Stars rout Blackhawks
The Dallas Stars routed the Chicago Blackhawks 5-0 Thursday night at the American Airlines Center. With the win, the Stars improved their record to 13-4-1 against Central Division teams this season. Among Western Conference teams, that is the best record any club has against the Central Division.
The Stars finished the evening in sixth place in the Western Conference (holding the current tie-breaker vs. Chicago in the standings).
Dallas is now 3-1-0 against Chicago this season. It is the first time the Stars have earned at least three victories against the Hawks in the season series since 2005-06 when Dallas went 4-0-0 against them. The Stars have outscored Chicago 8-0 in their past five periods + one overtime.
This is the first time that the Stars have won on St. Patrick’s Day since March 17, 1998 (vs. Los Angeles, 4-3 W). The club has a 2-5-1 record on St. Patrick’s Day since moving to Texas.
The Stars earned their fifth victory in March and now have a 5-2-2 record this month. Last season the club finished with four wins posting a 4-5-4 record in March. Dallas is now 2-2-1 on this current seven-game home stand with two games remaining.
The Stars have 11 games remaining in the season, with 7 of them coming against teams they are competing with for a playoff spot.
Kari Lehtonen earned his second shutout in his last four starts. He also earned his sixth assist of the season, and leads all NHL goaltenders in helpers. Lehtonen’s six assists surpasses Ed Belfour (’01-02) and Marty Turco (’08-09) for the franchise record for most assists by a goaltender in a season (each had five). Additionally, Lehtonen is the first goaltender to register six assists in a season since Tomas Vokoun and Rick DiPietro each accomplished that feat during the 2007-08 season.
Jamie Benn extended his point streak to nine games (8 goals, 5 assists in that span). Benn has the longest active point streak in the NHL. Benn is the third Dallas Star this season to have a point streak of nine games or more (also Ribeiro, Eriksson). The Stars are the only team in the league that have had three different players record a point in nine-straight games or better.
Brenden Morrow’s goal and assist mark his 10th multi-point game of the season. He has points in seven of the last 14 games (3 g, 6a).
Mike Ribeiro has points in 11 of his last 14 games (6 goals, 9 assists) and has a two-game point streak (1 goal, 2 assists).
Brad Richards recorded his 18th multi-point game of the season (2 assists tonight). The Stars have a 15-2-1 record when he has multi-points in a game.
Steve Ott planted his first goal since Feb. 9 vs. Phoenix, and his 11th overall this season. The Stars have a 9-0-2 record this season when he scores a goal.
Dallas returns to the ice Saturday versus Philadelphia.
