Detroit Red Wing vs Dallas Stars
When: 8:30 PM ET, Thursday, January 12, 2017
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas

TV: 8:30 ET, FSN Detroit, FSN Southwest-Plus (Dallas)
PREDICTION: Stars 4, Red Wings 2

Oddsmakers currently have the DETROIT listed as 120-moneyline favorites versus the DALLAS, while the game’s total is sitting at 5.5.

DALLAS — Consistency is proving elusive this season for both the Detroit Red Wings and Dallas Stars, a trend the former Central Division rivals hope to begin reversing when they meet at American Airlines Center on Thursday night.

Detroit (17-18-6) came away with a point from a 4-3 overtime loss to the Blackhawks in Chicago on Tuesday, but that point wasn’t the only positive to result from that narrow defeat.

Forward Justin Abdelkader, who missed the previous six weeks with a sprained medial collateral ligament, returned to finish a minus-1 in 8:41 of ice time.

“I felt all right. I didn’t play a ton of minutes,” Abdelkader said. “Your timing’s always a little off coming back into a game like that. Tried to keep it simple for the most part. It’s going to be a process to get back, get the legs underneath you, the timing. It’s definitely fun to be back out there.”

Defenseman Mike Green also returned from an upper-body injury to play his first game since Dec. 17. He had an even rating in 24:07 of ice time.

The Red Wings, who are 10-8-3 on the road, are set to conclude a seven-game road trip on which they are 2-3-1. They were on the power play for only nine seconds against the Blackhawks, a tough break for a unit which hasn’t converted its past 55 road opportunities, a streak dating back to Oct. 19.

Detroit still generated 36 shots on goal against Chicago, a number that second-year coach Jeff Blashill really can’t quibble with.

“I thought we played a good hockey game. We got to keep grinding here and find a way to get two points on Thursday,” Blashill said.

Another plus was the 39-save performance Detroit got from Petr Mrazek in goal, a showing that might earn him a second consecutive nod in net on Thursday evening.

“I thought Petr was very good,” Blashill said. “I thought he made big saves. I can see his confidence growing.”

Forward Tomas Tatar also scored his ninth goal of the season against the Blackhawks. Even though Tatar didn’t take the ice during a Wednesday afternoon practice in Dallas, Blashill said Tatar would be good to go for Thursday’s game.

Dallas (17-17-8) returned home and didn’t practice Wednesday after a 1-2-0 road trip, a run that concluded with a 2-0 loss at Anaheim on Tuesday. One night earlier, the Stars defeated the Kings 6-4 in Los Angeles.

The Stars, who have allowed 127 goals this season, tied for the second most in the NHL, got a strong performance Tuesday from goaltender Antti Niemi, who stopped 36 of the 38 shots he faced.

“I thought Antti played well for us, gave us a chance,” Stars coach Lindy Ruff said.

For a team already without captain and key offensive cog Jamie Benn (foot), injuries were again a factor for Dallas.

Young defenseman Jamie Oleksiak left the game in the second period with a hand injury. Veteran forward Patrick Eaves, Dallas’ No. 2 goal scorer with 14 goals, was checked hard into the boards and had to leave the game in the third period.

“Oleksiak’s going to be out a little bit of time. I don’t know how much, Ruff said. “Eaves I think will be OK, just caught the corner of the door.”

The timing of Oleksiak’s injury couldn’t be worse. After sending fellow young defenseman Patrik Nemeth to AHL Texas on Friday on a conditioning assignment, the Stars now have just six healthy defensemen for Thursday’s game, meaning Stephen Johns, a healthy scratch against Anaheim, will draw back in against Detroit.

However, one positive that could result from the Oleksiak injury is that it could allow the Stars to take Benn off injured reserve should he be ready to return. Benn did not play on the road trip, seeing his last action Dec. 31, but he is said to be closer to returning.

Once again, Ruff and the Stars must make do as several of their regulars are recovering from injuries, something of a regular occurrence this season.

“Of course, when we’re playing, we’re not thinking about (our injury woes),” Niemi said. “But it’s tough losing top guys from our lineup. I think we just got to work harder and play our system.”

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Montreal Canadiens vs. Dallas Stars
When: 8:00 PM  ET, Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas

TV: 8 p.m. ET, Sportsnet, Sportsnet 360, RDS (Montreal), FSN Southwest (Dallas)
PREDICTION: Stars 3, Canadiens 2

Odds aren’t yet posted for this game, so check back later for the opening line and total.

