Even on a Bad Night, Stars Are Good Enough

The Dallas Stars are on their way to a franchise-best points total. Not even a bad night can stop them.

Joe Nieuwendyk scored the tiebreaking goal midway through the third period and the Stars went on to a ragged 6-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night at Dallas.

“We had as many bad players as good ones,” Dallas Coach Ken Hitchcock said. “That was one awful hockey game. We should bundle it up as a ride and sell it to DisneyWorld.”

Stephane Richer scored twice for Tampa Bay, tying the score at 4-4 with a short-handed breakaway at 7:14 of the third period, his 10th goal.

But Nieuwendyk answered at 11:10 with his 24th goal on a blast from beyond the right circle that beat Corey Schwab.

“We didn’t play extremely well,” Nieuwendyk said. “We weren’t at our best but it’s a win.”

The victory gave the league-leading Stars 106 points, three shy of last season’s club-record total.

Rookie Brad Lukowich’s first NHL goal with 1:11 left extended Dallas’ lead to 6-4.

Mike Modano, the Stars’ leading scorer, suffered a groin injury and the team said he will miss one to two weeks.

Colorado 3, San Jose 2--Chris Drury scored a key second-period goal at San Jose as the Avalanche extended its unbeaten streak to five (4-0-1).

Drury scored from short range at 14:40 of the second period to give the Avalanche a 3-1 lead.

Avalanche center Dale Hunter played in his 1,400th NHL game, 10th on the all-time list.

Chicago 2, Buffalo 1--The Blackhawks beat Dominik Hasek at Chicago on goals by Bob Probert and Dave Manson, who were put on waivers by the Blackhawks last month but not picked up.

Toronto 6, Vancouver 5--Yanic Perreault scored two goals and added an assist at Vancouver as the Maple Leafs took over fourth place in the Eastern Conference.

Steve Thomas also scored twice for the Maple Leafs, who almost blew a 5-2 third-period lead as the teams combined for six goals--three apiece--in the final 20 minutes.

N.Y. Islanders 5, Florida 3--Mariusz Czerkawski scored a pair of goals, including the winner, at Sunrise, Fla.

The victory ended a four-game losing streak for the Islanders, who were 1-10-2 in their previous 13 games.

Around the League

Pavel Bure’s reconstructed right knee was destined for a series of injuries when he joined the Florida Panthers on Jan. 17, according to the team orthopedist. Since the trade, Bure twice suffered knee injuries, and on Monday had a second reconstructive surgery in Birmingham, Ala. His first reconstruction was in 1995, after he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament while playing for the Vancouver Canucks. Dr. David Attarian told The Palm Beach Post there were problems with the knee when he first examined Bure--three games after the goal-scoring threat arrived from the Canucks. Attarian said his examination revealed that Bure’s first reconstruction was already stretching when the Panthers signed him, and “that set him up for a series of injuries.” . . . The Detroit Red Wings tentatively agreed to a three-year, $24-million contract with captain Steve Yzerman. Yzerman’s agent, Larry Kelly, will meet with Red Wing General Manager Ken Holland in Detroit today in an attempt to complete the agreement.