The Detroit Red Wings celebrate their NHL record breaking 21st consecutive home victory by beating the Dallas Stars 3-1 at Joe Louis Arena on February 14, 2012 in Detroit, Michigan. (credit: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

DETROIT (AP) - Red-and-white clad fans haven’t seen the Detroit Red Wings lose at home in more than three months.

The NHL has never seen such success at home in one season.

The Red Wings beat the Dallas Stars 3-1 on Tuesday night for their 21st straight win in Detroit — breaking the single-season mark of 20 set by Boston in the 1929-30 season and matched by Philadelphia in 1976.

During the final minute of the latest home win, the crowd showered the Red Wings with a standing ovation — and chanted, “21! 21!”

“In the end when they were really cheering, before and after the buzzer went, it was a pretty cool feeling,” forward Henrik Zetterberg said.

Zetterberg and Brad Stuart scored midway through the first period and Detroit went on to surpass the long-standing record.

After time expired, the Red Wings went to goaltender Joey MacDonald and then skated toward center ice to thank their passionate patrons by raising their sticks.

Detroit extended the streak with three wins in shootouts, which became a part of the league in 2005 after the lockout and has led some to downplay the significance of this record.

In the past, the Red Wings would’ve had to settle for ties and an unbeaten streak instead of a winning run.

“There’s really no way to combat that argument,” Stuart said. “But still, it’s an incredible accomplishment regardless of what you’re going to compare it to.”

Since the shootout eliminated ties, the longest previous home winning streak was 14 by Boston during the 2008-09 season. Detroit’s run began after a loss to Calgary on Nov. 3.

Adam Burish, who scored for Dallas, said what the Red Wings have done isn’t watered down by the fact they have chances to win games that used to end in ties.

“I think it’s harder than it was in the 70s, just because of the parity,” Burish said. “There are no games where you can just show up and think you’re going to win.”

Detroit has an NHL-high 39 wins and 80 points, but the Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers are just a point behind and have played three fewer games.

“Anytime you’re in a race like we are, you need the points,” Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said.

The resurgent St. Louis Blues, steady Nashville Predators and talented Chicago Blackhawks won’t make it easy for the Red Wings to win the Central Division, and top seeding in the West will likely be closely contested with the defending conference champion Vancouver Canucks.

That is why the Red Wings have been more focused on the standings than the streak.

“It’s something we’re going to cherish, but we’ve talked about getting more points to stay where we are in the standings,” captain Nicklas Lidstrom said.

MacDonald made 20 saves, filling in again for the injured Jimmy Howard, and was 32.8 seconds away from his third NHL shutout.

Kari Lehtonen stopped 34 shots for the Stars.

The Red Wings’ next two games are at home — Friday against Nashville, and Sunday when they host San Jose. That will give them a chance to break another record by the Bruins.

Boston won 22 straight home games, spanning two seasons. The Bruins closed the 1929-30 season with 20 victories at home and then won its first two in Boston the following season.

“That’s something I didn’t know of, but we’ll refocus again and go to work again for Friday,” Lidstrom said.

The NBA’s longest home winning streak in a season is 37, set by Chicago during the 1995-96 season. The 1978 Pittsburgh Pirates and 1988 Boston Red Sox both won 24 straight at home for baseball’s longest single-season, home-winning streaks since 1919. The Miami Dolphins won 27 straight at home from 1971-74 for the NFL mark.

Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said before Tuesday’s game that the team wouldn’t make room for a banner in Joe Louis Arena’s crowded rafters if a record was set against Dallas.

Holland said the club can hoist four banners each season for winning the Stanley Cup, the Presidents’ Trophy, and Western Conference and Central Division titles.

Detroit hopes it doesn’t follow the path of the last two teams to win 20 straight at home.

The Bruins eight-plus decades ago and the Flyers nearly 36 years ago were defending Stanley Cup champions and went on to lose in the finals.

Detroit essentially finished off Dallas in the first half of the opening period.

“We started on time,” Babcock said. “I actually thought their goaltender was really good. Without him it could have been worse.

“If you can play with the lead, you’re always a better team.”

Zetterberg scored off his own rebound on the power play 7:57 in, and Stuart’s wrist shot sliced through traffic from the top of the right circle 1:18 later to make it 2-0.

“We made it real hard on ourselves,” Burish said. “They’re too good to have to chase.”

After the Red Wings held onto the lead rather comfortably, Jiri Hudler slipped behind the Stars on a shift change and scored with 4:49 left in the game to give Detroit a three-goal lead.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Also Check Out:

• Broken Club Critically Injures Fort Worth Golfer
• Country Superstar Randy Travis Arrested For Public Intoxication
• DART Officer Says Crucifix Saved Her Life During Shooting
• Sheriff Arrests Parents Of Toddler Mauled By Dogs
• Khloe Questions Kat Graham About Kardashian Crush

Detroit will be shooting for its 21st straight home win when the Stars visit on Tuesday night. It would break an NHL record that has stood for 82 years.

If the Stars are going to crash Hockeytown USA’s victory party plans, Dallas Head Coach Glen Gulutzan knows his team will need to play with more passion than they exhibited in a lackluster effort in Sunday’s loss to the Kings.

“We should have been ready to play from the beginning,” Gulutzan said. “We had a couple guys not ready to go, and we had to change our matchups a little bit.”

Glutzan did not publicly specify which “couple guys” weren’t ready to go in the loss to Los Angeles, but the Stars rookie coach clearly is not happy.

