Game Recap

DALLAS 4, COLUMBUS 2 COLUMBUS, Ohio (Ticker) -- Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen each had a goal and an assist as the Dallas Stars completed a home-and-home sweep of the expansion Columbus Blue Jackets and extended their winning streak to five games with a 4-2 triumph. Dallas had a power play when Lehtinen sent a cross-ice pass to Modano, who one-timed the puck past goaltender Ron Tugnutt from the top right crease for his eighth goal and a 1-0 lead with 8:28 left in the opening period. Modano assisted on Lehtinen's fourth goal, giving the Stars a 3-1 lead 90 seconds into the second. Modano gave the puck to Darryl Sydor, who began a 2-on-1 with Lehtinen. Sydor skated down the right side and sent a pass just inside the left faceoff circle, where Lehtinen beat Tugnutt. "We've progreseed the last two weeks and the guys have been sharp," Sydor said. "Both teams traveled last night, but we were able to make the plays early tonight." Dallas is 10-0-1-1 when leading after two periods and has not lost since a 3-2 setback in Columbus on November 14. Rookie Marty Turco, who visited Columbus during his career at the University of Michigan, turned aside 19 shots and improved to 3-1 as the Stars stretched their unbeaten streak to six games (5-0-1). "I think the power play got us the game, and from the first goal things went well from there," Turco said. "We were able to move the puck and get a lot of chances at the net. The crowd was really into it. They were as loud as anything I've heard since the old Chicago Stadium crowds. It was fun to play in these sort of conditions." Frantisek Kucera and Robert Kron tallied for Columbus, which has been outscored 21-5 during a five-game slide. The Blue Jackets were 0-for-3 on the power play, falling to 0-for-19 in the last six contests. "It's always disappointing to not win in front of our home fans," Columbus coach Dave King said. "The crowd was really into it tonight. Special teams is an area that we need to improve in. We can't put ourselves a man down and expect to beat teams like Dallas." Kucera put a slap shot off the inside of Turco's pads and behind the goalie for his second goal of the season, tying it with 7:12 left in the first period. Sergei Zubov scored a power-play goal to put Dallas ahead for good with 1:46 to go in the first. He took a pass from Sydor in the right circle and fired a shot past Tugnutt for his fourth goal. Rookie Tyler Bouck's second goal gave Dallas a 4-1 cushion with 9:28 left in the second. Kron got his first goal since April 3 at 3:10 of the third. ----------------------------- Dallas 2 2 0--4 Columbus 1 0 1--2 ----------------------------- FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Dallas, Modano 8 (power play) (Lehtinen, Hull), 11:32. 2, Columbus, Kucera 2 (Sanderson, Kron), 12:49. 3, Dallas, Zubov 4 (power play) (Sydor, Hull), 18:14. Penalties: Zubov, Dal (high sticking), 6:34; Timander, Cob (holding), 11:13; Aubin, Cob (holding stick), 17:13. SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 4, Dallas, Lehtinen 4 (Sydor, Modano), 1:30. 5, Dallas, T Bouck 2 (Marshall, Matvichuk), 10:32. Penalties: Grand-pierre, Cob (holding), 7:53; Maltais, Cob (high sticking), 10:54; Denis, Cob (charging), 15:18; Hatcher, Dal (elbowing), 18:11. THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 6, Columbus, Kron 1 (Odelein, Knutsen), 3:10. Penalties: Zubov, Dal (tripping), 2:15; Aubin, Cob (roughing), 2:15; Odelein, Cob (holding), 10:22; Vyborny, Cob (holding stick), 14:14. Shots on goal: --------------------------------- Dallas 11 7 6--24 Columbus 4 6 11--21 --------------------------------- Power-play Conversions: Dal - 2 of 7, Cob - 0 of 3. Goalies: Dallas, Turco (21 shots, 19 saves; record: 3-1-0). Columbus, Tugnutt (24, 20; record: 6-10-1). A:18,136. Referees: Gregson, Rooney. Linesmen: Mcelman, Nelson.