DALLAS_Despite being perfectly mediocre at the All-Star Break, the Dallas Stars are not boring.
Dallas rallied from another first period deficit, pulled its goalie for the seventh time in the past 14 games, and withstood two official reviews in the third period to take a 4-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres Thursday at American Airlines Center.
The win pushes the Stars to 20-20-10, good for 50 points after 50 games.
The NHL All-Star Game tournament will be played Sunday, so Dallas gets a four-day break before heading into the stretch run. But with the current pace for the second wildcard playoff spot at 88 points, Dallas is still in the mix with 32 games to go.
"We talk about it all of the time, we still have a chance to get back in this," Stars center Tyler Seguin said before the game. "There's a lot of time left, and at the same time there's not. We just have to start getting points."
The Stars finally got two. They followed two overtime losses with a win and are now 2-1-2 in their past five games. And while that's not quite a winning streak, it will pass for it in the Stars' world.
Especially when you consider how the game started.
Dallas allowed the first goal for the seventh straight game and was down 2-0 10 minutes into the game. Buffalo's Evander Kane sizzled a shot through starter Antti Niemi and then Matt Moulson stepped out and shoveled in a shot that Niemi probably should have stopped.
After the first period, Stars coach Lindy Ruff replaced Niemi with Kari Lehtonen, and Lehtonen went on to stop 20 of 21 shots for the win. It was the seventh time in the past 14 games that the Stars have used both goalies. Dallas has won four of those seven games.
"It's to the point where they are both so even, you just have to decide who is on and who is not," Ruff said last week. "I'm definitely not afraid to make the change if I have to."
Patrick Sharp gave the Stars momentum by cutting the deficit to 2-1 in the first period, and then Jamie Benn came out and scored on the power play to start the second period. That tied the game, and then Dallas took a 4-2 lead when Sharp scored his second of the game and Seguin added another.
Lehtonen held on during a frantic third period when the Stars were outshot 16-2, and officials made two lengthy reviews to make sure the Sabres didn't score. That that allowed the Stars to carry at least a little momentum into the All-Star Break.
_Stars goalie Niemi was pulled for the third straight time. Niemi started against Minnesota and allowed three goals on three shots Jan. 14. He then had a 7-3 lead against the Rangers Jan. 17, but allowed six goals on 28 shots and was pulled in the third period. Ruff said he was hoping Niemi could get some confidence Thursday.
"A lot of times for goaltenders it's making that big save and feeling good about yourself. Usually that's it," Ruff said. "Get him some quality practice time, some quality practice and reps and focus on the fact for a good stretch of time he played really well at home for us."
The veteran goalie allowed two goals on five shots and was pulled after one period. He has allowed 11 goals on 36 shots in his past three starts.
