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Robidas goal lifts Stars over Blackhawks

Oct 18, 2009 - 4:20 AM By RICK GANO AP Sports Writer

CHICAGO(AP) -- Stephane Robidas was just trying to make a routine dump-in. Instead, he scored a strange goal, one the Dallas Stars needed to end the Chicago Blackhawks' four-game winning streak.

"It was no sense in trying to do something stupid, so I just tried to rim it and get it to the far side where our guys were coming," Robidas said Saturday night after the Stars beat the Blackhawks 4-3.

"It hit something in the boards and goes bouncing with a couple of weird ones," he added. "I didn't do anything special."

Robidas dumped the puck into the Chicago zone. After it hit the boards, it went sideways and then bounced twice before going right past goalie Cristobal Huet's glove to make it 4-2.

"I know if go on my post, I have a chance to hit the puck," Huet said. "It just took another funny bounce right before it came to me. ... I can blame only myself."

Niklas Hjalmarsson's goal on a shot from between the circles got Chicago within one with a little more than 4 minutes to go.

Alex Auld, the Stars' No. 2 goalie, made 29 saves in his second game of the season and held off a furious finish by Chicago. The Blackhawks were on a late power play and then pulled Huet with a little more than a minute left.

"Alex was our best player," Dallas coach Marc Crawford said.

Auld empathized with Huet on Robidas' shot.

"He (Huet) didn't even go out, and it's crazy. You're winning and you want to win, but I felt terrible for him. I know Cris a little bit and he doesn't deserve that," Auld said.

"In a lot of rinks you're safe going on the glass," he added. "Some dumps you know you feel like it's just going to land in your sweet spot behind the net. You can't do that here. I went out a couple of times in the first period then thought twice about it."

Brendan Morrow, Mike Ribeiro and Toby Petersen also scored for the Stars, all in the second period. Troy Brouwer and Jonathan Toews had goals for the Blackhawks.

Morrow's shot from the left side was stopped by Huet, but Morrow scored on the rebound early in the second period for his fifth goal of the season and a 1-0 Dallas lead.

About three minutes later, Matt Niskanen took a long shot from the blue line that Ribeiro deflected past Huet, a goal upheld by video replay.

Chicago wasted little time responding when less than a minute later, Brouwer wristed a shot from the right circle past Auld, cutting the lead to 2-1.

But Huet's struggles continued when Petersen scored on a long-distance slapper from the right boards that went under the goalie's left pad, prompting louder booing at the United Center. In his previous home game, Huet had been pulled in the first period after giving up three quick goals.

"I think he'd like to do better and we're looking at him to improve, as well," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "It's still early in the year."

Chicago sliced the lead to one when Auld fell down behind the net battling Patrick Sharp and the puck went to Toews near the right circle. Toews' shot found the vacated net for his first of the season.

The Blackhawks, who entered the game leading the NHL in fewest shots allowed per game (20.1), outshot the Stars 14-5 in a scoreless first period.

NOTES: The Blackhawks claimed C Andrew Ebbett off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks, and recalled RW Jack Skille from Rockford (AHL). Skille has been assigned to Rockford and recalled four times this season for salary cap reasons. He was the Blackhawks' first round pick in 2005. ... Stars RW Jere Lehtinen sat out because of abdominal soreness. Dallas veteran Mike Modano, who has played only one game this season, was out due to a rib injury.