Jeff Halpern had a goal and two assists, Jere Lehtinen and Philippe Boucher each added a goal and an assist, and the Stars scored a season-high seven goals in an electrifying 7-5 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday afternoon at American Airlines Center before a national television audience.



What was the Stars play of the game?

Trevor Daley's first period goal

Stu Barnes' first period goal

Jere Lehtinen's first period goal

Niklas Hagman's second period goal

Philippe Boucher's second period goal

Jeff Halpern's third period goal



Trevor Daley, Stu Barnes, Niklas Hagman and Joel Lundqvist also scored for a surging Stars team that came into the game with the fifth fewest goals scored in the league. Dallas won its third straight, and has been victorious in eight of its last 11. The Stars also beat Colorado for the seventh straight time, sending the Avalanche to their sixth loss in the last eight games.

It was the most goals Dallas has scored since a 7-2 win at Chicago on March 5, 2006.

"It was good for TV," center Mike Modano said

And good for the Stars' climb up the standings. With the win, Dallas pulled to within a point of San Jose for the fifth seed in the Western Conference, and four points of the Pacific Division-leading Anaheim Ducks.

"It's nice to get seven but we would rather not let in five," Barnes said. "It got a little scrambly out there but we are happy to get the win."

The Stars nearly blew three three-goal leads in a wild game that they never trailed in. The second period alone featured goalie changes by both teams, as Marty Turco and Colorado's Peter Budaj were both yanked, and five goals combined.

This offensive explosion coming 24 hours after Dallas squeaked out a 1-0 win over the Ducks.

"We had a solid week with three wins and are just finding ways to win," Modano said. "We feel like everyone is contributing. We're focusing on gathering points and letting the standings fall where they may. We are trying to play our patient style and just find ways."

Down 6-3 heading into the third period, the Avalanche battled back with two goals in the first four minutes to close the gap to 6-5. They scored with the man advantage just 1:42 into the final frame when Milan Hejduk, helped by Joe Sakic's assist, beat goalie Mike Smith with a wrist shot from the bottom of the right circle. Brett McLean further cut Dallas' lead when his wrist shot beat Smith on the short side at 4:19.

Smith, coming off his blanking of Anaheim, helped preserve the win when he stopped Ian Laperriere's point-blank shot from in front of the net with three minutes left in regulation.

Halpern iced it with 2 1/2 minutes to go with his sixth of the year.

"Games like that make coaches hair go gray, but we'll take the two points and move on," head coach Dave Tippett said. "Believe me, we're happy with the win, but there are things we can learn from both games this weekend."

Daley opened the scoring just three minutes in when he converted Mike Ribeiro's pass from behind the goal line for his third of the year. Driving in from the point, Daley one-timed Ribeiro's feed, with the puck deflecting off Colorado defenseman Jordan Leopold's skate and past Budaj.

"The guys around me have been great and I think are getting me the puck in the right spots," Daley said. "I am taking more chances and getting up in the play, using my speed and doing what I can."

The Stars pushed their lead to 2-0 when Barnes notched his 10th of the season with just over five minutes to go in the first. Standing near the bottom of the left circle, Barnes rammed home Stephane Robidas' rebound before Avalanche defenseman Ken Klee couldn't get his stick on the puck.

Dallas made it 3-0 at 18:09 after Budaj let out another rebound that Lehtinen gobbled up and back-handed into the net for his team-leading 17th.

Colorado cut the lead to 3-1 on Sakic's 24th of the season just 70 seconds later. Andrew Brunette's slap shot barely squirted through Turco and into the crease. Sakic, driving to the net, beat Halpern to the loose puck to record his 598th career goal.

Hagman started the second-period barrage with his 12th at 3:07 to increase the Stars' bulge to 4-1, converting Jussi Jokinen's pass on a 2-on-1. The goal was the final one allowed by Budaj, who was pulled three minutes later for Jose Theodore.

The goalie change seemed to give the Avalanche a lift, as they scored two quick goals in a 49-second span to close the gap. Rookie Paul Stastny made it 4-2 with his 17th at 8:54, and fellow freshman Wojtek Wolski pulled Colorado to within one with his 19th.

Tippett promptly yanked Turco after the tally, inserting Smith. It marked the second consecutive game that Turco has started but hasn't finished.

"We had to stop the bleeding," Tippett said. "Marty has hit a little bump in the road right now, but our team is still confident in both Marty and Mike."

Turco agreed.

"I know it hasn't been the best last few weeks for me, but I need to get back out there and get back to being my best," he said. "I'm disappointed in myself and how I've let in a few not-so-good goals when the team has been playing so well. But I was encouraging the guys in the third and supporting my teammates."

Dallas regained its three-goal lead on consecutive goals by Lundqvist and Boucher. Midway through the frame, Lundqvist picked up his third of the year on a pretty re-direct off of Halpern's pass from the top of the left circle.

Lundqvist was put into the lineup after Eric Lindros became a late scratch because of a lower-body injury.

Boucher made it 6-3 with just over six minutes remaining with his team-leading 10th power-play goal and 16th overall. Boucher let go a wicked slap shot from two feet inside the blueline near the middle of the ice that eluded Theodore.

Smith kept the three-goal cushion with a spectacular diving glove save late in the second period, robbing Ben Guite's attempt on a short-handed 2-on-1.

