Stars 5, Jets 3
WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Two late goals by center Jamie Benn lifted the Dallas Stars to a 5-3 victory over the Winnipeg Jets Tuesday night.
Benn gave his club some breathing room when he whipped in his 31st goal of the season with 5:52 left in the game while Winnipeg was shorthanded to give his club a 4-2 lead. It turned out to be the winner. He then notched his 32nd into an empty net.
Stars center Colton Sceviour's quick shot in the third period was reviewed and called a goal with 7:31 left in the third period, breaking a 2-2 tie.
Winnipeg center Mark Scheifele got the Jets within 4-3 when he corralled a loose puck near the crease and slid in his 14th goal with just 2:06 left in regulation. But Benn sent a long shot into an empty net with 14.7 seconds left to seal the victory.
Winnipeg Jets left winger and captain Andrew Ladd had tied the game 2-2 late in the second period with his 17th goal of the season in what could be his final game at the MTS Centre.
Ladd, an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, is the target of much speculation, with at least a half a dozen teams rumored to be interested in the two-time Stanley Cup champion's services. The NHL trade deadline is Monday and the Jets aren't at home again until Tuesday.
Stars center Jason Spezza netted his 19th goal of the season -- with Winnipeg defenseman Paul Postma in the penalty box for interference -- to open the scoring in the first period. Right winger Valeri Nichushkin added his sixth in the second period for Dallas (38-17-6).
Center Alex Burmistrov registered his sixth goal of the season early in the second period for Winnipeg (25-30-4).
Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec stopped 22 shots in his fourth start after returning from a knee injury sustained on Nov. 21 that kept him out of the lineup for 33 games. Dallas netminder Antti Niemi made 22 saves for the victory.
Special teams were crucial in the first period as the Stars found success on one of two power-play chances and then quashed a pair of opportunities the Jets had with the man advantage.
Just over seven minutes into the period, Tyler Seguin's cross-ice pass deep in the Jets end hit a skate and bounced right to Spezza, who snapped a quick shot past Pavelec for his fifth goal in his last 10 games.
Burmistrov tied the contest at 3:28 of the second period when he used a backhand to knock a rebound past Niemi. Right winger Drew Stafford picked up the 200th assist of his career on the play.
Just over a minute after Jets right winger Blake Wheeler hit the cross bar, the Stars regained the lead when Nichushkin's sharp-angle shot found room over Pavelec's left shoulder at 8:14.
Winnipeg blueliner Dustin Byfuglien nearly pulled the Jets even midway through the period but his blast from the slot clanked off the right post.
Byfuglien and right winger Joel Armia had a shorthanded, two-on-one rush ruined by a tremendous stick check by Dallas defenseman John Klingberg with just over four minutes left in the middle frame. But 20 seconds later Byfuglien raced away on another two-on-one, this time slipping the puck to Ladd, who redirected it past Niemi and then bowled over Stars center Mattias Janmark beside the net.
The goal, knotting the game 2-2, was the Jets' 10th shorthanded marker of the season, tying them with the Ottawa Senators for the league lead.
NOTES: The Stars were missing the services of RW Patrick Eaves (illness) and LW Travis Moen (lower body), while D Jamie Oleksiak and D Jyrki Jokipakka were healthy scratches. The Jets played without C Bryan Little (upper body) and D Mark Stuart (broken hand), while D Adam Pardy was a healthy scratch. ... The clubs meet again Thursday at American Airlines Center in Dallas, the final game of the season series. ... The Jets play 11 home games in March, their busiest month of the season at the MTS Centre. ... Stars' C Tyler Seguin played with Jets RW Nikolaj Ehlers during the 2012-13 lockout-shortened season with the EHC Biel-Bienne hockey club in Switzerland. Ehlers was just 16 at the time. ... Dallas C Vern Fiddler is just three games shy of 800 for his NHL career. An undrafted player, he played in the ECHL and AHL before finally becoming a regular with the Nashville Predators in 2005.