RALEIGH, North Carolina (AP) Dallas continued its impressive road form with a 4-1 win at Carolina on Friday to increase the Stars’ lead atop the NHL Central Division.
Patrick Sharp scored the go-ahead goal for the Stars, who are setting the pace in the Western Conference and moved three points ahead of idle St. Louis in the Central.
The Stars are seven points above reigning Stanley Cup champion Chicago, which lost at New Jersey, while the New York Rangers moved clear top in the Metropolitan Division with a victory at Colorado.
Dallas’ Radek Faksa scored his first NHL goal while Ales Hemsky and Jason Demers also scored for the Stars, who are 6-2 on the road and have won on four of their past five visits to Carolina.
Jordan Staal scored for the Hurricanes.
New Jersey’s Travis Zajac capped a three-goal first period with a goal and an assist in a 26-second span to set up a 4-2 win against Chicago.
Lee Stempniak and Kyle Palmieri had a goal and an assist, and Mike Cammalleri tallied a goal as the Devils took a 4-0 lead in the opening 27:28. They had lost their past four against the Blackhawks.
The Blackhawks’ poor performance came a day after a prosecutor decided not to bring rape charges against Chicago star forward Patrick Kane because of a lack of credible evidence following a three-month investigation.
Kane extended his goal-scoring streak to three games and his points streak to nine (6 goals, 7 assists).
New York’s Derek Stepan and Oscar Lindberg scored 21 seconds apart in the second period, helping the Rangers win 2-1 at Colorado and notch a fourth straight win.
The Rangers are 14-2 on the road against Western Conference teams dating to last season.
Nathan MacKinnon scored a power-play goal for the Avalanche, who now embark on a seven-game road trip.
Pittsburgh’s Phil Kessel broke a tie midway through the third period and the Penguins beat Edmonton 2-1 and won a sixth straight.
Detroit’s Jakub Kindl scored 2:17 into overtime to give the Red Wings a 2-1 win against Toronto and a third successive win.
Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf had three assists in his first game back from an appendectomy, including one for defenseman Josh Manson’s first NHL goal, as the Ducks beat Columbus 4-2.
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