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Stars beat Jets in high-scoring affair

Dec 14, 2013 - 11:58 PM Winnipeg, MB (SportsNetwork.com) - Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin each scored once during a five-minute power play late in the second period that lifted the Dallas Stars to a 6-4 triumph over the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday at MTS Centre.

Benn and Seguin finished with two goals apiece, while Valeri Nichushkin and Colton Sceviour each scored once for the Stars, who received 34 saves from Kari Lehtonen.

Sergei Gonchar collected four assists to help Dallas avoid its first three-game losing skid of the season.

Blake Wheeler scored twice, Olli Jokinen picked up a goal and an assist, and Matt Halischuk also lit the lamp for the Jets, who wrapped up a three-game homestand at 0-2-1.

"We didn't accomplish what we set out to in this homestand," Winnipeg head coach Claude Noel admitted. "For me in this game, we took a step back because I haven't seen us play this way in quite some time."

Ondrej Pavelec allowed five goals on 24 shots over the first two frames before being removed to start the third in favor of Al Montoya, who stopped 7-of-8 shots in relief.

Dallas led 2-1 with just over seven minutes left in the second before Blake Wheeler potted a pair of goals around a Benn rebound marker in a 1:55 span to tie the game at 3-3 with 5:07 left in the stanza.

However, Winnipeg's Anthony Peluso was assessed a five-minute boarding major and a game misconduct at 15:28 for a hit on Alex Goligoski, and the Stars scored twice on the extended man-advantage to regain control.

Benn broke the tie with a blast from the right faceoff dot that beat Pavelec short-side at 17:46, while Seguin scored on a one-timer from the top of the left circle 63 seconds later to push Dallas' lead to 5-3.

Sceviour scored his first career NHL goal 2:48 into the third to extend the margin, and despite Jokinen finding the back of the net at 18:19, the Stars were able to hang on for the victory.

"I thought we had some great opportunities and we kept playing," Dallas head coach Lindy Ruff remarked. "It was disappointing to get scored against there late but we played hard all night."

Dallas struck first 7:14 into the tilt when a stretch pass from Gonchar found Seguin, who blasted a shot from the high slot past Pavelec's blocker.

Halischuk's rebound tally just under four minutes later tied the game, but Nichushkin put the Stars back on top with a stellar individual effort shortly after.

After coming up with a steal near the red line, Nichushkin charged into the Winnipeg zone and held off a defender before fooling Pavelec with a slick backhand-forehand move and the stuffing the disc into the net for a 2-1 lead at 14:24.

Game Notes

Benn had gone his last 11 games without a goal ... Gonchar's four assists set a career high ... Seguin recorded two assists ... Dallas hasn't lost three in a row since closing last season on an 0-4-1 stretch ... The Jets dropped to 7-8-4 at home this season ... Jets forward Evander Kane missed his sixth straight game due to a lower-body injury ... Dallas went 2-for-5 on the power play, while Winnipeg finished 1-for-4.