Stars 3, Blues 0
DALLAS - Dallas Stars right winger Patrick Sharp had a goal and an assist and goalie Kari Lehtonen stopped all 22 shots he faced in a 3-0 win against the St. Louis Blues on Sunday at American Airlines Center.
Lehtonen earned his 33rd career shutout and third of the season.
Stars left winger and captain Jamie Benn and center Cody Eakin also scored for Dallas (27-7-3), who got two of its goals while on the power play.
Sharp's goal, the eventual game-winner, came late in the first period when he collected his own rebound to score his 13th goal of the season after his initial effort was turned away by Blues goaltender Brian Elliott, who stopped 35 of 37 shots and was strong despite taking the loss.
The Stars had gone on the power play with 2:51 remaining in the first period after Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo was called for slashing Stars left winger and captain Jamie Benn.
With 3:01 remaining in the opening frame, Elliott made a spectacular diving save at the far post on a wrist shot by Stars defenseman Jordie Benn from the right circle.
Dallas outshot St. Louis 16-5 in the first period and led 1-0 after 20 minutes.
The start of the second period featured two fights. Blues right winger Troy Brouwer and Stars left winger Antoine Roussel dropped the gloves three seconds into the middle frame and four seconds later, Bortuzzo and Stars left winger Travis Moen went toe-to-toe.
Jamie Benn had a breakaway 3:07 into the second but after maneuvering around Elliott at the far post, Benn pushed the puck wide of the visiting net due to a bad angle.
Elliott robbed Stars right winger Ales Hemsky at the near post as he tried to score on a backhand tap-in with 6:18 remaining in the second.
Jamie Benn made it 2-0 40 seconds into the third period when he tucked a Sharp pass from the left side that deflected off Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester and tucked a wrist shot under Elliott at the far post for his NHL-leading 23rd goal of the season.
The Stars had gone on the power play with 31 seconds remaining in the second period after Blues right winger Dmitrij Jaskin was called for tripping Stars center Tyler Seguin.
Eakin made it 3-0 with an empty-net goal with 1:32 remaining, getting a fortunate deflection while sending the puck around the boards after winning a faceoff.
Dallas, who is now 15-4-0 at home, beat St. Louis for the first time this season, rebounding nicely from a 3-2 shootout loss at Scottrade Center on Saturday night to start the back-to-back.
The Stars are now 4-1-1 in the second night of a back-to-back. Dallas outshot St. Louis 37-18 in the game.
Elliott headed to the bench with 2:13 remaining, but St. Louis was unable to find a goal, even with the extra attacker. Elliott returned to the crease after Eakin scored.
NOTES: Blues C Kyle Brodziak (undisclosed), RW Jordan Caron and D Joel Edmundson were scratched. ... Stars RW Patrick Eaves, D Patrik Nemeth and D Jamie Oleksiak were scratched. Eaves was a healthy scratch for the first time since Dec. 4 at Edmonton, ending a run of nine consecutive games. ... Blues G Brian Elliott was starting for the first time since Dec. 19 against Calgary. ... Stars G Kari Lehtonen started for the first time since Dec. 21 at Minnesota, when he was pulled for Niemi after allowing two goals on the first four shots he faced. ... Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, a Dallas native and three-time winner of the National League Cy Young Award, dropped the ceremonial first pick prior to the game. ... Referee Brad Meier was not at the arena in time for puck drop, so the game began with one referee.