“You’ve got to maybe take away ice time from guys who aren’t ready, and we tried to do that a little bit tonight,” Gulutzan said. “We had a few guys that were going and chugging. We need everybody going. Guys have to be prepared to go. There’s no excuses for it. If we have to go in there and amp them up every night for games like this, it will be tough.”

The Stars are playing at a .500 level since the All Star break (3-3-1).  It’s a pace that won’t get the 11th place team in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  Things need to change soon, starting Tuesday night in Detroit, which right now is the toughest place for a visiting team to win a game in the history of the league.

Loui Eriksson of the Dallas Stars skates the puck against Jack Johnson of the Los Angeles Kings at American Airlines Center on February 12, 2012 in Dallas, Texas. (credit: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

DALLAS (AP) - The Los Angeles Kings got some much-needed scoring from a pair of unlikely sources.

Jordan Nolan and Dwight King each had their first career goal and the Kings beat the Dallas Stars 4-2 on Sunday night in a matchup of Western Conference playoff contenders.

Andrei Loktionov contributed a power-play goal for the Kings, his second goal of the season and the sixth of his career.

With the game tied at 2, Nolan skated hard to the net and fired Mike Richards’ centering pass by Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen at 11:29 of the third period.

Nolan and King were both called up from Manchester of the AHL on Friday. Nolan was playing in his second NHL game, King his eighth.

“It was pretty special for me and King to get our first one tonight,” said Nolan, whose father, Ted, is a former NHL coach now in charge of the Latvian national team. “We’re trying to work the hardest, trying to stay in the lineup.”

Jonathan Quick stopped 26 shots and Anze Kopitar added two assists for the Kings, who completed a 2-3-1 road trip.
Justin Williams added an empty-netter with 2.1 seconds left for the Kings, who managed only six goals in the first five games of the trip. The Kings are last in the NHL with 124 goals.

“We’ve struggled to score goals, obviously, so four is quite an accomplishment,” Williams said. “This was a four-point game against a team right behind us in the standings. Everything seems so important at this time of the season.”
Loui Eriksson and Michael Ryder scored for the Stars. Alex Goligoski had two assists.

Los Angeles improved to 65 points, tied with Chicago for sixth in the conference. Dallas is 11th in the West with 59 points.
The Kings lost 2-1 in overtime at the New York Islanders on Saturday.

Los Angeles capitalized on a turnover by Stars defenseman Nicklas Grossman for the game’s first goal, with King tapping a rebound past Lehtonen at 8:54 of the opening period.

The Kings made it 2-0 at 8:21 of the second when Jack Johnson’s pass bounced into the net off Loktionov’s skate. The goal was upheld after a video review showed that Loktionov didn’t kick the puck into the net.

Dallas was guilty of seven turnovers in the first period, which set a negative tone for the home team.

“We didn’t start good, that’s for sure,” coach Glen Gulutzan said. “We gave them a goal early and had to press from behind. We should have been ready to play from the beginning. We had a couple guys not ready to go.”

Eriksson notched his 18th of the season off Goligoski’s centering pass at 13:22 of the second to pull Dallas within a goal. Eriksson broke a nine-game goal drought.

Ryder’s wrister from the slot for his team-best 21st of the season drew Dallas even at 2 at 4:37 of the third.

But there was calm on the Kings bench even after wasting the two-goal lead.

“There wasn’t any panic,” Williams said. “We were relaxed, in good shape, and we got two big goals from a couple of kids.

They bring excitement and everyone feeds off of that. They’ve played great the last two games, given us a lot of spunk and a new look.”

NOTES: LW Brenden Morrow (neck, shoulder) and D Sheldon Souray (foot) are out for Dallas. … The Kings are without C Jarret Stoll (lower body), LW Simon Gagne (concussion) and LW Scott Parse (hip). … The teams played for the final time this season, with the Kings going 3-1-2.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Derek Roy forced overtime by scoring with 39 seconds left, and Thomas Vanek also scored to help the Sabres improve to 5-0-1 in their last six games. Ryan Miller made 24 saves in helping the Sabres (24-24-6) jump ahead of three teams and into 11th place in the Eastern Conference.

Michael Ryder and Tomas Vincour scored for the Stars, who lost for the first time in 63 games when leading after two periods. It was a 57-0-5 streak that dated to Oct. 31, 2009.

Gerbe sealed the win in the fifth shootout round by backhanding a shot that struck the post and caromed in off Kari Lehtonen.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Jamie Benn scored twice and Kari Lehtonen had 26 saves to make an early lead stand up in the Dallas Stars’ 4-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night.

But it was a struggle for a team in the middle of the playoff race against another club headed nowhere.

“It’s going to be tough. Every year is, those last 30 games of the year,” said Alex Goligoski, who had a goal and an assist for the Stars. “Everybody’s fighting for position. And you’ve got other teams fighting for other reasons, for jobs and whatnot.”

Stephane Robidas also had a goal and an assist, and Mike Ribeiro added two assists for the Stars, who began the night 12th in the Western Conference but just two points behind eighth-place Minnesota.

Up 3-0 barely 21 minutes in, it was still a battle as the Blue Jackets scored two power-play goals in the second period and then threatened to score several times down the stretch.

Columbus had several chances to get the tying goal in the final period. With 6 minutes left, Jeff Carter, who had goals in his last two games, hit the post on a hard shot from the right hash. Fedor Tyutin was just wide with another big slap shot with just over a minute remaining and Lehtonen smothered R.J. Umberger’s redirect attempt with 29 seconds left.

“I thought he was real good,” Stars coach Glen Galutzan said of Lehtonen. “He cleaned a lot of our stuff up. Most of our stuff was self-inflicted.”

