by Mark Stepneski of Andrew's Stars Page

Stars finally win two in a row.

DALLAS — Stringing together consecutive wins has been a challenge for the Dallas Stars this season, but captain Brenden Morrow and goalie Marty Turco made sure their team was up to it Monday night. Morrow led by example and Turco stopped 22 shots for his 38th career shutout as the Stars beat Carolina 2-0 at American Airlines Center.

It was just the second time this season the Stars have won consecutive games and the first time they've won back-to-back home games.

"There's been a lot of talk about not winning two in a row," Turco said. "We came out with an effort that deserved the win and we need to do that on a nightly basis."

Morrow set the tone for the Stars early, getting in a fight with Carolina defenseman Tim Gleason 25 seconds into the game. He assisted on the Stars' first goal and ended the night with seven hits.

"He showed a lot of leadership to say the least," said Stars head coach Marc Crawford. "We have difficulty finding the great equation coming into these games, and he took it upon himself. He got in the fight and the assist on the one goal. He was a great leader for us tonight."

Turco didn't see a lot of shots, but he came up with big saves at key moments. He made some sharp stops late in the first period with Carolina on the power play to help preserve a 1-0 Dallas lead. He made a big save on Carolina defenseman Joni Pitkanen on a two-on-one in the second period to keep it a 1-0 game.

He made a couple of big saves, including a great one on Brandon Sutter, with Carolina on a long five-on-three and trying to cut into a 2-0 Dallas lead in the third period.

"Our guys gave me a chance to see the puck," Turco said. "They got a couple through and you've got to do it to get the job done. That was the kicker at the end for as well as we played, to hold off that five-on-three to secure the win."

That penalty kill was just part of a big night on special teams for the Stars, who scored both their goals on the power play.

They took the lead 9:30 into the game when Brad Richards put a shot on net, Morrow put a rebound on net, and then Jamie Benn scored off Morrow's rebound to make it 1-0 Dallas.

"I was just in the right place at the right time," said Benn.

With Morrow setting up shop in front of Carolina goalie Manny Legace, Richards put a shot in off traffic at 2:07 of the third to make it a 2-0 game.

"I think our guys did the right things. Our power play scored a couple of goals. The big turning point, the big minute of the game, was the five-on-three kill," said Stars' Crawford. "Marty made a couple of big saves. When you are getting those saves and killing those penalties and you are scoring on your power play -- and the other thing is we are not taking a lot of penalties -- then you are going to get rewarded for your efforts."

The Hurricanes, who fell to 0-8-3 on the road this season and had a five-game point streak snapped, thought they had the game tied at 1-1 in the second period when Ray Whitney scored on an odd-man rush. But the goal was reviewed and waved off because it was ruled that Whitney kicked the puck into the net when he tried to kick it to his stick and then missed getting his stick on the puck.

"My feet didn't leave the ground as far as a kicking motion. I'd say we got the wrong side of that one," said Whitney. "I didn't kick the puck in. That's a big moment in the game. That's a huge momentum swing for us."

Said Turco: "Obviously, they deliberated for awhile. To me, he tried to kick it up to his stick, therefore he kicked it, and he just missed it with his stick."

The Stars, who have won four of six and are now 11-6-6 on the season, host St. Louis on Wednesday night. The team will honor Brett Hull for his recent induction to the Hockey Hall of Fame prior to the game.

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