DENVER _ Sunday was a really nice display of how far the Stars have come in 12 days.
Playing their third game in four nights in three different cities, Dallas willed its way to a 7-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche at Pepsi Center.
It was the same building where the team took a 3-0 loss on Nov. 22 in the same situation. The Stars traveled after playing in Dallas that game, leading to what some term a "scheduled loss." It was nice effort that left them struggling to earn playoff position.
Fast forward two weeks, and Stars simply did what they had to. They found a way to score key goals. They received big saves from backup goalie Kari Lehtonen. They protected a lead in the third period and actually blew open a close game.
They won their fifth game in a row and avenged the last loss they had on their schedule while moving to 16-10-1 (33 points). Colorado meanwhile falls to 12-11-2 (26 points) and further behind Dallas in the Central Division.
"We're playing the right way, we're not chasing the game up and down the ice, we're not gambling on 50-50 situations, we're playing smart," Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said. "You play the game the right way, and you give yourself the chance to win games."
The game was far from pretty, but it included some really nice plays, the kind the Stars weren't making earlier in the season. With Colorado getting the better scoring chances in the first period, Tyler Seguin forced a turnover and then took off on a partial breakaway. The Stars' leading scorer made a nice move and lifted a backhand over Jonathan Bernier, and Dallas had a 1-0 lead at 14:44 of the first period.
It was the fifth straight game the Stars had scored first, a traditional key to victory.
Five minutes later, Seguin tipped in a John Klingberg shot at the 19:10 of the first period _ getting a goal in the final minute of a period is another good sign.
Colorado made a push, cutting the lead to 2-1 in the first minute of the second period, but Dallas held strong. Jason Spezza made a deft deflection of a Devin Shore shot/pass, and Greg Pateryn tallied his first goal of the year, and the Stars were up 4-1.
It was both methodical and revolutionary.
"It's good to get contributions from everywhere, and these last few games have shown that," Pateryn said. "It's huge for us. We've done a lot of good things and built off some things we needed to. I think it was really important to close this week out."
It was also kind of nice to get a blowout win. Shore added an empty net goal, and then Brett Ritchie scored his second of the game off a nice pass from Radek Faksa to give Dallas the most goals it has scored in a game this season. It was a statement that maybe this season really is turning around.
"I think this core has come together a lot more," said Lehtonen, who played his first game since Nov. 18, and made 25 saves. "We have simplified our game in our own end, and that helped me out a lot there."
Now, the Stars get to look up in the standings with games against Nashville and St. Louis ahead. But Hitchcock said the team needs to focus on one at a time.
"This is a relief league. You win and it's relief," Hitchcock said. "So we're relieved we won and we're really looking forward to Nashville."
And that was something you couldn't say just 12 days ago.