DALLAS — The Montreal Canadiens and Dallas Stars meet Wednesday night at American Airlines Center with both clubs seeking closure of some sort.

Montreal (23-9-6), which won 2-1 in overtime at Nashville on Tuesday, looks to finish its current seven-game road trip strong.

The Canadiens, who are 8-6-4 on the road, are 2-3-0 with two games remaining on their current trek which concludes Saturday in Toronto.

Tuesday’s game against the Predators marked the first contest in Nashville for Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber since he was traded to Montreal last summer. Weber was moved during a first-period video tribute and ended up scoring the tying goal early in the third period.

“Obviously, it’s very special to be back in this building, and it’s even more special to win the game,” Weber told the media postgame.

This is the Canadiens’ seventh back-to-back this season and Montreal is 5-1-0 in the second game of its previous back-to-backs.

Carey Price started in goal Tuesday and stopped 22 shots.

Considering his rather light workload Tuesday, Canadiens coach Michael Thierren could go with Price again between the pipes or he could turn to backup netminder Al Montoya to start against the Stars.

The Stars (16-15-7) look to finish a three-game homestand and a run where they played eight of their last nine on home ice with a victory.

The Stars last played Saturday night, when they fell 3-1 to the Florida Panthers at home. Florida blitzed Dallas for three goals in the first period and the Stars never recovered.

But the big story from that loss was that captain Jamie Benn injured his foot after the stick of Panthers defenseman Mark Pysyk got caught in his skate as he assisted on the Stars goal, scored by Patrick Eaves in the second period.

The Dallas players had Sunday off and Benn was unable to skate Monday or Tuesday, so Stars coach Lindy Ruff ruled his captain out for the lone visit of the regular season from the Atlantic Division-leading Canadiens.

“Well, the only update is he’s still day-to-day, but he won’t play tomorrow. Didn’t practice today, so we’re still treating it as day-to-day,” Ruff said Tuesday of Benn.

Dallas, which is 11-6-3 at home, dealt with a rash of injuries for much of this season, so Ruff has considerable experience at juggling his lines and finding players to step in for their injured teammates.

Of course, few of those players are a former Art Ross Trophy winner or perennial NHL All-Star such as Benn. But again, Ruff takes the cards he’s dealt and makes the best of what everyone close to the organization hopes is a short-term situation with Benn on the sidelines.

“Again, we’re going to have to find ways to win games,” Ruff said. “There’s a lot of injuries around the league. We’ve been hit hard with them and Jamie’s another one, but we have to plug a guy in his spot. We’ve got some guys that are coming back now, so someone’s going to have to pick up the slack for him.”

And one of those players returning is gritty forward Antoine Roussel, out the previous four games with an upper-body injury.

However, Roussel practiced without issue Tuesday, leading Ruff to term him as probable for Wednesday’s contest.

“I am not sure if I am in tomorrow, but I am pretty close to a return,” Roussel said. “It’s just about getting some physical contact and getting there. I feel pretty good, skated pretty well. Really hoping to come back tomorrow, if not then the next game.”

As for this stretch of games at home, Dallas went 4-2-1 and veteran center Jason Spezza speaks for the entire room when he says they’d definitely like to end this run of games mostly at home on a high with a win.

“Yeah, we talked about trying to make up some ground,” Spezza said. “We have and now we have a chance to finish with a sixth win. It’d be good for our confidence for sure.”

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Dallas Stars vs. Chicago Blackhawks
When: 7:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 11, 2016
Where: United Center, Chicago, Illinois

TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (Dallas), CSN Chicago
PREDICTION: Blackhawks 3, Stars 2

CHICAGO — The Chicago Blackhawks struggled badly against the Dallas Stars last season as they lost four out of five games.

This season has been a different story. The Blackhawks have won each of their first two contests against the Stars, and they will try to make it three for three on Sunday night.

However, Chicago (17-8-4) will not be at full strength this time around when it hosts Dallas (11-12-6). The Blackhawks will play without top goaltender Corey Crawford (emergency appendectomy) and captain Jonathan Toews (upper-body injury), and the status of defenseman Brent Seabrook is uncertain because of an upper-body injury.

The Stars also have been plagued by injuries this season, but they could welcome back forward Jiri Hudler (illness) and defenseman Johnny Oduya (lower-body injury) against Chicago. Hudler has not played since Nov. 1, and Oduya has been sidelined since Nov. 19.

