Avalanche 2, Stars 1
Paul Stastny scored a power-play goal to snap a tie midway into the
third period as the Colorado Avalanche skated to a 2-1 road victory over
the Dallas Stars on Saturday.
Stastny also assisted on David Jones' first-period goal and
Jean-Sebastien Giguere stopped 21 shots for Colorado, which snapped a
three-game losing skid (0-2-1) after winning nine of its previous 10
contests. With the triumph, Colorado moved one point ahead of Dallas in
the congested Western Conference standings.
With Dallas' Steve Ott serving a hooking penalty midway through the
third period, the Avalanche made the Stars pay just 13 seconds into the
power play. Stastny deflected defenseman Erik Johnson's point shot past
Kari Lehtonen for his 12th goal of the season and first since Dec. 21.
After mustering just three goals in as many contests, Colorado opened
the scoring midway into the first period after Lehtonen misplayed the
puck behind his own net. Stastny alertly fed Jones, who calmly
backhanded the puck into the net for his ninth goal of the season and
second in four games.
Giguere's bid for his 36th career shutout came to an end at 5:26 of the
third period as Vernon Fiddler backhanded a rebound of Radek Dvorak's
original shot past the veteran netminder.
Lehtonen finished with 21 saves as Dallas fell to 8-3-1 in its last 12 home games versus Colorado.