Blue Jackets 4, Stars 1
Captain Rick Nash scored twice and Steve Mason turned aside 36 shots as the Columbus Blue Jackets spoiled the return of Kari Lehtonen with a 4-1 road triumph over the Dallas Stars on Thursday.
Antoine Vermette and defenseman Fedor Tyutin also tallied and defenseman John Moore notched the first two assists of his career for Columbus, which ended a six-game losing skid with its first regulation road win of the season.
Dallas fell for the fourth time in six games and saw captain Brenden Morrow exit the contest in the third period with a lower body injury. He did not return.
With the game tied at 1-1, Vermette collected a loose puck to the side of the net and beat a prone Lehtonen for his fifth goal of the season - and third this month.
Nash doubled the advantage at 6:09 of the third period by wristing a shot past Lehtonen for his second two-goal performance of the campaign. The Finn finished with 25 saves while making his first start since being sidelined with a groin injury on Nov. 26
Mason, who improved to 1-8-0 on the road this season, overcame Vernon Fiddler's first-period goal as Columbus won for the first time in three meetings versus Dallas.