Game Recap

DALLAS 4, MINNESOTA 1 ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - The Dallas Stars scored early and late to erase any evidence of being outplayed in the second period. Mike Modano scored two first-period goals and the Stars added a pair of goals in the third period en route to a 4-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Monday night. The victory extended Dallas' unbeaten streak to four games. After Minnesota closed within a goal, John MacLean and Shaun Van Allen added third-period goals for the Stars. Goalie Marty Turco finished with 22 saves. "We got some good performances," said Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock, whose team now leads the Pacific Division by seven points. "Turco was solid and Van Allen's line was just excellent." The Wild, which beat Dallas 6-0 in December, is winless in five games. "We didn't have to mention what happened here last time," said Van Allen. "We knew we were going to play better." Modano unleashed a rising backhander that eluded Minnesota goalie Jamie McLennan less than two minutes into the game. Modano struck again at 11:18 of the first, grabbing a rebound in front of the Minnesota net and firing a wrist shot that trickled past McLennan for a 2-0 lead. "We didn't start the right way, and we go into trouble with that," said Wild coach Jacques Lemaire. "In the second, we started to move the puck to the open man better and then we start to control." Minnesota outshot the Stars in the second, but failed to get the puck past Turco. It wasn't until the Stars went on the power play in the third period that Minnesota scored. Wild forward Wes Walz made a rush up ice a step ahead of Dallas defenseman Sergei Zubov and got off a low shot that was stopped by Turco. Walz grabbed the rebound and directed the puck to Antti Laaksonen, who scored on a spinning backhand shot and pulled the Wild within a goal. "Zubov missed the puck at the blue line and I was able to jump by him," said Walz. "Laaksonen followed up on the rebound really well and buried it when he had the chance." Laaksonen's short-handed goal was Minnesota's 12th of the season and broke the NHL record for short-handed scores by an expansion team. San Jose and Florida shared the record with 11. McLennan finished with 24 saves for the Wild. Dallas Stars 4, MINNESOTA WILD 1 1ST 2ND 3RD FINAL --- --- --- ----- Dallas 2 0 2 4 Minnesota 0 0 1 1 FIRST PERIOD - SCORING: 1, Dallas, Modano 27 (Hull), 1:53. 2, Dallas, Modano 28 (Lehtinen, Hull), 11:18. PENALTIES: MacLean, Dal, major (fighting), 7:10; Simicek, Min, minor-major (high-sticking, fighting), 7:10; Helenius, Dal, minor-major (high-sticking, fighting), 13:33; Blouin, Min, minor-major (high-sticking, fighting), 13:33; Langenbrunner, Dal (elbowing), 19:23. SECOND PERIOD - SCORING: None. PENALTIES: Sutton, Min (slashing), 2:17; Gaborik, Min (hooking), 7:30; Hatcher, Dal (cross-checking), 11:14; Lukowich, Dal (interference), 18:20. THIRD PERIOD - SCORING: 3, Minnesota, Laaksonen 12 (Walz), 3:00 (sh). 4, Dallas, MacLean 3 (Van Allen), 16:24. 5, Dallas, Van Allen 7 (Lehtinen), 18:01 (sh). PENALTIES: Roest, Min (ob.-holding), 1:16; Dowd, Min (high-sticking), 9:05; Simicek, Min (boarding), 13:31; Modano, Dal (slashing), 17:38. SHOTS ON GOAL 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL --- --- --- ----- Dallas 12 5 7 24 Minnesota 5 8 10 23 POWER PLAY: Dallas 0 of 6; Minnesota 0 of 4. GOALIES: Dallas, Turco 11-6-0 (23 shots-22 saves). Minnesota, McLennan 4-21-6 (24-20). Referees: Kevin Maguire, Dave Jackson. Linesmen: Gord Broseker, Steve Miller. A: 18,568 (18,064).