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Richards, Stars continue to surge to the top of the West

Mar 1, 2008 - 2:32 PM Nashville (32-25-8) at Dallas (41-22-5) 8:00 pm EST

DALLAS (Ticker) - Brad Richards has made a good impression on his new team.

The former Conn Smyth Trophy winner looks to lead the Dallas Stars to their fifth straight win when they host the Nashville Predators on Saturday.

In his first game since being acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, Richards tied a franchise record with five assists as Dallas claimed a 7-4 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.

The center, who won the Conn Smyth in 2004 with the Stanley Cup champion Lightning, assisted on all three goals as Niklas Hagman notched his first career hat trick in the contest.

The victory gave the Stars 87 points and wins in 13 of their last 15 games.

The club has pulled within three points of the Detroit Red Wings (42-18-6) for the top spot in the Western Conference. They were 17 points back on February 5, but Detroit has floundered with a 1-7-2 record over their last 10 games.

Left wing Loui Eriksson and right wing Jere Lehtinen have been on fire of late, combining for 10 goals in the past four contests. Dallas has outscored its opponents 21-10.

The Predators have been awful on defense in the last week, allowing 14 goals in losses to the Stars and the Buffalo Sabres. Goaltenders Dan Ellis and Chris Mason have played in both games, with both yielding seven tallies.

The poor play has left Nashville on the outside looking in at the Western Conference playoffs. The Predators have 72 points and are currently sitting in ninth place in the conference with the Colorado Avalanche (33-26-6).

Nashville won the first two meetings between the clubs this season, but Dallas got a measure of revenge in its 6-3 victory last Sunday. Eriksson tallied twice and Mike Ribeiro posted two goals and two assists for the Stars.