Hudler scored 47 goals over the past two seasons but has appeared in only four games since signing a free agent contract with Dallas during the offseason.

“We know what Jiri brings,” Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. “He’s creative. He can make plays.”

Ruff’s squad could use another playmaker. The Stars are 2-4-1 in their past seven games, including a 4-2 loss against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday afternoon.

A tough task awaits the Stars as they prepare for the second game of a back-to-back set. Chicago is 11-2-3 on home ice, while Dallas is 4-8-4 on the road.

Both of the Blackhawks’ wins against Dallas this season have been decided by one goal. Chicago earned a 3-2 win Nov. 5 in Dallas and a 4-3 overtime win the next night in Chicago. On the season, the Blackhawks are 11-4-4 in one-goal games.

Goaltender Scott Darling is set to make his fifth straight start in place of Crawford for the Blackhawks. Darling is 5-2-2 with a 2.23 goals-against average this season, and he has posted a stellar .950 save percentage (115 saves on 121 shots on goal) in his last four starts.

The Stars have not announced whether Kari Lehtonen or Antti Niemi will start in net. Lehtonen allowed three goals on 21 shots on Saturday against the Flyers.

Both goaltenders have started once against Chicago this season. Niemi gave up three goals on 32 shots Nov. 5, and Lehtonen surrendered four goals on 33 shots the following day.

Chicago is looking to break out of a slump on offense. The team led by Hart Trophy winner Patrick Kane has been limited to zero or one goals in three of the past four games.

Seabrook is not known as a goal scorer, but his possible return could steady the blue line. The 31-year-old took part in practice on Saturday afternoon for the first time since his injury, which happened Tuesday night when he fell into the boards and appeared to hit his head.

“(Seabrook) skating today was a good sign, and he felt pretty good,” said Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville, who did not say whether the defenseman would face Dallas.

During a post-practice interview with reporters, Seabrook tried to steady his breathing.

“I felt really good in practice,” Seabrook said. “The lungs at the end burn a little bit (working with assistant coach Mike Kitchen), but I’m just trying to get ready to roll. … It was weird not practicing and sitting in the rink watching the guys play. That’s something I don’t want to make a habit of, for sure.”

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Nashville Predators vs. Dallas Stars
When: 8:30 PM ET, Thursday, December 8, 2016
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, FSN Tennessee (Nashville), FSN Southwest (Dallas)
PREDICTION: Stars 4, Predators 2

DALLAS — The Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars meet at American Airlines Center on Thursday, and these Central Division rivals square off under different circumstances.

Nashville (12-9-4) defeated the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday, making the Predators 9-4-1 over their past 14 games.

“I thought we did a real good job in the third period,” Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said after the win. “I thought we did a good job, played a smart game, a strong game.”

The Predators, who are 3-7-2 on the road, also got a lift from the return of former Stars forward James Neal, who scored a goal in his return to the lineup after missing the previous four games with an upper-body injury.

“It’s obviously a good feeling when you get back to playing with your teammates,” Neal said. “It makes it a little easier when you’re on home ice. It feels good to be back and good to win.”

Dallas (10-11-6), on the other hand, heads into the divisional tilt off a loss, 2-1 to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.

After taking a 1-0 lead to the first intermission thanks to Curtis McKenzie scoring in a second consecutive game for the first time in his short career, the Stars were listless for most of the final 40 minutes. Coach Lindy Ruff put his players through the paces Wednesday morning during a hard practice that lasted just under one hour.

“I only care about the work,” Ruff said after practice Wednesday. “You can be frustrated, but don’t quit working. I thought there was times in the game (on Tuesday) where we were a little frustrated and we didn’t work. (Wednesday) was all about working, just keep working. Work when you’re tired.”

Against the Flames, Dallas lost rookie defenseman Julius Honka, its top pick in the 2014 draft, to an upper-body injury late in the second period. Honka did not practice Wednesday and was ruled out for the Thursday game, but he could return later this week.

Ruff called Honka’s absence “short term” and said Honka shouldn’t miss more than a few games.

Ruff also gave updates on injured forward Jiri Hudler (illness), out the past 18 games, and defenseman Johnny Oduya (lower body), sidelined the past eight games, but neither veteran will play against Nashville.

“Obviously, Jiri (Hudler) is getting closer,” Ruff said. “I fully anticipate that (Oduya) would be ready by the weekend, but I think (Thursday) is a stretch.”

