NHL Update: Dallas Stars ambush Edmonton Oilers 3-2
Kari Lehtonen made 39 saves to win his 18th contest of the season as Dallas Stars beat Edmonton Oilers, 3-2, at the American Airlines Centre on Tuesday night.
Jamie Benn and James Neal each lit the lamp for Dallas, who has won four of its previous five games now. Brenden Morrow also tallied a goal in his side's win.
"We put a lot of emphasis on coming home and having a big win tonight and changing the five in a row that we lost at home," Neal said. "We were playing so well on the road; it was such a downer to not be able to win at home in front of our own fans. I know
we put the work in tonight and got the big two points."
On the other hand, Jean Francois Jacques and Ryan Jones each recorded a goal for Edmonton, who lost its ninth game from a total of previous 10 despite a 41-shot barrage. Nikolai Khabibulin was dented for all three Dallas goals on 20 shots in Edmonton's loss.
Dallas hit the net first for a 1-0 lead with 5 ½ minutes to play in the opening period. It all happened when Mike Ribeiro gave a slick pass from behind the net to Morrow in the slot. Morrow then one-timed it home for his 18th goal of the season. Philip Larsen
assisted for this goal.
Dallas doubled its advantage to 2-0 in the 15th minute of the middle period. The second goal of the match came when Benn skated to the checking line and clicked on a wonderful shift. Adam Burish and Steve Ott entered into the offensive zone making some nice
passes. Ott then found Benn moving to the net on a give-and-go. Finally, Benn whipped the puck home for his 12th goal of the season.
Next, Oilers unleashed 18 shots on net in the final period during their struggle to finish the two-goal deficit, thus succeeding in equalizing the contest within a span of less than two minutes.
Jacques netted the first goal for Oilers and made it 2-1 in the sixth minute of the third period. With assistance from Ladislav Smid and Steve Macintyre, he gathered a rebound in front of the net and chipped the puck home with a wrist shot.
“I actually had an idea it was in (before the replay). I heard the fans screaming,” said Jacques. “It was tough break for us. The shift before that, we’d just scored. We got two goals in a row to tie it, and then we get the one against us (winner). Tough.”
Two minutes later, Edmonton tied the score at 2-2. Liam Reddox fired a shot on net but it was saved. Jones then collected the long rebound and shovelled it home, thus levelling the match.
Nonetheless, Stars broke the tie and again gained a one-goal edge at 3-2 to seal the win in the ninth minute of the final stanza. Neal received a nice pass from Brad Richards and blew a shot that bounced out of the net so fast that it had to be confirmed
as a goal on review.
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