Stars hold off shorthanded Avalanche
DALLAS -- The Dallas Stars nearly blew a 3-0 lead, but thanks to Kari Lehtonen, who stopped 34 of 36 shots, Dallas was able to hold on for a 3-2 victory against the Colorado Avalanche at American Airlines Center on Thursday.
Dallas (7-6-5) got goals from Johnny Oduya, Brett Ritchie and Patrick Eaves, all in the first period.
Colorado (7-9-0) got a goal and an assist from Nathan MacKinnon and a goal from Mikhail Grigorenko. The Avalanche were without two of their top offensive players in Matt Duchene (concussion symptoms) and captain Gabriel Landeskog (lower body).
Colorado made it a one-goal game 1:51 into the third period when Grigorenko redirected a MacKinnon wrist shot from the right point for his first goal of the season. Grigorenko got his stick in front of MacKinnon's shot, changing the puck's trajectory enough to deflect it into the Dallas net.
AJ Greer, appearing in his second NHL game, was credited with the secondary assist on the Grigorenko goal.
MacKinnon nearly had a second goal 9:49 into the third, but Lehtonen denied him at close range as MacKinnon attempted to score off a rebound.
Stars forward Antoine Roussel saw his seven-game point streak, the longest active streak in the NHL, snapped.
Semyon Varlamov stopped 20 of 22 shots for Colorado in a losing effort, including the final 16 shots he faced.
Varlamov headed to the bench with 56.5 seconds remaining, but even with the extra attacker, the undermanned Avalanche were unable to find the equalizer.
Dallas took an early lead when Oduya scored his first goal of the season 8:15 into the first period. Oduya's slap shot from the left circle deflected off Tyson Barrie's left knee before landing in the back of the net.
It was Oduya's first goal since Dec. 17, 2015, against Calgary, a span of 67 games.
The Stars doubled their advantage 2:04 later when Ritchie scored his fourth goal of the season from the slot with Dallas on the power play. Ritchie received a pass from Devin Shore and finished with precision, sending the puck into the top of the Colorado net at 10:19 of the first to make it a 2-0 contest.
Eaves made it 3-0 with a power-play goal 21 seconds before the first intermission. After receiving a Tyler Seguin pass inside the right circle, Eaves beat Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov top shelf to his short side.
Colorado broke the shutout at 12:06 of the second when MacKinnon scored a short-handed goal to make it 3-1. Andreas Martinsen stole the puck from Jordie Benn in the right corner and then sent a pass to MacKinnon, who scored on an easy tap-in at the near post.
The Stars have now allowed four short-handed goals this season, tying them with Philadelphia for the league lead.
NOTES: The Avalanche scratched C Matt Duchene (concussion symptoms), D Eric Gelinas and LW Gabriel Landeskog (lower body). ... The Stars scratched D Jamie Oleksiak and C Gemel Smith. ... C Cody Eakin made his season debut. Eakin, who was activated from injured reserve Thursday afternoon, had been sidelined since preseason due to a knee injury. ... On Wednesday, Colorado recalled LW A.J. Greer from AHL San Antonio. Greer, who made his NHL debut on Nov. 13 against Boston, was leading AHL rookies in assists (nine) and points (14) at the time of his latest promotion. ... Dallas sent D Esa Lindell to AHL Texas on Thursday afternoon. Lindell, who made his NHL debut last season, had been a healthy scratch in the past four games. ... Colorado plays at Minnesota on Saturday, while Dallas plays host to the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.