Ruff said he plans on inserting rookie center Jason Dickinson, who was recalled from AHL Texas on Tuesday, into the lineup against Nashville.

Dickinson will make his season debut and will appear in his second NHL game after scoring a goal in his NHL debut, a 4-2 win in Dallas against Colorado on April 7, 2016.

“He’s a big man that skates well,” Ruff said of Dickinson. “With some of the players we have out, some of the speed part of our game is missing. He’s a guy that I think we can put in and he can add to the speed of our lineup.”

Nashville and Dallas, which is 6-4-2 at home, already twice this season. Dallas prevailed 2-1 at home on Oct. 18, while Nashville won 5-2 in the Music City on Nov. 23.

Gritty Stars forward Antoine Roussel is focused on how he and his teammates will perform once they hit the ice to conclude a two-game homestand.

“I expect a big win for us,” Roussel said. “I don’t really care about how (the Predators) are going to play, I just expect we’re going to come out the gate really strong and play 60 minutes.”

And should the Stars deliver a full, consistent effort, it would a welcome change for their coach.

“We’re not playing a 60-minute game, and we haven’t for this first part of the season,” Ruff said. “It’s been 40 out of 60, 20 of out 60. The disappointing part is we put together probably our best 60-minute effort (Saturday at Colorado). We followed it up with a real solid 20 minutes (on Tuesday) and probably played our worst 20 minutes in the second period.”

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Dallas Stars vs. St. Louis Blues
When: 8:00 PM ET, Monday, November 28, 2016
Where: Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri

TV: 8 p.m. ET, NHL Network, Sportsnet, TVA, FSN Southwest (Dallas), FSN Midwest (St. Louis)
PREDICTION: Stars 5, Blues 4

Oddsmakers currently have the Blues listed as 160-moneyline favorites versus the Stars, while the game’s total is sitting at 5½.

ST. LOUIS — Opponents generally know that one of the biggest keys to beating the St. Louis Blues is to find a way to shut down their leading scorer, right winger Vladimir Tarasenko.

Teams have more than Tarasenko to worry about now, however, because of the way the combination of left winger Jaden Schwartz, center Paul Stastny and right winger David Perron are playing since being placed on a line together.

Shutting down that line will be the challenge for the Dallas Stars when they visit the Blues on Monday night.

In his last seven games, Perron owns two goals and eight assists. Schwartz, in his last six games, scored five goals and assisted on three more. Stastny adds two goals and two assists in his last five games.

The three forwards combined for all three of the Blues’ goals in regulation on Saturday night before Perron scored the only goal in the shootout in a 4-3 win over Minnesota.

Perron recorded at least one point in his last seven games, the longest active streak in the NHL. He is second to Tarasenko in scoring for the Blues with six goals and nine assists this season.

“It’s going good,” Schwartz said. “We’re getting chances. Both guys (Stastny and Perron) are smart players, can make plays in tight areas, working hard for each other. Stas is doing a great job on faceoffs, he’s taking a lot of (defensive) zone draws, winning a lot of faceoffs, doing a lot of little things.

“We haven’t been together for certain times in a game, or we’ll switch wingers, but we’re getting some good reads off Perron.”

The play of the three forwards helped the Blues go 9-1-2 at home this season, including wins in their last four games.

“If you look at the way he (Schwartz) is scoring, and Paul too, I think both of them, they’re creating a lot of offense by going around the net,” said defenseman Alex Pietrangelo. “I think when we’re getting the puck there and we’re getting bodies in front, you have guys with that type of vision, they’re going to find the puck like that.”

Trying to find the right combination of his forwards is the challenge for Stars’ coach Lindy Ruff, who shuffles Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, Jason Spezza and Patrick Sharp into different spots in the lineup.

“Right now, we just aren’t quite clicking to put a game away,” Ruff said. “It’s going to start with the Seguins, the Benns, Spezza, Sharp, those guys. Until our top guys can push through and make a difference, our games are going to be a lot tighter and we re going to be a little up and down.”

The Stars scored just one or two goals in four of their last six games. They are coming off a 2-1 win at home over Vancouver as they begin a four-game road trip.

Dallas made one roster move on Sunday, recalling defenseman Stephen Johns from the Texas Stars of the AHL. Johns played in 16 games with the Stars earlier this season before being sent to the minors.

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Cam Atkinson scored two goals and Sergei Bobrovsky made 31 saves and the Blue Jackets stayed alive in the Western Conference playoff race with a 3-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

Mark Letestu snapped a 1-1 tie in the third period for the game-winner.

