Stars 5, Blue Jackets 1
DALLAS -- Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin scored two goals 30 seconds apart late in the second period and goaltender Kari Lehtonen stopped 34 of 35 shots in a 5-1 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday at American Airlines Center.
Defensemen Johnny Oduya and Alex Goligoski and center Mattias Janmark also scored for Dallas (23-6-2), which remains the lone team in the NHL yet to lose consecutive games this season.
Stars left winger and captain Jamie Benn assisted on Seguin's second goal, the 400th point of his career.
Columbus (11-19-3) got its lone goal from center Scott Hartnell early in the second period while on the power play.
Blue Jackets left winger Brandon Saad nearly gave the visitors an early lead, but his wrist shot from the left circle 3:59 into the game instead found the crossbar.
Blue Jackets rookie goaltender Joonas Korpisalo stopped 23 of 27 shots before being replaced by starter Curtis McElhinney to begin the third period.
The first shot McElhinney faced was the backhand goal scored by Janmark, who skated around the left side of the Columbus net before finishing with a backhand that went top shelf.
McElhinney stopped six of seven shots in relief of Korpisalo.
Seguin's first goal came with 3:34 remaining in the second when he scored with a wrist shot through the Korpisalo's legs to give Dallas a 3-1 lead. Seguin added a second tally 30 seconds later, this time beating Korpisalo under his glove from the slot for his 17th goal of the season.
With 2:07 remaining before the first intermission, Oduya gave Dallas a 1-0 lead with his third goal of the season. Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson was unable to control the puck to the right of the Columbus goal.
Oduya capitalized, sending a wrist shot from the left point under Korpisalo's left arm.
Columbus outshot Dallas 16-8 in the first period. At one point, the Blue Jackets had 14 consecutive shots as the Stars went 10:36 between shots.
The Blue Jackets pulled things level early in the second when Hartnell scored his 13th of the season 4:32 into the second with Columbus on the power play. Twenty-six seconds after Stars defenseman Patrik Nemeth was whistled for high-sticking, Hartnell got his stick in front of a pass from center Alexander Wennberg, sending the puck into the right side of the Dallas net to make it 1-1.
Goligoski tapped in a rather fortunate carom off the end boards with 6:58 remaining in the second to make it 2-1 in favor of Dallas. Stars right winger Ales Hemsky had fired a wrist shot to the left of the Columbus goal from the slot, but Goligoski played the carom perfectly, tapping the puck into the top right corner of the net for his third goal of the season.
NOTES: Blue Jackets RW Jared Boll and D Kevin Connauton, who played for Dallas in 2013 and 2014, were scratched. ... Stars D Jyrki Jokipakka, D Jamie Oleksiak and C Colton Sceviour were scratched. Sceviour had skated in the previous 28 games for Dallas. ... Blue Jackets G Joonas Korpisalo was starting his second consecutive game. Korpisalo made his NHL debut in Monday's 2-1 loss to Tampa Bay in Columbus. ... Stars G Kari Lehtonen was starting for the first time since Dec. 8 against Carolina, a game where he was pulled in the third period for G Antti Niemi. ... Blue Jackets D Dalton Prout returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch in the past two games. ... These clubs will conclude their season series on Dec. 29 in Columbus. ... The Blue Jackets are beginning a two-game road trip while the Stars are starting a three-game homestand.