The Stars hung on to win their fourth in the last six games. The Blue Jackets failed to win their third in a row — something they haven’t accomplished all season.

Dallas wasted little time in taking control, scoring twice in the opening 4 1/2 minutes.

After a giveaway by Columbus’ Samuel Pahlsson handed him the puck in the high slot, Benn wheeled and flicked a rising forehand shot into the top right corner for his 16th of the season.

Then the Blue Jackets lost a player and allowed a goal on the same play.

The Stars were swarming when Tomas Vincour’s hard slap shot hit Columbus defenseman Marc Methot on the side of his face. The puck dropped almost straight down — where Goligoski was waiting to jam in the rebound.

Bleeding profusely, Methot skated away unaided, pressing a towel to his face to stem the flow. He did not return.

After the game, a team spokesman said Methot sustained a broken jaw.

The bad news didn’t end there. Forward Jared Boll also broke his foot and will be sidelined for an extensive period.

“It was a great start, getting those two goals was huge,” Benn said. “Getting some momentum for our team on the road is big. We definitely want that in the first period.”

Still on the power play to start the second period, the Stars pushed the lead to three when Robidas’ high-velocity shot from the right point got past goalie Curtis Sanford, who couldn’t see the puck due to congestion in front of the net.

Vinny Prospal and Rick Nash scored, and Tyutin and Derick Brassard had two assists apiece for Columbus. The Blue Jackets, 24th in the NHL with a man advantage, scored twice in the second period — both on power plays.

“I liked the way we battled back,” Blue Jackets interim coach Todd Richards said. “I liked the way we fought all the way to the end. The problem was, we weren’t ready at the start. We dug ourselves a 2-0 hole and we just couldn’t overcome that deficit.”

Benn closed the scoring on an empty-net goal with less than a second left.

“There’s going to be no easy games. We know that,” Goligoski said. “I think our work ethic was a lot better tonight. That was good to see.”

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Also Check Out:

• Dash Cam Captures Deputy Saving Drowning Women
• Toddler Attacked By Dogs
• Khloe Kardashian Kicks Off Dallas Radio Show
• Poll: After Failed Run, Perry’s Ratings Down In Texas
• North Texas Woman Found Dead On Tanning Bed

DALLAS (AP) – The Phoenix Coyotes’ playoff push is well under way.

Radim Vrbata scored his 25th goal, former Dallas backup Mike Smith made 28 saves and the Coyotes improved their playoff positioning with a 4-1 victory over the Stars on Tuesday night.

Vrbata gave Phoenix a 2-1 lead at 14:30 of the second period when he tapped Rostislav Klesla’s centering pass by goalie Kari Lehtonen.

Keith Yandle, Raffi Torres and Derek Morris also scored for the Coyotes, who have won three straight and four of five — including Monday night’s 3-1 home victory over Western Conference-leading Detroit.

Phoenix, playing its third game in four nights, improved to 58 points, good for an eighth-place conference tie with Minnesota. The Wild lost at Columbus 3-1 earlier Tuesday night.

“When you look at the standings, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11 teams want to go (to the playoffs),” said Vrbata, who added an assist. “So, we’ve battled.”

The Coyotes and Stars began the night tied for ninth in the conference.

“This was a tight game and points we had to have against a team we wanted to leapfrog in the standings,” said Coyotes coach Dave Tippett, once coach of the Stars. “Our guys came out and played accordingly.”

Michael Ryder scored for the Stars, who had been off since Saturday night’s 2-1 shootout win over Minnesota.
Yandle got the Coyotes on the board first when his shot from the point slid past a screened Lehtonen at 4:43 of the opening period for his seventh goal of the season.

Yandle went to the locker room in the third after taking a puck to the knee and did not return.
Ryder notched his 19th on a wrister from the right circle at 2:34 of the second to tie it at 1.

Lehtonen made the save of the night 18 seconds after Ryder’s goal, denying Ray Whitney from close range with a sprawling glove stop.

Dallas generated four shots during a 4-minute power play midway through the second period while Phoenix’s Mikkel Boedker was serving a double-minor for high-sticking, but Smith had little trouble stopping all four.

“Our guys got enthused by that kill,” Tippett said. “We used that as a momentum-builder. I thought from there, we took the game over.”

Lehtonen, who finished with 20 saves, was struck in the mask by a shot from Phoenix’s Adrian Aucoin just more than 2 minutes into the final period. Lehtonen was stunned for a few seconds, but stayed in the game.

Torres scored his ninth of the season from the left circle at 5:41 of the third period. Morris’ first at 16:09 provided the Coyotes with a three-goal pad.

The Stars have ridden Lehtonen’s strong goaltending to stay on the fringe of the playoff race, but Tuesday night’s effort was one of their worst of the season.

“Awful, atrocious. I don’t know,” Dallas defenseman Sheldon Souray said. “We’ve gotten by on a really good goaltender our last three or four games and it’s just not good enough. We can talk about it and try to figure it out and point fingers, but really as a whole, we’ve really been letting ourselves down, especially as important as this stretch of games is and what it means.”

NOTES:  Dallas LW Brenden Morrow (upper-body injuries) missed his ninth game this season and the team captain is expected to sit out at least two more. … The Coyotes are without D David Schlemko (foot). … Ryder scored his first goal at home since Jan. 3. … Dallas won two of the first three meetings with Phoenix this season, both in shootouts. … The Coyotes said Yandle is day-to-day.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — All-Star Logan Couture scored a power-play goal to extend his point streak to five games and the San Jose Sharks won their third straight, beating the Dallas Stars 5-2 on Thursday night.