Before the game ended, the Stars were eliminated from playoff contention when Detroit defeated Nashville 5-2, moving past Minnesota into seventh in the Western Conference.

“It hasn’t really sunk in yet, I don’t think,” said goaltender Kari Lehtonen, who made 32 saves in a losing effort. “It feels bad right now and I’m sure it feels even worse tomorrow.”

The Blue Jackets are even in points with the Wild, who hold eighth place due to the non-shootout wins tiebreaker.

Columbus needs to beat the Predators on Saturday, and have the Stars beat the Red Wings in regulation on Saturday, or have the Wild earn no more than one point in their two remaining games, to earn just the second postseason berth in franchise history and first since 2009.

“Our players have earned this opportunity,” Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards said. “Granted, we still need some help, but it’s going to make for a great environment on Saturday in our building.”

Making the playoffs would cap off a remarkable turnaround for Columbus, which started the season 5-12-2 and was last overall in the NHL in late February, before reeling off an 18-5-5 run since to make an improbable bid for a postseason berth.

“It feels great. You can only control what you can control and that’s what we’re doing,” said Atkinson, who had a game-high seven shots on goal. “We’re doing our job and that’s all we can do. I felt like I probably should have had six or seven tonight but I scored when it counted. It’s exciting to score but it’s even better to win games.”

The Blue Jackets, which concluded a six-game road trip with a 5-1-0 record, got two third-period goals from its league-worst power play to secure the triumph.

“We came in here, did our job and we won our game,” said center Brandon Dubinsky, who added two assists. “We’re going to have to do it again on Saturday. Hell of a job by these guys, six-game road trip, 5-1 against some damn good teams, really proud of these guys. The job’s not done, but we gave ourselves an opportunity.”

Jamie Benn scored for the Stars, who have lost four straight (0-3-1) to miss the playoffs for the fifth straight season, the longest drought in franchise history.

“We were in every single game and the guys battled so hard for that last stretch,” winger Eric Nystrom said. “We just came up a little short and got zero help — it was just the combination of everything going against us. We got so many good, young guys coming up, so much character, that we’re going in the right direction.”

The Stars knew their fate by the time the third period started and that’s when Columbus seized control of the game.

“To be honest, we knew after the second period and I think most of our players did too,” Dallas coach Glen Gulutzan said. “However, at the moment, the loss stings. You’re focused on this game. And we were a little flat in the third, maybe for a reason though.”

Letestu’s 13th goal of the season snapped a 1-1 tie at 7:56 of the third, just three seconds after Stephane Robidas entered the penalty box for an interference penalty. Dubinsky won the faceoff, pulling the puck back to Letestu at the right point for a slap shot that appeared to nick off Nystrom’s stick and sailed over Lehtonen’s glove.

“If they win the draw, it’s 30 seconds off the kill. So he makes a good draw and I just try to get it on there as quick as possible,” Letestu said of Dubinsky. “We try to make an effort to get a lot of pucks on the net on the power play and it just happened to hit Nystrom’s stick on the way through and changed direction.”

The goal snapped a 1-for-22 power play drought for Columbus.

Bobrovsky came up with a big pad save at 10:10 to preserve the Columbus advantage, denying Ray Whitney’s wrist shot from the slot.

A Nystrom interference penalty with 2:49 remaining put the Blue Jackets back on the power play and Atkinson capitalized on the opportunity with 1:40 to go.

After Lehtonen stopped Jack Johnson’s shot from the left point, the rebound came out to the left of the crease, right to Atkinson, who tucked it just inside the left post for his eighth goal of the season.

“It ended up being the difference in the game,” Richards said of the power play. “We got two and we had changed some things. And we had a good play there in the third period, shooting the puck, simple plays, getting the puck to the net.”

After falling behind on the game’s opening shift, the Stars tied it on the power play at 8:43 of the second period. Erik Cole’s pass into the slot from the right faceoff circle deflected off Atkinson’s stick and bounced right to Benn at the left post for an easy tap-in.

Benn’s 12th goal of the season — and fourth in the past six games — swung the momentum Dallas’ way and it continued to press throughout the period, but Bobrovsky shut the door.

The Blue Jackets jumped on top immediately, as Atkinson scored just 19 seconds into the opening period. Lehtonen stopped Blake Comeau’s wrist shot from the slot, but left a rebound next to him in the crease and Atkinson pounced on it, jamming it home for a 1-0 lead.

