Stars Lose 3 Players To Injury, Still Beat Panthers 2-0
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DALLAS (AP) — Kari Lehtonen shut out the Florida Panthers, making 37 saves as the Stars won 2-0 on Friday night.
But Dallas lost three players to injuries.
Lehtonen made the Stars' two first-period goals hold up for their third straight win. The Panthers have lost on consecutive nights.
Jamie Benn scored Dallas' third short-handed goal in two games; the Stars lead the NHL with nine short-handed goals.
Jason Spezza scored for the 2-0 lead.
Tyler Seguin, Dallas' leader with 29 goals and 59 points, was helped off the ice after being checked in the lower leg by defenseman Dmitry Kulikov in the third period. Patrick Eaves followed Seguin to the locker room 51 seconds later after teammate John Klingberg's wrist shot hit Eaves in the head.
A third Stars forward, Ales Hemsky, left in the first period with a lower body injury.
Florida goalie Al Montoya had 26 saves.
The shutout was Lehtonen's fourth this season and 31st of his career. The 37 saves were his highest total in a shutout this season, eclipsing his 32 on Dec. 31 against Arizona.
Dallas' first goal came on a two-man break. Vernon Fiddler passed back to Benn at the left of the net and his low shot beat Montoya.
The Stars got their other goal when Spezza took a pass from Erik Cole in the slot, turned and shot into the lower left corner.
The Stars had the best chances in the middle period, but Montoya stopped close-range shots by Cody Eakin and Spezza. Jason Demers also missed an open portion of the net by shooting wide right.
The second-period included two altercations between Fiddler and Florida's Jimmy Hayes. They both went off for roughing at 44 seconds and again at 14:10.
NOTES: The three short-handed goals all have come during successful penalty kills of four minutes or more. Dallas leads the NHL with nine short-handed goals. Benn has two of those, and has assisted on three others. ... The Panthers have allowed five short-handed goals. . ... Dallas LW Antoine Roussel sat out the first game of a two-game suspension for a cross check against Boston's Adam McQuaid on Tuesday. . At Colorado on Saturday, Jhonas Enroth is expected to be in goal for Dallas. He was acquired from Buffalo on Wednesday. . The Panthers had won their previous four games in Dallas.
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