Michal Handzus, Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton and Ryane Clowe also scored for the Sharks, who beat the Stars for the fifth straight time.

Steve Ott and Jamie Benn scored for the Stars, who have yet to win the second game of back-to-backs this season in nine chances.

Thomas Griess stopped 19 shots to earn his seventh win for the Sharks. Dallas’ Richard Bachman made 32 saves.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Click Here To Read More From CBS Sports

Also Check Out:

• Dash Cam Captures Deputy Saving Drowning Women
• Toddler Attacked By Dogs
• Khloe Kardashian Kicks Off Dallas Radio Show
• Poll: After Failed Run, Perry’s Ratings Down In Texas
• North Texas Woman Found Dead On Tanning Bed

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – Jamie Benn had a goal and two assists in his return from a five-game absence, Michael Ryder

also had a goal and two assists, and the Dallas Stars slowed the Anaheim Ducks’ roll with a 6-2 victory Wednesday night in their first game back from the All-Star break.

Eric Nystrom, Vernon Fiddler and defensemen Stephane Robidas and Sheldon Souray also scored for the Stars, who beat Anaheim in back-to-back meetings eight days apart.

Those two wins are Dallas’ only victories since Jan. 12 and the Ducks’ only games without earning a point since Jan. 4. The Stars have won four of five against their Pacific Division rivals this season.

Kari Lehtonen made 33 saves for the Stars.

Matt Beleskey and Luca Sbisa scored, and Hiller stopped 20 shots as Anaheim lost for just the third time in 12 games.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Marian Gaborik of the New York Rangers and Team Chara skates on the ice prior to the 2012 NHL All-Star Game against Team Alfredsson at Scotiabank Place on January 29, 2012 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (credit: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

OTTAWA (AP) - Marian Gaborik made New York Rangers teammate Henrik Lundqvist pay for passing him up in this year’s All-Star game draft.

The high-scoring Rangers forward scored twice in the first period against Lundqvist, completed his hat trick in the second period with another goal, and added an assist in the third to carry Team Chara over Team Alfredsson 12-9 on Sunday.

Gaborik, who made his third All-Star appearance, became the 16th player to record a hat trick in the midseason showcase. The previous one was in 2008 by Columbus’ Rick Nash, Gaborik’s Western Conference teammate in that game.

As a member of the Minnesota Wild, Gaborik enjoyed a five-goal game against Lundqvist, Team Alfredsson’s assistant captain. Despite his success against the Swedish goalie, Gaborik prefers having him on his side rather than trying to score on him.

“It’s not easy. I was just fortunate to be lucky against him,” Gaborik said. “But I think he’s one of the best, if not the best, goalie in the league, but I am glad I could get a couple of goals against him.”

It has already been a stellar season for Gaborik, who has a team-high 25 goals and 39 points for the Eastern Conference-leading Rangers.

Nonetheless, he was passed over repeatedly during Thursday night’s All-Star draft. Lundqvist helped advise captain Daniel Alfredsson to secure Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi for their team with the 20th pick — 11 before Gaborik was finally selected.

Zdeno Chara, who scored the winning goal during a third-period outburst, was able to pick up Gaborik, a fellow Slovak, with the 31st pick out of 38 All-Stars available.

“He got me sweating there a little bit at the draft, picking me late,” said Gaborik, who got his fourth point with an assist on Chara’s goal. “But it was a fun event, and I had a lot of fun.”

With both All-Star captains pursuing their countrymen in drafting their rosters, Gaborik and Lundqvist engaged in lighthearted trash talk and made the most of the opportunity to compete against each other.

“We always have a good competition, even in practice,” said Gaborik, who imitated a memorable goal celebration by Rangers teammate Artem Anisimov earlier this season after he opened the scoring 4:34 in.

After finishing a give-and-go with Pavel Datsyuk, Gaborik circled the net, dropped to one knee and pointed his stick machine-gun style at Lundqvist while pumping his fist.

“I was thinking about it before the game, if I scored on Henrik,” Gaborik said. “I wouldn’t do it any other way, but I wanted to do it against Henrik to get a celebration there. So I don’t think he was too happy about that.”

He also roofed a shot past Lundqvist for his second goal midway through the first before beating Jonathan Quick 1:23 into the second to complete his hat trick.

Gaborik’s MVP selection was popular with the players, who were openly rooting for Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson to complete a hat trick of his own in front of his hometown fans.

“Oh, it was fun,” said St. Louis’ Brian Elliott, the only one of three Team Alfredsson goalies who didn’t allow a goal to Gaborik. “When he scored his first goal, he did the shoot ‘em up celebration. But that’s what it’s all about.

“That’s why I think the new format for picking guys on different teams is pretty fun. Guys are good friends on their own teams and then go against them in something like this is cool.”

Gaborik tweeted “… Still love you Hank:;” on Saturday night along with a photo of himself and Lundqvist posed in Rangers home and away jerseys at that evening’s skills competition.

“Obviously, he has a lot of leverage from all the games we’ve had against each other,” Lundqvist said. “It’s not that many but he has had some big success in the past, so it was easier for him to start it. Hopefully he stays in New York for a long time so I don’t have to face him in a game.”

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Also Check Out:

• App Guides Users Away From High Crime Areas
• Plant Investigated for Dumping Pig Blood In River
• Cuban Among Bidders For L.A. Dodgers
• Dublin Dr. Pepper Fans Furious At Company
• North Texas Woman Found Dead On Tanning Bed

The 22-year-old Benn missed Dallas’ last five games while recovering from an appendectomy.

