Eriksson, Ribeiro Lead Stars Past Blues

[February 27, 2008]  ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Loui Eriksson scored twice and Mike Ribeiro added a pair of assists in a three-goal third period for the Dallas Stars, who rallied to defeat the St. Louis Blues 3-1 on Tuesday night.

After pulling off one of the biggest trades of deadline day when it acquired Brad Richards from Tampa Bay, Dallas didn't need its new high-scoring center to handle the Blues.

The Stars, who trailed 1-0 heading into the third period, also got a goal from Jere Lehtinen to win in St. Louis for the first time in five games. Marty Turco stopped 27 shots for Dallas in the game after being scored on the first shot he faced.

Earlier in the day, Dallas acquired Richards and goalie Johan Holmqvist from Tampa Bay in exchange for forwards Jeff Halpern and Jussi Jokinen and goalie Mike Smith.

The Blues, who have dropped four straight (0-3-1), got a first-period goal from Keith Tkachuk. They had lost only once in regulation (18-1-2) in 21 games when leading after two periods until Tuesday.

The Blues have only scored three goals in their previous four games after scoring 10 in two games before that.

The Stars scored three goals on their first three shots of the third period to grab a lead after being outshot 26-14 through two periods.

Eriksson scored his first of the game, redirecting in Ribeiro's cross-ice feed 2:27 into the final period to tie it at 1.

Lehtinen converted his 11th goal of the season on the power play 7:43 into the final period to give the Stars a 2-1 lead. Lehtinen took Ribeiro's feed into the slot and beat Manny Legace high to the glove side on Dallas' second shot of the period.

Eriksson netted his 11th of the season on a shot from the top of the left circle. It was Eriksson's fourth goal in two games.

Tkachuk gave the Blues a 1-0 lead with his 20th goal of the season 1:31 in.

Notes: The Blues sent D Bryce Salvador to New Jersey for RW Cam Janssen, a native of St. Louis. They followed that with a trade of D Christian Backman to the New York Rangers for a 2008 fourth-round draft pick. ... Stars C Brenden Morrow has scored six points (two goals, four assists) in the last two games. ... The Stars had to recall G Tobias Stephan and D Dan Jancevski to replace their departed players from Tuesday's trade. ... The Blues recalled D Jeff Woywitka to fill the void of Salvador. ... Richards and Holmqvist are expected to make their Stars debuts Thursday at home against Chicago. Janssen will debut for St. Louis on Thursday against Phoenix. ... Tkachuk's goal marked the 14th season in which he has scored 20 or more goals.

[Associated Press; By ANDREW SELIGMAN]

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