In Detroit, the Dallas Stars’ Jason Spezza struck for two goals, including the game winner, to drive the Stars to a 4-2 win over the Red Wings Tuesday.
Spezza was benched one game earlier as a healthy scratch.
“I didn’t like the decision, but we have to get through that and move forward,” the 34-year-old center said. “It was good to be back in the lineup tonight and contribute to a victory. I definitely wanted to have a good game after something like that.”
Radek Faksa and Martin Hanzal scored for the Stars.
The Spezza benching may provide fodder for the rumor mill as Ken Hitchcock minced few words after the game.
“He played like he can and he played like he will going forward,” Hitchcock said. “We expect him to play that way every night, and he has done it at times, but not consistently.”
Dallas improved to 26-17-3 with the win.
Trevor Daley and Andreas Athanasiou scored for the Wings who dropped their third game in the last four.
Ben Bishop made 13 saves to pick up the win.
“We won this game because of our second-wave players, which is what we’ve been harping on for months. If we expect to be a playoff team, we can’t rely on the same two or three guys every night,” Hitchcock said after the win.
[WATCH:Â All Stars vs. Red Wings highlights]
Jimmy Howard made 22 saves in taking the loss.
“It is hard to play against a team that limits your time and space, and that’s exactly what Dallas does with their forechecking. We were trying to use our speed but they kept us pinned in our own end,” Athanasiou said after the Wings managed just 15 shots on goal.
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