-1-0 on their current road trip, which concludes Tuesday in Dallas.

Injuries: RW Radim Vrbata (undisclosed) and LW Taylor Pyatt (undisclosed) are questionable. D Adrian Aucoin (lower body) is day-to-day. C Kyle Chipchura (wrist) is out.

Series notes

*This is the sixth and final meeting between the two teams.

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

*The Coyotes are 3-0-2 in the season series.

*October 10, at Dallas: Stars 2, Coyotes 1 (SO)
*October 25, at Phoenix: Star3, Coyotes 2 (OT)
*November 26, at Phoenix: Coyotes 3, Stars 0
*February 7, at Dallas: Coyotes 4, Stars 1
*February 18, at Phoenix: Coyotes 2, Stars 1 (OT)

Statistical tidbits

*The Stars have six goals over their last four games.

*The Stars haven’t had a power play chance in the last two games and are 1-9 on the power play over the last five games.

*The Coyotes have the 30^th ranked power play in the league and are 2-20 on the PP over their last eight games.

*The Stars are 40-42 (95.2%) on the penalty kill over the last 13 games.

*The Coyotes are 26-28 (92.9%) on the penalty kill over the last nine games.

*Stars forward Jamie Benn has four goals in the last six games.

*Coyotes forward Ray Whitney is on a four-game points streak (one goal, five assists).

DALLAS -- Stars defenseman Sheldon Souray and right wing Radek Dvorak are listed as probable for Tuesday's game against Phoenix at American Airlines Center.

Souray has missed the last four games with a charley horse. Dvorak has missed three games with an ankle injury.

"They're both probable, I would say for tomorrow," said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan. "They're still a little banged up, but it's nothing that is going to get worse now with playing."

If both Souray and Dvorak are in then they would play in the their usual spots. Souray would be paired with Stephane Robidas on defense and Dvorak would be back on the right wing with left wing Eric Nystrom and Vernon Fiddler. Neither player practiced in those spots Monday.

Here's how Monday's practice lineup looked:

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

Fistric-Robidas
Goligoski-Larsen
Pardy-Daley
Souray-Jordie Benn

Lehtonen
Bachman