CHICAGO (AP) – Patrick Eaves scored three of Dallas’ four goals in the first period, and the Stars avenged an ugly home loss to the Chicago Blackhawks with a 4-2 victory on Thursday night.
Eaves’ second career hat trick helped Dallas to its fifth win in six games and moved the Stars within one of the Blackhawks for the most points in the Western Conference. Dallas’ lone loss during the strong stretch was a 5-1 rout for visiting Chicago on Saturday night.
John Klingberg added a goal and an assist for Dallas. Kari Lehtonen made 19 of his 44 saves in the third period, including a point-blank stop on Andrew Shaw with Chicago threatening to pull within one with about eight minutes left.
The Blackhawks played without forward Artemi Panarin for the second straight game due to an illness, and they clearly missed the rookie’s skills and creativity. The 24-year-old Panarin is second on the team with 34 assists and 52 points.
Duncan Keith’s eighth goal of the season 32 seconds into the third stopped a scoreless streak of 123 minutes, 8 seconds for Chicago, which dropped to 4-5 since its franchise-record 12-game win streak. Patrick Kane added his 33rd goal, and Scott Darling made 14 saves in relief of Corey Crawford.