Stars 3, Predators 2 (OT)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- To secure enough points for a Western Conference playoff spot, the Nashville Predators need to win more games against their Central Division brethren.
Monday night wasn't the step in that direction, as Dallas center Mattias Janmark potted a rebound goal at 3:49 of overtime to give the Stars a 3-2 win over the Predators at sold-out Bridgestone Arena.
Janmark's 12th goal of the season came at the end of a three-on-one rush. Center Tyler Seguin's initial shot was stopped, but Janmark was wide open at the right post and merely had to tap it in as Dallas (37-15-5) won for the seventh time in eight games.
Stars goalie Antti Niemi (21-10-5) made 24 saves. Nashville goalie Carter Hutton (6-2-2), rewarded with a second straight start after blanking the Florida Panthers 5-0 Saturday night, collected 29 saves, 10 in the third period.
Hutton denied left winger Jamie Benn on three point-blank chances from the slot with less than 4 1/2 minutes remaining to help the game reach overtime. However, it wasn't enough to keep the Predators (26-21-10) from dropping to 6-11-3 against division foes.
Nashville controlled most of the first period and broke out on top. Right winger Craig Smith pounced on the rebound of a point shot by defenseman Mattias Ekholm and swatted home his 12th goal at 11:32.
Dallas changed the momentum during the Predators' first power play early in the second period. Benn's cross-ice pass set up center Cody Eakin for a one-timer from the right faceoff circle at 5:42, Eakin's 11th marker.
Right winger Ales Hemsky put the Stars ahead at 6:59, taking advantage of a blown defensive coverage and roofing a wrister from the goalmouth over goalie Carter Hutton. It was Hemsky's seventh goal of the season.
Left winger Filip Forsberg equalized at 16:18 with his 19th goal of the year. Smith took the puck from defenseman Alex Goligoski behind the net and fed Forsberg in the slot.
NOTES: Dallas C Tyler Seguin, who left Saturday night's 4-3 win over Washington when his arm was cut by a skate blade late in the third period, was back in the lineup. ... Nashville D Shea Weber, who had no points Monday, needs one more power-play point to tie Kimmo Timonen atop the franchise's all-time list. Timonen had 182 power-play points. ... The Stars scratched LW Curtis McKenzie, along with D Jyrki Jokipakka and D Jamie Oleksiak. ... The Predators' scratches were D Petter Granberg and C Cody Bass.