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 Thanks to a goal and an assist from Valeri Nichushkin, two assists
from Mattias Janmark and Kari Lehtonen stopping 18 of 20 shots,
Dallas defeated the New Jersey Devils 4-2 on Friday night at
American Airlines Center.
Dallas (39-20-7) also got goals from Jason Spezza, Colton Sceviour,
who also added an assist, and Vernon Fiddler in its first home win
since Feb. 13 against Washington.
Alex Goligoski added two assists.
"It was solid from start to finish, really. We defended really well.
We played strong in our own end, and I thought we got real good
effort from all four lines," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said.
New Jersey (31-28-7) got goals from Adam Henrique, who now has four
goals in his last four games, and Devante Smith-Pelly.
Smith-Pelly scored his eighth of the season with 4:19 remaining in
regulation on a tap-in at the far post after John Moore's slap shot
from the left point deflected off the end boards. Damon Severson
collected the carom and passed it to Smith-Pelly, who scored into
the open net to make it 3-2.
"Yeah, I think all six of us the ice had the belief that we were
going to get one there at the end, especially on the power play. It
didn't work out tonight, but there's always belief," Smith-Pelly
said.
Cory Schneider stopped 15 of 18 shots before leaving the ice 2:05
into the third because of an injury, with Keith Kinkaid replacing
him.
"We don't have any updates right now," Devils coach John Hynes said
about Schneider. "(I know) just that he's hurt. He made a great save
and then had trouble getting up."
Kinkaid made six saves in relief of Schneider before leaving the ice
with 1:30 remaining. Schneider returned with 1:07 remaining before
heading to the bench again with 45 seconds left.
New Jersey had a power play with 32 seconds remaining thanks to a
hooking call on Johnny Oduya, but an empty-net goal by Fiddler with
19.8 remaining, his 100th career goal, iced the win for Dallas.
Dallas struck first when Nichushkin, celebrating his 21st birthday,
scored his ninth of the season 8:01 into the first period. Severson
turned the puck over near the Dallas blue line, a wayward pass
intercepted by Janmark.
Janmark hit Nichushkin with a pass near the Devils' blue line and
Nichushkin skated across the front of the goal and finished with a
wrist shot into the left side of the net.
"I think the best present was since we won tonight," Nichushkin
said.
Early in the first, Dallas lost young defenseman John Klingberg to a
lower-body injury. Klingberg logged 1:25 of ice time on two shifts
before leaving the ice. He did not return.
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"Short-term, it looks like just a little bit of time. That's just
sort of a muscular thing, it looks like. We don't know exactly,"
Ruff said of Klingberg.
The Devils pulled even when Henrique scored his 23rd of the season
off a backhand 5:14 into the second. Adam Larsson's wrist shot from
near the Dallas blue line deflected off heavy traffic in front of
the Stars net and the puck fell to Henrique, who scored from near
the far post.
Dallas regained its lead 1:01 later when Spezza scored his 23rd of
the season off the rush. Janmark fed Spezza from the left side.
Spezza got his stick on the end of Janmark's pass, which hit Spezza
in stride, knocking it through Schneider's five-hole.
The Stars doubled their lead to 3-1 when Sceviour redirected a
Goligoski wrist shot from near the Devils' blue line at 11:24 of the
second period.
Sceviour was one of a number of players in front of the visiting
net, and he got his stick on Goligoski's attempt long enough to
redirect it into the back of the net for Sceviour's ninth of the
season.
NOTES: The Devils scratched RW Bobby Farnham and D David Warsofsky.
The Stars scratched D Jordie Benn (lower body), RW Patrick Eaves
(illness), LW Travis Moen, D Jamie Oleksiak and LW Patrick Sharp
(lower body). ... Devils G Cory Schneider appeared in his 55th game
of the season. ... RW Brett Ritchie was recalled from AHL Texas on
Thursday and skated on Dallas' top line alongside LW Jamie Benn and
C Tyler Seguin. ... Devils D David Schlemko, who had two assists in
a 5-4 overtime win at Nashville on Thursday, played five games for
Dallas during the 2014-15 season. ... Stars D Johnny Oduya spent
four seasons with New Jersey. ... The Devils concluded a two-game
road trip. ... The Stars wrapped up a run with five of seven games
on home ice. ... Devils D Andy Greene appeared in his 295th
consecutive game, the sixth-longest run in Devils history.
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