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 The Stars (19-12-6, 44 points) are 4-0-0 this season when Cole
registers multiple points, and the veteran winger scored twice in
the second period.
"I think Erik has played well for a good bit of time," Stars head
coach Lindy Ruff said. "He's physical. When he's on the puck, he's
hard to knock off."
Defenseman Alex Goligoski had two assists for Dallas, who also got a
33-save performance from goaltender Kari Lehtonen.
"I thought he was pretty good," Nashville head coach Barry Trotz
said of Lehtonen. "We got a couple real good looks and he stood
tall."
Cole's first goal came at 7:38, just 24 seconds after Nashville had
tied it when he beat Predators goaltender Carter Hutton with a
wrister from the right circle as Stars center Colton Sceviour
screened Hutton.
Cole then gave Dallas a two-goal lead at 14:04, when he faked out
Hutton by stopping just outside the crease, forcing the Nashville
netminder to the ice. Cole then flipped a backhand just inside the
right post for his eighth goal of the season.
"I built up some speed, and (Goligoski) put a great pass on my tape,
and I had a great lane to the net," Cole said. "I decided to hit the
brakes and wait. There wasn't as much room as I thought there would
be, but I was fortunate and it went in."
The Stars had taken an early lead when left winger and captain Jamie
Benn scored his 12th of the season on a wrapround just 42 seconds
into the game. Benn got the puck from Goligoski in the neutral zone
and skated up the left side of the ice and around the right side of
the Nashville net before slipping the puck in to make it 1-0.
Nashville's lone goal came in the second period when defenseman
Kevin Klein beat Lehtonen with a wrister from the low slot at 7:38
for his first of the season. Klein's goal briefly tied the score at
1.
"That first shift after a goal is critical," Trotz said. "You want
to get it in and get some zone time so you can keep some momentum.
We didn't do that."
Dallas, who was starting a five-game homestand, added a goal from
left winger Ryan Garbutt, who scored his sixth of the season, off a
tip-in early in the third period.
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The Stars had a goal waved off at 1:55 of the first period
when defenseman Kevin Connauton batted in a rebound off a shot
by Sceviour.
At 2:20 of the first period, Lehtonen robbed Nashville left
winger Gabriel Bourque at the far post with a glove save to
preserve the slim lead.
Dallas had another golden opportunity to add to their lead late
in the first when left winger Antoine Roussel was awarded a
penalty shot with 3:25 remaining after Nashville defenseman
Victor Bartley tripped him on a breakaway. However, Roussel's
backhand went to the right of the Predators' net.
The Stars had yet another scoring opportunity 1:40 into the
second period when center Tyler Seguin and rookie right winger
Valeri Nichushkin had a 2-on-1. But Nichushkin's snap shot rang
off the right post and fluttered away from danger.
Hutton stopped 30 of the 34 shots he faced.
Nashville (16-18-4, 36 points) saw its winless streak grow to
five games.
"We've got to score some timely goals. We've got to play good
defense and we need everybody (to contribute)," Trotz said. "Our
5-on-5 and special teams are obviously going to have to be huge,
but there isn't any room for error right now."
NOTES: Predators LW Rich Clune and D Mattias Ekholm were the
scratches for Nashville. ... Stars rookie RW Alex Chiasson and C
Dustin Jeffrey were scratched by Dallas. ... Predators rookie D
Seth Jones is a native of Dallas suburb Arlington and was making
his first appearance at the American Airlines Center, a venue
where he and his family attended Stars home games. ... Nashville
LW Eric Nystrom spent two seasons in Dallas before signing with
the Predators last offseason. ... Stars C Vernon Fiddler made
his NHL debut with Nashville in November 2002 and played 305
games for the Predators before signing with Dallas in July 2011.
... Dallas backup G Dan Ellis appeared in 110 games for
Nashville over three seasons between 2007-10. ... With Dallas LW
Antoine Roussel misfiring on a first-period penalty shot, the
Stars are now 2-for-5 this season on penalty shots. ...
Announced attendance was 17,197.
[© 2013 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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