Lehtonen, Stars shut out Avalanche
DENVER -- Kari Lehtonen made 23 saves for his first shutout of the season and Tyler Seguin had a goal and an assist as the Dallas Stars ended their road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night.
Lehtonen stopped five shots in the third period for his 35th career shutout. Curtis McKenzie and Patrick Eaves also scored for the Stars.
Wins have been hard to come by for Dallas (10-10-6), especially on the road where it is 4-7-4. The Stars had lost seven of 10 coming into Saturday, with three of those losses coming in overtime.
They found a cure, at least temporarily, in a struggling Colorado team that hasn't won in nearly two weeks.
Semyon Varlamov had 30 saves for Colorado, which was shut out for the fifth time this season.
The Avalanche (9-13-1) wrapped up a disappointing 0-4-1 homestand and head on the road for four games with the worst record in the NHL. Colorado has allowed the first goal in 17 of its 23 games and is 5-11-1 when trailing 1-0.
Things got worse for the Avalanche when defenseman Erik Johnson left the game in the second period with a leg injury and didn't return. He blocked a shot on one of the Stars' power plays and went to the locker room.
Dallas, which is last in the league in scoring, finish its road trip 1-2-1. McKenzie got the first one at 5:08 of the first when his shot banged around in the front and went past Varlamov.
Seguin made it 2-0 on the power play at 6:02 of the second when his one-timer from the top of the left circle beat Varlamov high for his ninth of the season.
Colorado got a power play with 4:15 left and pulled Varlamov late in the advantage but couldn't break through. They didn't get a shot on goal but Tyson Barrie hit the post. Moments later, Eaves scored into the empty net for his team-leading 10th of the season.
NOTES: The Stars placed LW Patrick Sharp on injured reserve with concussion-like symptoms. The move is retroactive to Thursday, meaning Sharp can return Dec. 8. Sharp has one goal and one assist in 11 games this season. ... Colorado C Rocco Grimaldi made his NHL debut after he was recalled from San Antonio on Friday. Grimaldi is the second player in as many games to make his NHL debut with the Avalanche. Samuel Henley scored a goal in Thursday's game. ... D Stephen Johns took Sharp's spot on the roster and was in the lineup. ... Avalanche LW Gabriel Landeskog (lower body) skated Saturday morning, the first time in eight days he was on the ice. Landeskog will "probably" make the four-game road trip, coach Jared Bednar said.