“Of course, that’s not what you want to do right on the first shift,” Lehtonen said. “I felt like I made a couple of good saves right before that, and then I just lost the puck.”

Game notes

Bobrovsky, considered a Vezina Trophy candidate as the NHL’s top goaltender, entered with a 16-5-3 record since March 1, with a 1.65 goals-against average and a .945 save percentage, as well as four shutouts. … The Stars honored former D Richard Matvichuk as part of their 20th anniversary all-time team. Matvichuk, who played in Dallas from 1993-2004 as part of a 14-year NHL career, was part of the franchise’s only Stanley Cup team in 1999.

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Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski scored goals 30 seconds apart late in the third period to help the Sharks clinch the playoffs in their final home game of the season with a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night.

“There’s a sense of relief, but it can’t be a sense of relaxation,” coach Todd McLellan said. “When we came in, we immediately looked at what happened tonight around the league, and there’s still a chance for home ice. It would be a nice thing to have.”

Raffi Torres also scored for the Sharks, who moved into a tie for fourth place in the West with Los Angeles with two games remaining in the race for home-ice advantage. The Sharks visit the Kings in the season finale Saturday after playing at Phoenix on Wednesday night.

It’s been quite a roller-coaster season for the Sharks, who won their first seven games and lost 17 of the next 23 before going on their current 12-3-1 stretch to save their season.

“It was a crazy year. It’s obviously not over yet,” Couture said. “Just the 48-game schedule, so many games back to back and inconsistency of the seven-game winning streak, the big losing streak and then the stretch we’ve gone on now. It’s been a weird year. Our main goal from day one was to get into the playoffs. We’ve done that now so I guess that’s all that matters going forward.”

Antoine Roussel and Loui Eriksson scored for the Stars, whose playoff hopes were dealt a serious blow. Dallas remains two points behind ninth-place Detroit and three behind eighth-place Columbus in the race for the final playoff spot. The Red Wings have a game in hand over both teams.

The Stars end the season with home games against Columbus and Detroit, and need to win both and get help to make the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

“It’s very disappointing,” defenseman Stephane Robidas said. “We battled hard all night. Since the deadline, everyone had written us off, and here we are. I think everyone has shown a lot of character. We needed a point tonight but couldn’t get it. It’s very disappointing.”

Dallas looked as though it would gain two points behind a strong night from Kari Lehtonen but it was all erased in a flash late in the third period.

First, Pavelski tipped Brad Stuart’s point shot in with 5:37 remaining to tie the game.

While the sellout crowd was still celebrating that goal, Justin Braun’s point shot went to Patrick Marleau, who slid the puck to an open Couture, who knocked in his 20th goal of the season.

“Basically a full game of frustration turned into happiness with the go-ahead one there,” Couture said.

Lehtonen made 34 saves but had no chance on Couture’s game winner with 5:07 remaining.

“They had been pressing, and we had had good goaltending the whole game and we just couldn’t hold them at the end when we needed to,” coach Glen Gulutzan said. “We need help now. So we are going to have to bounce back, and we need help. We have to get two more wins.”

Antti Niemi made 24 saves in his 24th straight start for San Jose.

The teams traded goals in the first period with the Sharks striking first. Torres tipped in a centering pass from Scott Gomez for a power-play goal, and the Stars answered when Roussel beat Scott Hannan to a long rebound of a shot by Cody Eakin.

Dallas had chances to take the lead when Stuart was sent to the box for interference with 1:21 remaining on an elbowing penalty against Hannan. The best chance on that 5-on-3 came when San Jose’s Braun was stopped on a partial breakaway by Lehtonen.

Shortly after that two-man advantage ended, Marc-Edouard Vlasic was called for slashing at the end of the first period, giving Dallas 28 seconds more of 5-on-3 play to start the second.

The Stars didn’t squander that chance when Eriksson knocked in a rebound 17 seconds into the period to make it 2-1.

Lehtonen protected that lead the rest of the period, making tough stops on Vlasic, Dan Boyle and Andrew Desjardins to keep Dallas ahead heading into the third.

Game notes

Stars F Alex Chiasson, who scored three goals in two wins over San Jose earlier this month, sat out with a shoulder injury. … San Jose D Jason Demers missed his second straight game because of a lower-body injury. … The Sharks sold out every regular-season game for the third straight season.

