Stars 6, Predators 3
Michael Ryder collected a goal and two assists and Loui Eriksson, Mike Ribeiro and Steve Ott each added a goal and an assist as the Dallas Stars went into the holiday break with a 6-3 victory over the visiting Nashville Predators on Friday.
Vernon Fiddler and Jamie Benn each chipped in a tally for the Stars, who have won five of their last seven games behind rookie goaltender Richard Bachman.
The Predators fell into an early 3-0 hole in the first period, when Fiddler, Eriksson and Ott scored within three minutes of each other against Pekka Rinne. That ended Rinne’s night, as Anders Lindback came on in relief 12:30 into the contest.
Nashville, which recovered from a 5-2 deficit to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, cut it to 3-2 in the second period but Ribeiro scored on a one-timer from a bad angle with 5:50 left in the period to push it back to a two-goal edge.
David Legwand drew the Predators within 4-3 on a power play in the third but Benn recorded his ninth goal 30 seconds later and Ryder capped it off with an unassisted tally on an empty net with 2:07 to play.