Stars 5 - 2 Lightning
Final
  for this game

Benn, Stars down Bolts

Apr 6, 2014 - 5:13 AM Tampa, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Jamie Benn had two goals and an assist as the Dallas Stars grabbed a 5-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.

The win allowed Dallas to leapfrog idle Phoenix for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference. Dallas has 87 points and five games to play, while Phoenix has 86 points and four games left.

Vernon Fiddler and Tyler Seguin each posted a goal and an assist for the Stars, who have won six of their past eight games. Antoine Roussel scored the other goal while Kari Lehtonen stopped 27 shots.

Andrej Sustr and Steven Stamkos scored for the Lightning, who have dropped three of their last four. Ben Bishop allowed all five goals on 28 shots.

Tampa Bay sits in the third spot in the Atlantic Division with 93 points and four games to play. The team trails Montreal by just two points.

Dallas scored just 40 seconds into the game as Dallas worked a turnover in the Tampa zone with Alex Goligoski firing a pass from the right point to the low left side where Benn shot it in.

Just under five minutes later, it was Benn again when his snap shot from the right circle was good for his 32nd goal of the season.

"It can mean a lot when you get some quick goals," said Benn. "It can help you set the tempo of the game, and gives some breathing room for the goalie."

The Stars took a 3-0 lead at 18:26 of the first after a left circle faceoff win saw Jordie Benn pass the puck from the left point to the slot where Seguin wristed it in for his 35th of the season.

Tampa got on the board at 1:57 of the second on a wrister from Stamkos that trickled in for his 24th of the season, and it was a 3-2 game just five minutes later as Sustr shoveled in a rebound from the left side for his first career goal.

"It was exciting and something I will always remember for the rest of my life," said Sustr of his first goal. "Unfortunately I'll associate it with a loss and I'd rather it be the other way around."

The score stayed that way until the third when Dallas gave itself some room as a turnover was picked up at the left side by Fiddler and he lifted a backhand in from in front at 1:26.

Roussel gave the Stars a three-goal advantage at 7:57, and Lehtonen needed to stop just five shots the rest of the way.

Game Notes

Dallas plays at Florida on Sunday ... Tampa hosts Toronto on Tuesday ... Tampa had won three straight against Dallas, including a 4-2 decision in Dallas on March 1 ... Dallas was 0-for-5 on the power play and Tampa went 0-for-4.






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