• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Stars sweep winless Blue Jackets

Oct 19, 2011 - 5:59 AM Columbus, OH (Sports Network) - Jamie Benn scored and added an assist and Kari Lehtonen made 38 saves as the Dallas Stars held off the Columbus Blue Jackets, 3-2, at Nationwide Arena.

Steve Ott and Michael Ryder netted the other goals for Dallas, which completed a sweep of the Blue Jackets in a home-and-home series after winning in Dallas on Saturday, 4-2.

"I'm just trying to be patient," Lehtonen said. "I think that's the biggest thing. It went good, and you have to be happy about it. When things are going well, of course it feels fun, and it's nice to play."

Derick Brassard and Kris Russell scored, while Steve Mason stopped 15-of-18 shots for the Blue Jackets, who fell to 0-5-1 on the season -- their worst start in franchise history.

The Stars restored their two goal lead at 6:27 of the final period when veteran defenseman Sheldon Souray rotated to the left point and slapped a shot that was cleverly deflected through the legs of Mason by Ryder standing in front, making it 3-1.

Russell made it a one goal game again at 17:05 of the third when he stepped up into the play, accepted the puck at the right point and walked into the high slot before firing one past Lehtonen glove side to make it 3-2.

Mason was called to the bench for an extra skater with well over one minute to play, but the Jackets failed to find an equalizer.

After a scoreless first period, Dallas took the lead at the 4;17 mark of the second on a shot that Mason might want to do over. After winning a faceoff in the defensive zone, Benn rushed the puck up the left wing and slid a pass into the middle for Loui Eriksson, who then found Ott at the right circle for a far-side wrister into the top corner.

The Stars extended their edge at 1:31 of the third period on a spectacular individual effort by Benn. The young forward batted the puck down in the neutral zone and brought it into the Columbus zone on the right wing, chipped it past two defenders into the slot and roofed it on Mason to give his team a two-goal advantage.

Columbus made it a 2-1 game at the 5:06 mark of the third on the power play when captain Rick Nash fired a shot from the top of the left circle that was kicked out of the crease by Lehtonen, but Brassard was there to ram home the rebound.

"I think we played a good game, we competed hard," Brassard said. "The whole team played well, we just came up short."

Game Notes

Prior to Tuesday's game, Columbus placed forward Jeff Carter on injured reserve with a fracture in his foot and called up goaltender Mathieu Corbeil from the Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL...Eriksson upped his total to 14 points and is a plus-7 in 22 career games against Columbus...Brassard's goal was the 2,000th in the history of the Columbus Blue Jackets...The Stars have won four of their last five meetings with Columbus...The Stars improved to 14-4-3 all-time in Ohio's capital...Columbus went 1-for-5 on the power play, while Dallas was 0-for-2 with the man advantage...The Stars continue their four-game road trip in Anaheim on Friday, while the Blue Jackets will try to win their first game of the season, against the Red Wings in Detroit, also on Friday.