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Jamie Benn scored the lone goal in the shootout and Kari Lehtonen stopped all three attempts as the Stars snapped the San Jose Sharks’ seven-game winning streak with a 5-4, come-from-behind victory on Sunday.

“They can keep thinking that. The only thing that matters is what we believe in this dressing room,” Benn said. “It’s not going to be pretty some nights. But the effort is going to be there and the heart and character will be there also. I think you saw part of that.”

Alex Chiasson started the second rally back from a two-goal deficit when he scored his second goal of his third career game early in the third period. Loui Eriksson tied it for the Stars, who have beaten division-leading Anaheim and the streaking Sharks the past two games.

Eric Nystrom also scored, and Lehtonen made 32 saves through overtime for Dallas, which moved within four points of Detroit for the final playoff spot.

“The situation we’re in, every game is important,” forward Ray Whitney said. “If we have any chance at all (to reach playoffs) it’s going to be a pretty impressive run at the end. If you look at these guys, they hit a hot streak at the right time. You can see how it catapulted them up in the standings. For us to have any chance, we’re going to have to go on a similar run.”

Tommy Wingels, Brent Burns, TJ Galiardi and Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored for the Sharks, who had won the first six games of their seven-game homestand. San Jose failed in its attempt to become the first NHL team to win every game on a homestand of at least seven games, according to STATS LLC.

“It’s very disappointing,” Wingels said. “We’re happy with the homestand as a whole but you’re only as good as your latest performance. There are things we need to clean up and move on.”

Benn beat Antti Niemi in the second round of the shootout when he skated out wide and then came back to the middle for a forehand shot. Lehtonen sealed the win when he stopped Burns on the final attempt.

This was the first of three meetings between the teams in a span of 17 days, and the clubs look far different than they did for the first meeting of the season in February in Dallas.

The Stars have traded key players Brenden Morrow, Jaromir Jagr, Derek Roy and Michael Ryder since winning 3-1 then. That loss was the ninth in 10 games for the Sharks, who have turned things around dramatically of late.

San Jose won in Anaheim on March 25 and then took the first six games of this homestand to vault from outside the playoff picture to the middle of the fight for home-ice advantage in the first round.

“I like to look at the positives, it was a good homestand,” captain Joe Thornton said. “Now we have to go win some games on the road. All in all, we needed to win some games at home and we did. It would have been nice to get the two tonight but we didn’t. But good homestand.”

The Stars twice erased two-goal deficits with Nystrom and Chiasson scoring 26 seconds apart in the second period to tie the game at 2. Chiasson and Erickson scored in the opening half of the third period to tie it at 4. The tying goal game when Erickson beat Brad Stuart to the rebound of a shot by Matt Fraser midway through the third.

“I just think we kept believing in here,” Chiasson said. “We were down 2-0, made it back 2-2, then were down 4-2 and made it back 4-4 and ended up winning in a shootout. This is just a passionate group of guys. You can see guys want to win here. I think we’re just going game by game, see where it takes us. We’re getting closer and closer.”

Galiardi, whose improved play has helped spark this recent run, had helped San Jose take the lead with a beautiful spin-o-rama goal in the second off a good play from newly acquired Raffi Torres.

Torres has long been reviled in San Jose for playoff hits that hurt Milan Michalek and Thornton over the years. He was even greeted by a mix of boos and cheers in his first game with the Sharks. But Torres quickly won over his new fans by dishing out some hard hits, drawing a penalty and earning two assists, including one on Galiardi’s goal.

Torres hit Nystrom to jar the puck loose in the offensive end and then stole it from Trevor Daley before feeding Galiardi in the circle. Galiardi then spun and fired a backhand with his back to the net, and the puck sailed just under the crossbar to beat Lehtonen. Galiardi even seemed surprised by the highlight-reel goal, holding his arms out in celebration.

Game notes

Stars F Lane MacDermid, who scored in his first two games since being acquired in the Jagr trade, sat out with an upper body injury. … D Jason Demers returned for the Sharks in place of Matt Tennyson after missing four games with a head injury.

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The Stars had been talking to Jagr’s camp for three weeks about a possible extension but over the past few days had second thoughts with the team fading in the standings.

Dallas received forwards Lane MacDermid and Cody Payne, along with a conditional second-round pick in the 2013 draft.

The pick will become a first-round selection if Boston advances to the Eastern Conference finals in this year’s playoffs.

“Jaromir Jagr produced as a consistent scorer for our team all year and we would like to thank him for his contributions to our hockey club,” Stars general manager Joe Nieuwendyk said. “With our eye to the future, we have acquired some valuable assets that we believe strengthen our organization.”