Named to the NHL All-Star roster, Benn leads the Stars with 29 assists and ranks second with 42 points.

He has been skating the last few days and plans to fully participate in this weekend’s events in Ottawa.

(Copyright 2012 by The Sports Network. All Rights Reserved.)

DALLAS (AP) - Kari Lehtonen made 27 saves for his 18th career shutout, defenseman Alex Goligoski scored in the first period, and the Dallas Stars ended Anaheim’s five-game winning streak with a 1-0 victory over the Ducks on Tuesday night.

The Stars had been 0-4-1 with six goals in their previous five games, damaging their playoff chances.

Anaheim got off to a fast start with a 9-2 edge in shots before Goligoski notched the game’s only goal and his sixth of the season.

Goligoski’s shot glanced off Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler, with the puck flipping into the air and over Anaheim goaltender Jonas Hiller with 3:39 left in the first. Mike Ribeiro and Loui Eriksson were credited with assists.

Goligoski signed a four-year contract extension worth $18.4 million on Monday.
Hiller stopped 15 shots for the Ducks, who had been 8-0-1 in their previous nine games.

Once 20 points out of the eighth spot in the Western Conference, the Ducks have returned to the fringe of the playoff race. But they still have some catching up to do, starting the night 11 points out of the final postseason berth.

Dallas remains without All-Star center Jamie Benn (appendectomy) and captain Brenden Morrow (neck). Benn is expected to play in Sunday’s NHL All-Star game then return to the Stars lineup.

Ribeiro was back after missing seven consecutive games because of a knee injury.
Anaheim held a 19-7 shots-on-goal advantage after two periods, but the Ducks couldn’t get the puck past Lehtonen, who earned his first shutout of the season.

Lehtonen denied Ducks All-Star Corey Perry from close range seconds before the final buzzer.

Dallas was able to control Anaheim’s hottest scorer, right winger Bobby Ryan, who had four goals in his previous five games.

Both teams played their final game before the All-Star break.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Ribeiro has missed the last seven games with an upper-body injury, and had been placed on IR, retroactive to January 7, last Monday.

Morrow is sidelined with an upper-body injury suffered in Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Wild. His move to IR is retroactive to January 21.

In 40 games this season, Ribeiro has registered 10 goals and 21 assists. Morrow has totaled eight goals and 22 points in 41 games this year.

(© Copyright 2011 The Sports Network. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Also Check Out:

• Dallas Plant Accused Of Dumping Pig Blood Into River
• Is Khloe Really A Kardashian?
• Caught On Tape: Burglar Attacks Homeowner
• In Memoriam: People We Lost In 2011
• Top News Stories Of 2011

The agreement was announced Monday. Goligoski’s current deal expires this summer.

The 26-year-old Goligoski is in his fourth NHL season and his second with the Stars.

Goligoski in November broke his thumb in a 3-1 loss at Pittsburgh, his former team.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Also Check Out:

• Dallas Plant Accused Of Dumping Pig Blood Into River
• Is Khloe Really A Kardashian?
• Caught On Tape: Burglar Attacks Homeowner
• In Memoriam: People We Lost In 2011
• Top News Stories Of 2011

Dany Heatley added a goal and two assists, and Devin Setoguchi also scored for Minnesota (23-18-7), 3-11-4 over the past 18 games. Josh Harding made 22 saves.

Eric Nystrom and Philip Larsen scored for the Stars (24-21-2), who are 1-5-1 the last seven games. Kari Lehtonen, who was pulled after giving up four second-period goals, made 15 saves. Richard Bachman stopped six shots in the third period for the Stars.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Tampa Bay, fresh off snapping its longest losing streak in almost three years, tries for its first victory in seven road games this evening against a Dallas club that has dropped three straight close games.

The Lightning carried an 0-6-1 slide into Tuesday’s game versus the Bruins and finally cracked the win column with a 5-3 victory. Dominic Moore potted the go-ahead goal with 3:45 left in the third period to snap an 11-game goal drought.

Vincent Lecavalier, Tom Pyatt and Ryan Malone added goals and Steven Stamkos tallied into an empty net for his league-leading 31st marker of the season and 150th of his career. Mathieu Garon ended with 26 saves.

Lightning head coach Guy Boucher felt his team was ready for a meeting with the defending Stanley Cup champions.

“Difference is, when the puck dropped we had emotion,” Boucher said. “We’ve had some really good games lately, but I found that beginning of periods of end of periods either we got scared … or we have a lack of confidence from losing games.

“I told the players [earlier Tuesday], ‘I don’t care about the score.’ I wanted fight when the puck dropped.”

Tampa was on its longest losing streak since closing out the 2008-09 season on an 0-7-2 slide and will now try to win on the road for the first time since Dec. 17. The Bolts are 12 points out of a playoff spot.

Dallas is a bit closer in the Western Conference, coming into this meeting two points out of the playoff picture despite three straight one-goal losses. The last two have come against conference heavyweights, a 1-0 loss in St. Louis on Monday and a 3-2 shootout setback to visiting Detroit the following night.

The Stars’ offense was without two of its top four scorers for those big games due to injuries to Jamie Benn and Mike Ribeiro, leaving head coach Glen Gulutzan proud of his team’s efforts but disappointed with the lack of points.

“You know, I have to judge everything by work ethic and if you look at these last two nights, we put in the work. Did we get the result? No, but did we put in the effort? Yes, both nights, and for that, that’s the positive for our group,” said Gulutzan.

