Predators 5, Stars 3
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Calle Jarnkrok, Shea Weber and Mattias Ekholm scored consecutive goals in the second period, leading the Nashville Predators to their fifth straight win with a 5-3 victory over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night.
Craig Smith and James Neal also scored for the surging Predators (32-21-11), who improved to 7-0-3 in their last 10 games.
Antoine Roussel, Jason Spezza and Vernon Fiddler scored for the Stars (38-20-7), who suffered their fourth straight loss.
Dallas has allowed three or more goals in seven consecutive games.
Stars starting goalie Antti Niemi gave up four goals on 18 shots. Backup Kari Lehtonen yielded one on 16 shots.
Predators goalie Pekka Rinne made 35 saves for the win, improving to 5-0-1 in his last six starts.
Dallas, seeking its first division title since 2006, remains tied for first with Chicago atop the Central with 83 points each.
Nashville ended a four-game losing streak to Dallas.
The Predators took a 1-0 lead when Smith scored his 15th goal of the season at 12:38 of the first period. Center Mike Ribeiro was behind the Dallas net when he slid a pass to Smith in front of the right side of the crease, where he fired a quick shot into an open net.
Ribeiro, a veteran who played in his 1,000th career game on Feb. 6, has seven assists in the last seven games.
Dallas needed only 10 seconds to tie the score at 1 when Roussel, the eighth French-born NHL player in league history, scored his 10th goal of the season.
Roussel skated the puck behind Nashville's net before heading back to the right side of the crease where he stuffed a shot past Rinne at the near post.
Jarnkrok gave the Predators a 2-1 lead when he deflected a puck past Niemi at 1:35 of the second period.
Neal flipped a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle toward the net and Jarnkrok tipped it off the top of Niemi's stick into the net.
Nashville increased its lead to 3-1 when Weber blasted a one-timer past Niemi for a power-play goal at 9:17 of the second period.
Dallas left winger Jamie Benn was in the penalty box for interference.
Nashville needed just 31 seconds to make it 4-1 when Ekholm scored on a backhander. The puck wobbled in the air before bouncing off Benn's leg, changing directions and caroming into the net.
Dallas coach Lindy Ruff pulled Niemi after the fourth goal, bringing in Lehtonen.
The Stars narrowed the gap to 4-2 when Spezza poked a rebound through Rinne's legs on a five-on-three power play at 16:28 of the second period.
Predators defenseman Roman Josi was in the penalty box for cross-checking and right winger Miikka Salomaki joined him for high sticking.
Neal built Nashville's lead to 5-2 with a one-timer from the right faceoff circle that beat Lehtonen high to the glove-side.
Several minutes earlier, Lehtonen was shaken up after a Weber shot hit him in the groin.
Fiddler narrowed the deficit to 5-3 with a one-timer at 10:30 of the third period after a Josi turnover in the Nashville zone.
NOTES: D Kris Russell, acquired in a trade with Calgary on Monday, made his debut with Dallas. ... Stars RW Patrick Eaves was out due to illness. ... Predators D Shea Weber returned to the lineup after missing the previous three games with a lower-body injury. ... Nashville entered the game with the Western Conference's first wild card spot, holding a five-point lead over Colorado.