Blackhawks Fall To Stars 4-3
<strongCHICAGO (AP) — Kari Lehtonen had a season-high 47 saves, Antoine Roussel converted a penalty shot in the third period and the Dallas Stars snapped the Chicago Blackhawks' six-game winning streak with a 4-3 victory on Tuesday night.
Valeri Nichushkin had a goal and an assist for the Stars, who had dropped four of five, including consecutive shootout losses at home in their previous two games. Alex Chiasson and Erik Cole also scored.
Patrick Sharp scored his 200th goal with Chicago in the Blackhawks' first home game since a 5-1 victory over San Jose on Nov. 17. The defending Stanley Cup champions hit the road while the circus took over the United Center and responded with an impressive 6-1-0 trip, including an 11-round shootout win in Dallas on Friday night.
Second-period goals by Nick Leddy and Johnny Oduya helped the Blackhawks erase a 3-0 deficit, but they went 1 for 5 on the power play in their second regulation home loss of the season.
The Stars appeared to be headed for a heartbreaking collapse before Roussel skated in on Corey Crawford and was awarded a penalty shot after Niklas Hjalmarsson hacked away at him with his stick.
Roussel then beat Crawford with a backhander into the upper right corner at 3:01, and Lehtonen stepped up with a series of solid saves to help the Stars hold on for their seventh victory in their last eight road games.
Dallas was once again without forward Tyler Seguin, who missed his second straight game with concussion-like symptoms. He leads the team with 12 goals.
Dallas jumped on an ill-timed line change for Chicago to grab a 1-0 lead at 13:47 of the first. Nichushkin got a pass from Cody Eakin and sent a low wrister past Crawford for his third goal of the season.
Chiasson then tipped home a long slap shot by Alex Goligoski for a power-play score with 1:10 to go in the period, and Nichushkin found Cole in front of the goal to make it 3-0 early in the second.
The rest of the period belonged to Chicago.
Sharp's long slap shot got by Lehtonen at 9:39 for his third goal in four games, prompting the Blackhawks to turn up the pressure. Leddy converted a one-timer and Oduya's slap shot from the boards went off Chiasson's stick on the way to the net for his third goal.
The goals by the defensemen just 65 seconds apart tied it at 3 with 2:46 left in the period and led to a standing ovation from the crowd.
The Blackhawks continued to generate quality opportunities in the third, but Lehtonen was there each time. He had a solid stop on Brandon Saad before Roussel's penalty shot, and then made a great save on Sharp to keep the Stars in front midway through the period.
NOTES: Stars C Ryan Garbutt was helped from the ice after he took a slap shot to his right leg in the first period, but returned to the game. ... Blackhawks star Patrick Kane had two assists, giving him 21 points in his last 15 games. ... Blackhawks D Michal Rozsival played in his 800th NHL game. ... Blackhawks C Michal Handzus was scratched due to an illness. ... In addition to Seguin, the Stars also scratched D Jamie Oleksiak and C Travis Morin.
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