“The kick side is, when you put in those efforts, you’ve got to get points. We did tonight, but had we done that [Monday] night and took two out of four [points] out of this thing, we’d probably have been okay about that, but tonight would have been good to get two.”

Brenden Morrow scored his first goal since Dec. 19 and Loui Eriksson also scored for the Stars. Morrow is now one point shy of tying Jere Lehtinen (514) for eighth place on the franchise’s all-time scoring list.

Backup Richard Bachman made 30 saves and kept the Red Wings off the board in the third period and overtime, but gave up the lone shootout tally.

“We knew it was going to be a tight third period,” Bachman said. “I just wanted to do whatever I could to give the team a chance to win. I would have liked to have seen things go the other way, but I thought the guys worked hard tonight.”

The Lightning tallied a 5-4 home win over the Stars in the lone meeting last year, getting a pair of power-play goals from Moore and a goal and two assists by Stamkos.

Tampa Bay, though, is just 3-5-1 with a tie in 10 games at Dallas since the Stars relocated there in 1993-94.

(Copyright 2012 by The Sports Network. All Rights Reserved.)

Michael Ryder of the Dallas Stars skates the puck against Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings at the American Airlines Center on January 17, 2012 in Dallas, Texas. (credit: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

DALLAS (AP) - The Detroit Red Wings are nearly unbeatable at home. On the road — not so much.

Jiri Hudler scored in the second round of the shootout, Detroit’s Ty Conklin was perfect in all three rounds, and the Red Wings beat the Dallas Stars 3-2 on Tuesday night for two rare road points.

The Red Wings are an NHL-best 18-2-1 at home, and have won a franchise-record 15 straight at Joe Louis Arena. But Detroit is 12-13 on the road, and had gone 2-5 in its seven previous away games.

Detroit coach Mike Babcock wanted a more competitive road effort, and that’s exactly what he got.

“We talked a lot about that today,” Babcock said. “We’re averaging 1.7 (goals-against) at home and 2.7 against on the road. You can’t win without checking. It’s impossible. You can’t outscore your mistakes. You’ve got to be diligent without the puck if you’re going to have success.”

Hudler used a nifty move to fake rookie Richard Bachman out of position, and backhanded the puck into the right side of the net.

“It’s always nice when you score on a move like this,” Hudler said. “I faked a shot, the puck stopped for a little second, and then there was an open net there. I thought he got the puck, but he didn’t expect that. I was lucky.”

Conklin denied Loui Eriksson and Michael Ryder, and Trevor Daley missed the net in the final round of the shootout to give the Red Wings the extra point.

Bachman got a break when Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk had his shot clang off the crossbar in the first round.

Brenden Morrow and Eriksson scored in regulation for Dallas, 1-3-1 in its last five.

Tomas Holmstrom and Hudler had regulation goals for Detroit, which has won four straight, including a 5-0 home win over Buffalo on Monday.

Bachman made 30 saves and went beyond regulation for the first time in his 11 NHL games.

“We knew it was going to be a tight third (period), and I just wanted to do whatever I could to just give the team a chance to win,” Bachman said. “I would have liked to see things go the other way, but the guys worked hard.”

Conklin stopped 25 shots in his ninth game of the season, giving regular starter Jimmy Howard the night off.

Conklin had started only three of the previous 20 games, but he was sharp against Dallas.

“I felt good throughout the game,” Conklin said. “You know your role on the team and try to control your mental errors. It’s nice to be able to contribute.”

The Stars were without their top two centers, All-Star Jamie Benn (appendectomy) and Mike Ribeiro (knee).

Holmstrom gave the Wings a 1-0 lead at 6:41 of the opening period. He was alone in the high slot, and his one-timer beat Bachman for his eighth goal of the season.

Morrow drew Dallas even on the power play at 10:59 when he tipped Alex Goligoski’s shot between Conklin’s pads for his eighth goal.

Eriksson chipped a rebound past Conklin, giving the Stars a 2-1 lead at 16:28 of the first with his 17th of the season.

Hudler was the beneficiary of a lucky bounce when his pass glanced off Goligoski’s skate and went into the net at 1:43 of the second to tie it for Hudler’s 13th goal.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Also Check Out:

• Is Khloe Really A Kardashian?
• Caught On Tape: Burglar Attacks Homeowner
• In Memoriam: People We Lost In 2011
• Top News Stories Of 2011
• Man Kills 3-Year-Old Grandson Over Parenting Concerns

The Blues have earned 13 out of a possible 14 points this month (6-0-1) and are tied with the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks atop the NHL standings with 60 points. St. Louis improved to 19-3-3 at the Scottrade Center and set a single-season club record by earning at least a point at home for the 13th straight game.

Halak, who has 19 career shutouts, has been a big part of that streak, going 9-0-3 in his last 12 starts.

Dallas lost for only the second time when allowing two or fewer goals (20-2-0). The Stars were blanked 1-0 by the Los Angeles Kings on Oct. 22.

Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen (31 saves) was the hard-luck loser. In 10 career starts against St. Louis, Lehtonen has yet to allow more than two goals.

Lehtonen frustrated the Blues again for more than 50 minutes Monday before Oshie and David Perron broke into the offensive zone and executed a perfect give-and-go. Oshie got the puck back in the slot and deked Lehtonen out of position before sliding the puck into the net. Oshie’s goal at 11:26 of the third period was his 14th.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

The move before Monday night’s game at St. Louis was retroactive to Jan. 7, when Ribeiro was hurt in a 4-1 win against Edmonton.

