Shootout Goal Leads Columbus Over Stars
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Rookie Kyle Wilson scored on his first career shootout attempt to help the Columbus Blue Jackets end a five-game losing skid with a 3-2 victory over the Dallas Stars on Monday night.
Dallas' six-game winning streak was snapped.
Rick Nash, who also scored in the shootout for Columbus, tied the game with 46.1 seconds left in regulation with his 14th goal.
Steve Ott and Brad Richards had goals for the Stars, who were trying to match the franchise record of seven consecutive wins.
After Nash and Richards scored in the shootout, Wilson went third and used a hard forehand to beat Kari Lehtonen on the stick side.
Mathieu Garon then made a right toe save on Jamie Benn to seal the win.
Kris Russell also scored for the Blue Jackets. Garon made 16 saves through overtime and two more in the shootout.
Ott had jammed in a perfect feed from Trevor Daley with 7:52 left in regulation to break a 1-1 tie.
It stayed that way with Lehtonen, who had 27 saves. He made several fine stops until Nash rifled a low wrister through traffic provided by R.J. Umberger in the final minute. The puck slipped over Lehtonen's right leg pad.
The Blue Jackets had the best of the overtime, taking all four shots, but Lehtonen was up to the task.
Wilson, one of the early-season surprises for Columbus, was moved up to center the second line in an attempt to shake up the Blue Jackets' moribund offense. It had been outscored 12-2 in the last two losses.
Despite their recent troubles, the Blue Jackets are off to their best start (15-10-1) in the franchise's 10 seasons.
The Blue Jackets, 10-1 when leading after a period, went ahead early when Russell took a pass from Jake Voracek and surprised Lehtonen by backhanding a shot high over his stick side.
The Stars tied it at 15:45 of the second after dominating for most of the period. At times, it appeared the Stars was on the power play -- even though the teams were at even strength -- because they kept the puck in the offensive zone for so long.
Dallas finally tied it when Richards scored his 12th goal with a wrister from the slot. Garon got a glove on the shot, but it slipped in behind him.
NOTES: The Blue Jackets had gone 0-4-1 since winning five in a row from Nov. 17-24. ... Dallas' penalty-killing unit had turned aside 17 of the previous 18 before Nash's late goal. ... The Stars came in as one of only four NHL teams with at least four players with 20 points. ... Columbus improved to 12-20-5 against Dallas, including 7-9-3 at home.
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