Flyers 4, Stars 2
Wayne Simmonds recorded his 12th career two-goal performance and second in three games as host Philadelphia posted its fourth consecutive victory.
Rookie Michael Raffl and defenseman Mark Streit also tallied for the surging Flyers, who are 11-2-1 in their last 14 contests. Steve Mason finished with 33 saves to improve to 9-2-1 in his last 12 decisions as Philadelphia remained three points ahead of Columbus for second place in the Metropolitan Division.
Captain Jamie Benn registered his 13th career two-goal effort for the Stars, who have dropped four in a row (0-3-1). Tyler Seguin notched a pair of assists to extend his point streak to seven games and Tim Thomas turned aside 25 shots as Dallas fell four points behind Phoenix for the second wild card in the Western Conference..
Philadelphia opened the scoring midway through the first period as captain Claude Giroux cleanly won a faceoff and Streit beat Thomas with a blast from above the left faceoff circle. Simmonds doubled the advantage three minutes later by tapping home a loose puck for his 13th power-play goal after Jakub Voracek's shot from the right circle caromed off the post.
Benn trimmed the deficit from in front during a man advantage at 12:48 of the second period before Simmonds netted his second of the night and 23rd of the season off a rush at 12:21 of the third. Benn answered 30 seconds later, converting an awkward carom off the end boards, but Raffl scored on a partial breakaway with 3:12 remaining to cap the scoring.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Giroux notched an assist to extend his point streak to five games. He has scored five goals and set up 10 others over his last nine contests. ... Thomas changed from a white to a black mask in the first intermission. The fashion statement did little to change the result as he fell to 14-5-2 in his career versus the Flyers. ... Seguin has collected six goals and eight assists during his point streak.