Stars hand Oilers second straight loss
EDMONTON, Alberta -- Antoine Roussel scored the game winner as the Dallas Stars emerged with a 3-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Friday.
Lauri Korpikoski and Patrick Eaves got the other goals for the Stars (6-6-3), who have won two games in a row.
Patrick Maroon and Tyler Pitlick scored in response for the Oilers (9-5-1), who have lost two straight.
Dallas started the game strong, as Jamie Benn spotted Korpikoski open in the slot and he blasted his third goal of the season past Oilers goalie Cam Talbot. The goal came on the first shot of the game, just 28 seconds into the first period.
Edmonton drew even just three minutes later as Maroon cashed in on the rebound from a Jordan Eberle shot, scoring his sixth on Dallas goaltender Kari Lehtonen.
The Stars made it 2-1 five minutes into the opening frame, getting a goal from Eaves on a long power play shot from the point.
The Oilers knotted the game up again with just 29 seconds left in the first period, as Pitlick grabbed a loose puck behind the net and then chipped a backhand shot in for his fifth of the season.
Roussel put the Stars back in front thanks to a good feed from Tyler Seguin, beating Talbot with five minutes to play in the second period.
Edmonton had several good chances late in the third, but Lehtonen came up big, ending up with 40 saves on the night.
NOTES: The Oilers remain home to host the New York Rangers on Sunday, while the Stars wrap up a five-game trip in Vancouver, also on Sunday. ... The two teams will play each other again next Saturday in Dallas. ... The Stars were playing their third game in four nights, coming off a 4-2 victory in Calgary on Thursday. ... Lehtonen made his second straight start for Dallas. He and Antti Niemi have split the games this season, each playing in eight prior to the visit to Edmonton. ... Both teams have been hit hard by the injury bug, most notably Dallas, who have six of their top nine forwards out. Injured for the Stars were forwards Mattias Janmark (knee), Cody Eakin (knee), Patrick Sharp (concussion), Ales Hemsky (hip), Jason Spezza (lower body) and Jiri Hudler (illness)... Injured for the Oilers were forwards Drake Caggiula (hip), Matt Hendricks (lower body), Iiro Pakarinen (knee) and Zack Kassian (lower body), as well as defensemen Brandon Davidson (upper body), Mark Fayne (lower body) and Kris Russell (lower body).