The Dallas Stars finally have some positive momentum going.
Patrick Eaves had a goal and an assist and Kari Lehtonen made 40 saves as the Stars won their second game in as many nights, coming away with a 3-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Friday.
Lauri Korpikoski and Antoine Roussel also scored for the Stars (6-6-3) who had lost six of seven before turning things around in Alberta with wins over the Calgary Flames and Edmonton.
“I haven’t played back-to-backs in a long time, so that was a nice challenge and it was fun to get lots of action too, it kept me in the game easily the whole time,” Lehtonen said.
Dallas forward Tyler Seguin, who picked up two assists, said the Stars really camped down defensively in the contest.
“I think we’re finding defence,” he said. “We’re finding ways to defend. With the guys out of the lineup, that’s a lot of speed and a lot of goal scoring. Our main focus and discussions have been how we’re going to defend. I thought our goalie did a great job tonight and our D made some great plays and some smart plays and our forwards track back hard. It was good things the last two nights, we’re going to put it away and keep it going.”
Patrick Maroon and Tyler Pitlick replied for the Oilers (9-5-1) who have lost two in a row.
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“We’re always playing from behind,” said Oilers captain Connor McDavid. “We’re putting ourselves behind the 8-ball and we have to figure out a way to have better starts.
“They did a good job at trapping up the middle and not allowing us to get speed. Ultimately, we’ve got to find a way to win a game like that. It’s just not good enough coming close.”
It was not a great start for Edmonton, as Dallas scored on the first shot of the game, just 28 seconds in. Jamie Benn fed it into the slot to former Oiler Korpikoski, who blasted a shot past Edmonton starter Cam Talbot.
Jordan Eberle put the Oilers back on the offence just three minutes later, fishing a puck out of a scramble in front of the net and putting a shot on Dallas goalie Kari Lehtonen, with Maroon sweeping in to score his sixth of the season.
Eaves scored on a long point shot to make it 2-1 for Dallas five minutes into the first period.
Edmonton tied the game up again with 29 seconds left to play in the opening frame, as Pitlick got the puck behind the net and swooped out front before calmly lifting a backhand past Lehtonen.
The Stars made it 3-2 with five minutes remaining in the second period when Tyler Seguin sent Roussel in on a partial breakaway and he made the most of it, beating Talbot.
Edmonton had some solid chances in the dying minutes, but Lehtonen stood tall to preserve the win.
Both teams return to action on Sunday with the Oilers playing host to the New York Rangers and the Stars wrapping up a five-game road trip in Vancouver against the Canucks.
Notes — The Stars have been forced to get by without six of their top forwards, with Cody Eakin, Patrick Sharp, Ales Hemsky, Jiri Hudler, Jason Spezza and Mattias Janmark all absent from the lineup… Coming into the game, the Stars had gone 17-3-4 against the Oilers over the past seven seasons… It was the first of three meetings between the two teams this season, the next one taking place Nov. 19 in Dallas.