|
 Airlines Center, Dallas Stars coach Lindy Ruff was less than
pleased.
"Pretty frustrated with the way we played," Ruff said. "The mental
part of the game, the focus part, the way we played in the neutral
zone was pretty disappointing. We've worked hard to get to where
we're at, and we're on a little bit of a roller coaster ride with
the way we're playing right now. I have to straighten that out."
Stars center Tyler Seguin scored goals 30 seconds apart late in the
second period and goaltender Kari Lehtonen stopped 34 of 35 shots as
Dallas bounced back from a 3-0 loss at St. Louis on Saturday, the
first time Dallas had been shut out this season.
After the loss, the Blue Jackets called a players-only meeting and
the locker room did not open until 15 minutes after the game.
"I'm hoping that's a step in the right direction," Blue Jackets
coach John Tortorella said of the meeting. "I hope it was productive
for them because that's the key. This is about them. If it's
productive for them, I love it."
Defensemen Johnny Oduya and Alex Goligoski and center Mattias
Janmark also scored for Dallas (23-6-2), the lone team in the NHL
yet to lose consecutive games this season.
Stars left winger and captain Jamie Benn assisted on Seguin's second
goal, his 400th career point.
Columbus (11-19-3) got its lone goal from center Scott Hartnell
early in the second period while on the power play.
Blue Jackets rookie goaltender Joonas Korpisalo stopped 23 of 27
shots before being replaced by starter Curtis McElhinney to begin
the third period.
The first shot McElhinney faced was the backhand goal scored by
Janmark, who skated around the left side of the Columbus net before
finishing top shelf.
McElhinney stopped six of seven shots in relief of Korpisalo.
Seguin's first goal came with 3:34 remaining in the second when he
scored with a wrist shot through Korpisalo's legs to give Dallas a
3-1 lead. Seguin added a second tally 30 seconds later, this time
beating Korpisalo under his glove from the slot for his 17th of the
season.
"I went to shoot it, and I kind of lost it. I got a fortunate
bounce," Seguin said of his second goal.
That second-period flurry, which put Dallas up 4-1, crushed
Columbus.
"That six or seven minutes buried us," Tortorella said. "I thought
we had some good chances in the second but they surged and they
scored the goals and our chances, we just didn't finish.
[to top of second column] |
With 2:07 remaining before the first intermission, Oduya gave Dallas
a 1-0 lead with his third of the season. Blue Jackets defenseman
Jack Johnson was unable to control the puck to the right of the
Columbus goal.
Oduya capitalized, sending a wrist shot from the left point under
Korpisalo's left arm.
The Blue Jackets tied it early in the second when Hartnell scored
his 13th of the season 4:32 into the frame with Columbus on the
power play. Twenty-six seconds after Stars defenseman Patrik Nemeth
was whistled for high-sticking, Hartnell got his stick in front of a
pass from center Alexander Wennberg, sending the puck into the right
side of the Dallas net to make it 1-1.
Goligoski tapped in a carom off the end boards with 6:58 remaining
in the second to make it 2-1 in favor of Dallas. Stars right winger
Ales Hemsky fired a wrist shot to the left of the Columbus goal from
the slot, but Goligoski played the carom perfectly, tapping the puck
into the top right corner of the net for his third of the season.
"I knew they were a little tired," Goligoski said. "Hemsky came
right off the bench and was able to put it towards the net. I just
kind of followed it up and got a good bounce off the back wall."
NOTES: Blue Jackets RW Jared Boll and D Kevin Connauton, who played
for Dallas in 2013 and 2014, were scratched. ... Stars D Jyrki
Jokipakka, D Jamie Oleksiak and C Colton Sceviour were scratched.
Sceviour had skated in the previous 28 games for Dallas. ... Blue
Jackets G Joonas Korpisalo was starting his second consecutive game.
Korpisalo made his NHL debut in Monday's 2-1 loss to Tampa Bay in
Columbus. ... Stars G Kari Lehtonen was starting for the first time
since Dec. 8 against Carolina, a game where he was pulled in the
third period for G Antti Niemi. ... Blue Jackets D Dalton Prout
returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch in the past two
games. ... These clubs will conclude their season series on Dec. 29
in Columbus. ... The Blue Jackets are beginning a two-game road trip
while the Stars are starting a three-game homestand.
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