Dallas regained the lead of the NHL Western Conference by beating Chicago 5-2 on Friday, with Jason Spezza scoring in his fifth straight game and a couple of teammates breaking long scoring droughts.
The Stars moved two points clear of the defending champion Blackhawks in the close-fought Central Division and were a point above St Louis, who beat Anaheim. That loss prevented the Ducks from moving back to the top of the Pacific Division.
Dallas’ Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn ended goal-scoring slumps to help the Stars race to a 4-0 lead in the second period. Antoine Roussel and Ales Hemsky also netted for the Stars.
Photo: AP
Teuvo Teravainen and Tomas Fleischmann trimmed the deficit with goals for Chicago and the Blackhawks pulled their goaltender for an extra skater until Hemsky’s empty-netter sealed the result.
BLUES 5, DUCKS 2
Vladimir Tarasenko had two goals and an assist, while Jake Allen got his fifth straight win as St. Louis beat Anaheim.
Jori Lehtera and Patrik Berglund sparked St Louis with third-period goals 64 seconds apart for a 3-1 lead. Paul Stastny also scored for the Blues.
Allen made 26 saves and improved to 4-0-0 career against the Ducks. It was also his career-best 23rd win of the season.
Ryan Getzlaf and Rickard Rakell scored for the Ducks, while Frederik Andersen made 18 saves.
PENGUINS 3, BLUE JACKETS 2
In Columbus, Ohio, Marc-Andre Fleury became the 20th NHL goaltender with 350 victories as Pittsburgh beat Columbus.
Kris Letang, Chris Kunitz and Carl Hagelin scored for Pittsburgh, while Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel each had two assists. The Penguins jumped ahead of Detroit for the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Fleury made 11 of his 25 saves in the third period.
Gregory Campbell had a goal and an assist, while Cam Atkinson also scored for the Blue Jackets, who came into the game with points in 12 of their past 15 games..
FLYERS 3, LIGHTNING 1
In Tampa, Florida, Steve Mason made 18 saves, while Sam Gagner and Matt Read both scored power-play goals as Philadelphia beat Tampa Bay.
Brayden Schenn also scored for the Flyers. Philadelphia had been off since beating the Lightning 4-2 on Monday night in Philadelphia to end Tampa Bay’s franchise-record nine-game winning streak.
The victory moved the Flyers within two points of Detroit for the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot.
The Lightning, second in the Atlantic Division, got a goal from Brian Boyle, while Ben Bishop made 19 saves. Tampa Bay moved to 0-2-1 since their long winning stretch was stopped.
COYOTES 4, FLAMES 1
In Calgary, Alberta, Brad Richardson scored twice after Antoine Vermette put Arizona ahead early in the third period as the Coyotes beat Calgary to snap a 10-game road winless streak.
Boyd Gordon also scored for Arizona, while Louis Domingue made 24 saves. Shane Doan had two assists and had 41 points this season, giving him his 14th season with at least 40. The Coyotes are 2-8-1 in their past 11 games.
Mikael Backlund scored for Calgary, while Joni Ortio made 22 saves. The Flames were 1-1-1 halfway through a six-game homestand.
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