DALLAS, Texas – A power play goal on a deflection sealed the Dallas Stars’ fifth consecutive loss and fourth shutout of the season on Tuesday night at the American Airlines Center. Kari Lehtonen made 22 saves, but the Stars’ season-worst losing streak increased to five games. 
Ilya Kovalchuk broke his stick on his shot from the left point and rookie Nick Palmieri, positioned at the right side of the net, managed to deflect the bouncing puck past Lehtonen for the game-winner, his sixth tally of the season. “I was in front of the net trying to set a screen,” Palmieri said. “Usually that shot coming from the point is a little harder than that, but a broken stick might have thrown their goalie off a little bit and I just happened to get a little tip on it. There weren’t a lot of chances on either side, so we’ll take the goal any way we can get it.” Stars forward Jamie Langenbrunner, who played against the Devils for the first time since the former New Jersey captain was traded on January 7th said it was a little wierd playing against his former teammates, but he felt good about the Stars’ efforts. “We played a pretty good hockey game,” Langenbrunner said. “We did a lot of what we wanted to do, but didn’t bury our opportunities and then they got a pretty lucky bounce there at the end.” The Stars’ best scoring opportunity came late in the middle frame when Brendan Morrow sent in a shot that had a chance to catch New Jersey goalie Johan Hedberg out of position, but Devils defenseman Anton Volchenkov was able to stop the puck at the goal line. The Stars were 0-4 on the power play Tuesday and are 0-9 on the PP over the last three games. They have scored two goals or fewer in nine of the last 12 games. The Stars have allowed four power play goals over the last four games and are 11-15 on the penalty kill during that stretch. The game highlighted the defensive game that is the trademark of Devils coach Jacques Lemaire, who has been behind the bench since he took over from John MacLean, who was fired on December 23rd. The Devils, currently in fourth place in the Atlantic Division, improved to 26-30-4 with the win, their eighth straight since February 6th. The team has gone 16-1-2 in their last 19 to move closer to playoff contention in the Eastern Conference. “I loved our commitment tonight, and I loved the way that the guys battled,” Stars Head Coach Crawford told the Dallas Morning News. “It is disheartening that we end up losing in that fashion, but you have to take the good here right now…we’ve got to move forward with that.” Dallas has gone 1-8-1 since the All-Star break and 2-10-1 in its last 13 games, free-falling from first to last place in the Pacific Division. But with 22 games remaining in the regular season, the team still has time to regain lost ground. At 31-23-6, the Stars are tied with Los Angeles and Aneheim with 68 points. The Phoenix Coyotes lead with 75 points and the San Jose Sharks are in second place with 74. Defenseman Alex Goligoski made his Stars debut after being acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday. He flew in from Pittsburgh and skated on the top pair with Stephane Robidas, but had a tough night with two penalties, including the third-period high-sticking call that set up the winning goal. Forward Jamie Benn returned to the line up after missing after missing 10 games due to a shoulder injury. Benn has registered 33 points (13 G, 20 A) and 36 penalty minutes in 46 games played this season. The Stars remain without center Brad Richards (concussion-like symptoms), right wing Adam Burish (broken orbital bone), forward Krys Barch (scratched cornea and fractured orbital bone), right wing Raymond Sawada (separated shoulder) and defenseman Nocklas rossman (hip). The Stars will travel to Detroit today for a Thursday night game against the Red Wings, who are coming off a 4-3 loss to the San Jose Sharks. Contact the writer at robert.keith@prohockeynews.com
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