Ribeiro had seven goals and five assists in 11 games before getting injured. He is second on the team in power play scoring with seven points.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Loui Eriksson scored twice and then netted the deciding goal in a shootout to help the Stars rally for a 5-4 victory Thursday night that left them one point behind the Kings, who are tied with Minnesota for the eighth and final playoff spot.

“We always play tight games against L.A., but we came back pretty good and finally won the game,” Eriksson said. “So it’s two big points for us. It was really intense out there. I thought we took too many penalties, but we stuck with it and found a way. We played a hardworking game the whole way through.”

Eriksson tied the game 4-all on a power-play goal at 14:35 of the third period. He tried to center the puck in front of the net, and the Kings’ Willie Mitchell inadvertently knocked it in when he tried to clear it.

Eriksson, the Stars’ second shooter in the tiebreaker, pushed the puck over the goal line as goalie Jonathan Quick fell over. Trevor Lewis then failed to connect for the Kings.

“I try to tell myself not to look at the standings, but it’s a little like an addiction for me,” Dallas coach Glen Gulutzen said. “Every day I’m searching them out to see if they’ve changed from 3 to 4 o’clock. We are playing playoff hockey. It’s going to be a tough stretch here, but (games) 40 through 60, we’ve got to be strong.”

Kari Lehtonen made 37 saves to earn his 150th NHL victory. Quick, named to his first All-Star team earlier Thursday, stopped 34 shots for the Kings.

Jack Johnson and Dustin Brown scored consecutive power-play goals to give the Kings a 4-3 lead in the third period.

“Our PK was great and they found a way to get a fluke one,” Brown said. “It takes overtime and a shootout.”

Johnson assisted on two second-period goals for his second straight multipoint game and third of the season. Anze Kopitar had a goal and two assists before leaving with 7:48 remaining in the third after getting tossed into the boards by Brenden Morrow.

“He told me he’s fine, so we’ll see what that means,” Kings coach Darryl Sutter said.

Kopitar lay face down in a corner before slowly getting up and leaving under his own power. The Kings said he had an upper body injury. He was circling behind the net when he put his left shoulder into Morrow, who raised his right arm and sent Kopitar flying.

“We watched it on slo-mo and we watched it again, and in my mind, it was a clean hit,” Gulutzen said. “But he fell very awkwardly into the boards. I don’t know the extent of it, but I hope he’s OK. I don’t think anything will come of it, but that’s for the league to decide.”

As a result, the Kings’ Mike Richards received penalties for instigating a fight, unsportsmanlike conduct, fighting and a 10-minute misconduct, while Morrow was sent off for fighting. Dallas then went on a 4-minute power play that led to Eriksson’s tying goal.

“We’re a very tight team. Everybody is going to stick up for each other and that was really good on his part,” Justin Williams said of Richards. “It’s a shame we didn’t kill it off for him.”

Dallas took a 2-0 lead on goals by Eriksson and Eric Nystrom 51 seconds apart in the first. Eriksson scored on a 3-on-2, and Nystrom put in his own rebound.

“It was a huge win for us,” Nystrom said. “The last few games we’ve been just forcing plays a little bit and maybe didn’t have our usual jump. But tonight we pursued the puck and were getting pucks to the net and taking what they were giving us. That really helped us out.”

The Kings sandwiched goals by Kopitar and Lewis, his first of the season, around one by the Stars’ Alex Goligoski, leaving Los Angeles trailing 3-2 in the second.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Also Check Out:

• Is Khloe Really A Kardashian?
• Caught On Tape: Burglar Attacks Homeowner
• In Memoriam: People We Lost In 2011
• Top News Stories Of 2011
• Man Kills 3-Year-Old Grandson Over Parenting Concerns

The league on Thursday began announcing players for the Jan. 29 showcase.

Kessel is second in league scoring with 48 points. Lupul, his linemate, has 47 points.

Also placed on the roster were NHL leading scorer Claude Giroux and Kimmo Timonen of Philadelphia; Chicago’s Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa and Patrick Kane; Dustin Byfuglien of Winnipeg; Brian Campbell of Florida; and Jamie Benn of Dallas.

Four players for the host Senators were previously voted in by fans – Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, Milan Michalek and Erik Karlsson, along with Toronto’s Dion Phaneuf and Boston goaltender Tim Thomas.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

The murky ownership situation is stabilized after a stint in bankruptcy. Ticket prices were slashed. And, led by blossoming forward Jamie Benn, the Stars are even in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race, and are jostling for a postseason berth for the first time in four seasons.

But Dallas was an organization in strong favor of the NHL’s proposed realignment plan that would have shuffled the setup and placed the Stars in a more fan- and travel-friendly conference with teams like Minnesota and St. Louis.

The Wild, Winnipeg and Detroit also would have greatly benefited from the realignment proposal. The plan stalled last week, however, after the players’ association refused to agree to the changes.

Suddenly, Dallas was stuck … again.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Teemu Selanne of the Anaheim Ducks celebrates along with Saku Koivu as Koivu scores his hat trick goal late in the third period against the Dallas Stars at the Honda Center on January 10, 2012 in Anaheim, California. (credit: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Teemu Selanne only considered the open net for a fleeting moment before flipping a deft pass back to Saku Koivu.

Selanne easily could have scored his 652nd career goal, but the Finnish Flash couldn’t pass up the chance to facilitate his longtime Olympic teammate’s second career hat trick in the Anaheim Ducks’ third straight victory.

Koivu scored two of his three goals on slick setups by Selanne in the third period, and the Ducks beat the Dallas Stars 5-2 Tuesday night to extend their longest winning streak in nearly three months.

