Third-Period Burst Drives Stars’ 4-2 Win

A third-period flurry put the Dallas Stars back in a good mood, a day after their 12-game unbeaten streak came to an end.

Pierre Turgeon and Scott Young scored in a 1 minute-48 second span midway through the third period in a 4-2 victory over St. Louis on Saturday night at St. Louis in a matchup of two of the Western Conference’s top teams.

“There was a little extra motivation,” Dallas goalie Marty Turco said, “but we really don’t need much coming in to play St. Louis.”

The conference-leading Stars scored three goals in the third, including one from Brenden Morrow. Dallas had been 9-0-3 before a 4-1 loss to Tampa Bay on Friday; the Blues, who entered Saturday’s game third in the conference, are 0-2-1 in their last three games.

Turgeon caught St. Louis goalie Brent Johnson out of position at 12:06 of the third, scoring on a bad-angled shot from the goal line, to tie it at 2. Young got his 11th on a two-on-one break with Mike Modano at 13:54, scoring on a wrist shot to put the Stars ahead.

Pavol Demitra and Al MacInnis scored for the Blues, who lost for only the second time when leading after two periods.

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Pittsburgh 5, Chicago 3 -- Alexei Kovalev scored three goals and the rarely-used Randy Robitaille added a goal and three assists as the Penguins, limited to only one goal in their previous three games, won at Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh’s Mario Lemieux sat out for the eighth time in nine games because of a groin injury.

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Colorado 3, Toronto 0 -- Patrick Roy tied Toronto’s Ed Belfour for most shutouts among active NHL goalies as the Avalanche won at Toronto. Roy made 20 saves for his 63rd shutout and second in two games.

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Ottawa 4, Buffalo 3 -- Daniel Alfredsson scored his second goal at 2:22 of overtime to give the Senators the win at Ottawa in a matchup of bankrupt franchises.

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San Jose 4, Minnesota 1 -- Evgeni Nabokov made 32 saves for his first victory in nine games and Owen Nolan had a goal and an assist to help host San Jose end a three-game losing streak.

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Calgary 4, Detroit 1 -- Roman Turek made 27 saves, rebounding after being benched early in a 7-1 loss to Phoenix on Thursday, to help the Flames win at Calgary, Alberta.

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Columbus 4, New York Islanders 1 -- Andrew Cassels had two points to help host Columbus win. The Islanders are the only NHL team that has never beaten the Blue Jackets.

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Florida 3, Carolina 2 -- Stephen Weiss scored 3:40 into overtime to give the Panthers a win at Sunrise, Fla. It was his first goal since Dec. 21 and his first in overtime.

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Washington 1, Montreal 1 -- Andreas Salomonsson scored his first goal to lift the Capitals to a tie at Montreal. Montreal’s Saku Koivu scored his 100th career goal in the first period.

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Atlanta 4, New York Rangers 1 -- Dany Heatley got his second career hat trick to lead the Thrashers at New York. Heatley has 21 goals, just five off his total as a rookie.

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Boston 1, Philadelphia 0 -- Brian Rolston scored 31 seconds into overtime and newly acquired Jeff Hackett made 24 saves in his first game for the Bruins, who won at Boston.

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Nashville 3, Tampa Bay 2 -- Scott Walker and rookie Adam Hall scored third-period goals to help the Predators rally from a two-goal deficit to win at Nashville, Tenn.