Blue Jackets 4, Stars 2
Ryan Johansen scored for the fourth consecutive contest and added an assist to extend his point streak to eight games as visiting Columbus improved to 12-2-1 in its last 15.
Mark Letestu tallied in his return following surgery for groin and abdominal injuries while ex-Star Kevin Connauton and fellow defensemen James Wisniewski also scored for the Blue Jackets. Nick Foligno notched three assists, Scott Hartnell added two and Sergei Bobrovsky finished with 24 saves to improve to 7-1-1 lifetime against Dallas.
Ales Hemsky and Antoine Roussel scored in the second period for the Stars, who saw their five-game point streak (4-0-1) come to an end. Anders Lindback turned aside 16 shots to fall to 1-6-0 while making his first start since Nov. 29.
Wisniewski opened the scoring 5:21 into the contest as Hemsky extended his stick to accidentally deflect the defenseman's blast from the point past Lindback. Johansen didn't have long to wait to get on the scoresheet as he doubled the advantage just over two minutes later, converting a cross-slot feed from the right doorstep for a power-play goal.
Connauton burned his former team by scoring from the point at 3:57 of the second before Hemsky responded 91 seconds later by unleashing a shot from the top of the right faceoff circle that beat a screened Bobrovsky. Dallas trimmed the deficit at 13:14 of the session as Garbutt's shot from the slot caromed off Roussel's skate and into the net, but Letestu converted a 2-on-1 rush with 2:58 remaining to seal the win.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Johansen has four goals and five assists during his point streak, but Columbus C Brandon Dubinsky saw his four-game run - during which he recorded two tallies and five assists - come to a halt. ... Blue Jackets D Fedor Tyutin played in his 700th career game while RW Cam Atkinson (upper body) returned to the ice for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury versus Boston on Dec. 27. ... Connauton has recorded 10 points in his last 12 contests.