Dallas Stars 4, New Jersey Devils 2

by Mark Stepneski of of Andrew's Stars Page

DALLAS — The Dallas Stars closed out the calendar year of 2008 in impression fashion, turning out one of their best games of the current season in beating the New Jersey Devils 4-2 at the American Airlines Center.

It was the Stars' second straight solid outing against one of the league's top teams. Monday they came up short against the league-leading San Jose Sharks. On Wednesday they had the New Jersey Devils on their heels for a good part of the night.

"I can't think of two better games we've played all year, especially back-to-back," said Stars goalie Marty Turco, who made 25 saves including a big one on a Patrik Elias breakaway late in the game to preserve the Dallas lead. "We didn't get rewarded against San Jose, but we did tonight."

The win was the Stars' fifth in the last seven games (5-1-1), gave them a 9-4-1 record over their last 14 games and pushed them back over the .500 mark on the season (16-15-5).

"That was a strong team win," said Stars coach Dave Tippett. "We had strong contributions throughout the lineup and that's what we need right now."

Loui Eriksson scored two goals, including the team's first shorthanded goal of the season and added an empty net goal to seal the win. Eriksson reached the 20-goal mark at the 36-game mark of the season.

"I don't think too many people thought he would have had 20 before the halfway mark, but that is the way he is playing," said Tippett. "It's a testament to hard he's worked and how hard he is playing."

Landon Wilson scored at even strength and Mark Parrish scored what proved to be the game-winning goal on the power play. Brad Richards had three assists.

The Stars hit a season-high in shots on goal in outshooting the Devils 44-27 on the night. They won the special teams battle, scoring on the power play, scoring once shorthanded and going 3-4 on the penalty kill.

They outshot New Jersey 19-2 in the second period, when Wilson and Parrish scored to erase a New Jersey 2-1 lead and give Dallas the lead for good. It could have been worse for the Devils if not for some outstanding netminding from Scott Clemmensen, who made 17 saves in the second period and 40 in the game.

"In the second period we really pushed the tempo of the game," said Tippett. "For a team that played the night before, that gets harder on them."

The Devils, who played Tuesday in St. Louis, came out with a strong push early in the game but Eriksson's shorthanded goal, which was set up by Trevor Daley and Richards, gave the Stars a 1-0 lead 10:09 into the game.

The Devils scored two goals in a 2:06 span late in the first period to take a 2-1 lead. But the Stars took complete control of the game in the second.

"I think we responded well to the first period," said Richards. "Second period we started moving our feet, it didn't matter who went over the boards."

The Stars tied the game when Mike Ribeiro set up Wilson, who scored from close range at the 5:39 mark.

A little more than four minutes later Parrish gave the Stars the lead for good when he knocked home a rebound with the Stars on the power play.

"It was nice to contribute but it was nicer to get two points and get a win into the New Year," said Parrish. "I think you can see it, you can feel it, there's a confidence that wasn't here a few weeks ago. Actions speak louder than words, you can tell how we're moving forward in the third instead of just hanging on."

The Stars didn't need to hang on in the third, but they needed some big saves from Marty Turco. There was none bigger than the stop he made on Elias' backhand breakaway attempt with 3:06 remaining.

"When you have a guy on you, the element of surprise on the poke check works," Turco said. I'm not sure if he meant to shoot it then or if he lost the puck, I just squeezed the pads and when I heard the fans cheer I knew that was a good thing."

Turco had another big save, stopping Zach Parise's point blank shot with 48 seconds left in the game to keep it a 3-2 game. Just seven seconds later Eriksson put the puck into an empty net to seal the win, give the Devils a 5-3-0 record over their last eight games.

"I'm disappointed in how we played tonight," Devils coach Brent Sutter said. "The second period was a lack of competitiveness and a lack of intensity. It was probably our worst period all season."

Notes: The Stars recalled defenseman Ivan Vishnevskiy from Peoria (AHL) prior to Wednesday's game. He did not play.