The Stars continue their five-game homestand on Wednesday when they host the Detroit Red Wings at 7:30 p.m. Dallas has lost both games to the Red Wings this season, including a 2-1 defeat at the end of November

"We had a good week with three solid wins and we need to carry this over to next week, too," Barnes said. "We are building, and we're working hard and getting there."

The game can be seen on FSN.

STARGAZING



Halpern's three points tied a career high last set in Dec. 2005 when he was a member of the Washington Capitals.

Forward Antti Miettinen missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury.

Dallas is 5-0-1 in its last six home games.

Colorado was playing its first road game in two weeks, and only its second in nearly a month.

Dallas swept the four-game season series from the Avalanche.

The Stars have allowed just two power-play goals over their last 29 penalty-kill opportunities.

Ribeiro and Sergei Zubov each added two assists apiece.

Turco allowed three goals on 15 shots while Smith surrendered two goals on 14 shots.

Every player on both teams donated a pre-determined amount for goals scored, assists, shots blocked and team win to the Garth Brooks Teammates for Kids Foundation. It was the first time in league history that two competing teams had full participation in charitable donations for on-ice production.

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DALLAS (AP) - Even without All-Star goalie Marty Turco finishing games, the Dallas Stars are winning and making up ground in the Pacific Division.


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Jere Lehtinen was one of seven Stars to score a goal in a 7-5 win over the Avalanche.
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Jeff Halpern had a goal and two assists in a 7-5 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday, when the Stars set a season high for goals and were involved in a 12-goal game for the first time in more than nine years.

The Stars' scoring surge came a day after their 1-0 victory over division-leading Anaheim when Mike Smith started instead of Turco, who Sunday was pulled from his second straight start after allowing two goals in less than a minute midway through the second period.

"I'm disappointed that I let the guys down. They weren't great goals," Turco said. "I haven't been my best the last couple weeks and it's making Tip (coach Dave Tippett) a little nervous."

In his previous start Tuesday against Minnesota, Turco gave two goals on seven shots in the first eight minutes. Dallas rebounded to win 4-2 after Smith took over.

The Stars have still won three straight games and five of their last six. With 70 points, they are four points behind Anaheim and only one behind second-place San Jose, which plays in Dallas next Sunday.

Smith came in against the Avs after Paul Stastny and rookie Wojtek Wolski scored 49 seconds apart midway through the second period to get Colorado within 4-3.

Turco allowed three goals on 15 shots, the other in the closing minute of the first period when he let a puck through and behind him, and Joe Sakic knocked it into the net.

"We were trying to stop the bleeding. Smitty had a great day yesterday and we were looking to stop their momentum," Tippett said. "Marty's hit a little bump in the road here, but he's been very good for us. Our team still feels confidence in both guys."

Within a minute after Wolski's goal chased Turco, Halpern knocked the puck to the front of the net and Joel Lundqvist deflected it over the shoulder of Jose Theodore - who had replaced Peter Budaj in goal for Colorado earlier in the period.

Dallas led 6-3 when Philippe Boucher scored with 6:17 left in the second period.

"I was certainly surprised. I don't think I've ever been yanked with the lead before," Turco said. "But there's been bad goals over this stretch, so I can't entirely blame (Tippett). He wants to win more than anything. My confidence will be restored."

Smith stopped 12 of 14 shots, with a sprawling save at the end of an odd-man rush at the end of the second period. Both goals he allowed, one of them a power play, came in the first 5 minutes of the third period.

After that, Smith survived three more power plays with stops on point-blank shots by Wolski and Sakic. Then he had another sprawling effort to deny Ian Laperriere with 3:13 left - and Halpern then scored a goal for the Stars.

Budaj gave up four goals on 15 shots and Theodore allowed three goals in 10 shots.

Colorado lost for the fourth time in five games. The Avalanche started a stretch of 11 road games in their next 15.

"We've been slow-starting and then playing catch-up," coach Joel Quenneville said. "We're having hesitation. We talked about getting momentum early, then give up the early goal and it gets you thinking again. We had a little hesitation at the start and you can't have that."

Jere Lehtinen's backhander of a rebound gave Dallas a 3-0 lead with 1:51 left in the first period. But a minute later, Turco allowed Sakic's 24th goal this season and 598th of his career.

Twelve different players scored goals, with Trevor Daley and Stu Barnes putting Dallas up 2-0. Barnes scored after Lundqvist took a swipe from beyond the right circle as a power play ended, the puck squirting under Budaj and off the goalie's skate to Barnes.

Notes
Dallas swept the four-game regular-season series against Colorado. ... The Stars' last 12-goal game was an 8-4 victory over Buffalo in December 1997. ... The high-scoring game came on a good day for the Garth Brooks Teammates for Kids Foundation. Members of the Stars and Avalanche both pledged to donate a predetermined amount for goals, assists, shots blocked or a victory. "This is the first time all 23 players, the coaches and the general managers (from both teams) have pledged on the same day," said Brooks, whose foundation was going to triple what the players contributed.
I thought this was a really cool thing to do for the kids and to garth for trippling the amount

Wasn't it 7-4 for Stars???

Never then less,i don't get it lately,against Ducks they scored only 1 lonley goal,and recived none (against Dukcs who's attack is stronger then Avs),and then Avs feel them up with 4 (or 5)......

Wtf is going on with NHL this days?
Unbelivable results!