Koivu scored the tiebreaking goal with 10:28 to play and added an empty-netter with 53.7 seconds left, completing the 37-year-old former Montreal captain’s first hat trick since Nov. 18, 2002.

“So he’s probably not going to get the third one,” the 41-year-old Selanne cracked. “There was no way I would take the shot myself. I knew Saku had a chance to score a hat trick. I’m so happy for him. You don’t see that very often. Usually he’s the passer.”

A runaway victory over a Pacific Division rival was sweet, but the Ducks will take whatever success they can get at the halfway point of their hugely disappointing season. Even after this strong finish to a six-game homestand, the Ducks (13-22-6) are still three points out of 28th place in the 30-team NHL standings.

Jeff Deslauriers made 26 saves in his first NHL appearance in nearly two years for Anaheim, which hadn’t won three straight since starting the season 4-1.

“There’s nothing we can do with the past,” Koivu said. “There have been a lot of positive things in the last little while, even though we haven’t won all the games. We’re scoring goals now, and not allowing a lot of goals. We’re feeling good, and it’s showing.”

Luca Sbisa also scored for Anaheim, and Matt Beleskey added his first goal of the season with 5:20 to play.

Steve Ott and Alex Goligoski scored 64 seconds apart early in the third period to tie it for the Stars, but Selanne grabbed a loose puck and sped past two defensemen before screening both Stars from Koivu, who put Anaheim ahead 3-2.

“They’re an experienced group, and they know how to win,” Dallas captain Brenden Morrow said of the Ducks. “They had a mediocre half of the season last year, too, before they became the best team in the league, so we never take them lightly.”

Selanne made two exceptional passes to Koivu in his 1,300th NHL game, becoming the 52nd player to reach the milestone. Selanne, who scored his 650th career goal in the Ducks’ last game, is just the second Finn to play 1,300 games, joining Teppo Numminen.

Kari Lehtonen stopped 21 shots for the Stars, who had earned a point in each of their past six meetings with Anaheim, including two wins earlier this season.

“I think we hit four posts in the first 20 minutes, so if one of those goes, maybe we’re not pushing so much to try and get those goals in the third,” Dallas coach Glen Gulutzan said. “I didn’t mind our game altogether. … We just couldn’t get anything to sink there, and I thought they took it to us a little bit.”

With All-Star starter Jonas Hiller and backup Dan Ellis both sidelined by injuries, the Ducks recalled Deslauriers from their AHL affiliate in Syracuse, N.Y., earlier Tuesday to suit up alongside Iiro Tarkki, who got his first NHL victory Sunday.

Deslauriers hadn’t appeared in the NHL since April 11, 2010, when he lost to Anaheim while playing for the Edmonton Oilers. The Ducks signed him during the following offseason, but the 27-year-old hadn’t appeared in a game with Anaheim despite shuttling up to the NHL several times last season as an emergency backup.

“Everybody makes me feel like part of the family,” Deslauriers said. “They played their hearts out tonight.”

The Stars played without center Mike Ribeiro, who missed his first game of the season with a slightly torn ligament in his right knee. Defenseman Sheldon Souray returned from a six-game absence with an injured ankle.

Dallas outshot the Ducks in the first two periods, but trailed 2-0 after Sbisa’s exceptional goal from the far boards midway through the second period.

Ott ended Deslauriers’ shutout bid 1:39 into the third period with an unscreened slap shot that the Anaheim goalie simply missed. Goligoski then put another mid-range shot cleanly past Deslauriers, and Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau chewed out his team during a timeout.

Instead of slumping their shoulders, as they’ve done so often this season, the Ducks attacked. After Selanne set up Koivu’s goal, Beleskey scored his first goal since Jan. 15, 2011, by swatting home a bouncing rebound of Andrew Cogliano’s shot.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Also Check Out:

• In Memoriam: People We Lost In 2011
• Top Sports Stories Of 2011
• Top News Stories Of 2011
• Man Kills 3-Year-Old Grandson Over Parenting Concerns
• Kim Kardashian Comes To Dallas To Help Sister Khloe

With the teams even at 1, Benn went hard to the net, collected the rebound of Adam Burish’s shot, and lifted the puck over sprawling Edmonton goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin at 7:03 of the final period. It was Benn’s 13th of the season.

Jordan Eberle, Edmonton’s leading scorer with 17 goals and 43 points, sustained a knee injury in the opening period and did not return.

Mike Ribeiro also had two goals, giving him four in two games, and Loui Eriksson contributed three assists for Dallas.

The Stars haven’t lost at home to the Oilers in regulation since Dec. 8, 2006, going 10-0-1 during that span.

Ribeiro skated behind the Edmonton net and flipped a shot toward the goal that banked off Edmonton’s Josh Green and past Khabibulin at 13:39 of the final period to stretch the lead to 3-1.

Ribeiro added an empty-netter with 1:14 remaining.

Bachman was a late fill-in for Kari Lehtonen, who was set to start but wasn’t available because he was feeling ill prior to the game.

Taylor Hall had the Edmonton goal and the 38-year-old Khabibulin stopped 30 shots for the Oilers, who completed a season-long seven-game road trip at 1-6-0.

Hall was credited with the only goal of the first period at 17:19 when his shot from the low slot hit Dallas defenseman Alex Goligoski, flipping into the air, over Bachman and past the goal line.

Benn pulled Dallas even at 1, skating up the slot and converting Trevor Daley’s centering pass at 14:39 of the second period.

   (Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)