Boston Bruins forward David Krejci said he was trying not to think about the possibilities for Boston as the team heads into a matchup against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night at TD Garden.

“He was the best for a long time, and he’s still one of the best right now,” said Krejci, who was just 4 years old when Jagr made his NHL debut with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1990. “It’s good to see him still do well at his age. I had posters of him when I was a kid. He was obviously my hockey idol.”

Jagr will wear No. 68 for the Bruins and is scheduled to join the team Wednesday.

He has 14 goals and 12 assists for 26 points in 34 games this season with the Stars. That would put him fourth on the Bruins in scoring, behind Patrice Bergeron (31 points), Brad Marchand (28) and David Krejci (28).

“He wants to win,” Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said of Jagr. “His game is still a strong power game. He was leading [Dallas] in scoring and you watch him play and you see a lot of what you used to see in him, so I’m confident Jaromir will accept any role he’s given and he knows he’s coming to a strong group and he’ll help us out.”

Bruins team president Cam Neely said Jagr likely won’t be on the team’s top line.

“I would assume that he may start on a different line than [the top line],” Neely said in a radio interview, “but you never know how things will shake out. We’ll have 13 games after tonight, and we’ll see what makes the best fit and gives us the best chance to get production from all three lines.”

Bruins coach Claude Julien could insert Jagr onto the team’s third line along with Rich Peverley and Jordan Caron right now. Once Chris Kelly — who’s out with a broken left tibia — returns, a possible line of Jagr, Kelly and Peverley could be a strong combination for the Bruins, with speed and playmaking ability.

“We’ll have to see where he fits in,” Chiarelli said. “Obviously, there’s a need on the third line, but he’s got a higher-line pedigree. What I said to Jaromir was: ‘We pride ourselves on four strong lines and he’s an important part, but not the part to success.’ So he could be on the third line. There’s been times when our fourth line has been our third line, and vice versa, so it depends on who’s going. We’ll try to even it out and he seemed very receptive to that”

One place Jagr should help is on the Bruins’ power play. Boston is ranked 24th in the NHL in power-play percentage at 15.2 percent (14 for 92). Jagr has scored six power play goals this season with the Stars.

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Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa each scored twice in leading the Blackhawks to an 8-1 rout of the Dallas Stars on Saturday night.

Nick Leddy and Patrick Kane each had a goal and two assists as eight Blackhawks scored two or more points and Chicago boosted its road record to 12-1-2 with a dominant win on the second stop of a four-game road trip.

“A great effort all-around by the team,” said Kane, whose 15th goal of the season was a highlight-reel beauty in the third period. “It was a game that we probably needed, since we’ve been in so many close games, to get some guys some confidence scoring some goals. It was good to see a lot of guys step up.”

Corey Crawford made 18 saves for his 13th victory, and Johnny Oduya and Duncan Keith had the Blackhawks’ other goals.

“We had all areas of our game with us, puck possession, playing a sound-game system-wise. Everybody contributed,” Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said.

The Blackhawks are 2-2-0 since their record 21-0-3 streak to start the season.

Defenseman Trevor Daley scored for the Stars, who have been outscored 16-3 in losing four straight (0-3-1). Three games into a stretch in which the Stars play nine of 11 at home, they have lost all three and are 2-5-1 in their last nine in Dallas.

“If this wasn’t an alarm clock, I don’t know what is,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said.

The return of offensive catalyst Jamie Benn, who missed two games with a wrist injury, wasn’t enough to help the Stars, although he assisted on Dallas’ only goal, feeding Daley for a one-timer on a power play at 6:30 of the third period to spoil Crawford’s shutout bid.

Kari Lehtonen took the loss in goal for Dallas, surrendering four goals on 17 shots before he was pulled midway through the second period. Richard Bachman made 13 saves in relief.

“We dumped on our first goalie and we dumped on our second goalie,” Benn said. “We left them to hang out to dry and it’s unacceptable. We need to do something within this room to change that. It’s an unacceptable effort tonight. These guys gave us a wakeup call tonight.”

Toews struck twice within 1:35 to propel Chicago to a 2-0 lead in the first period and the Blackhawks never looked back.

At 9:05, Toews cruised through the top of the crease and his nifty deflection of Leddy’s slap shot from the left point beat Lehtonen.

His second goal came seconds after he won an offensive zone face-off, and set up in front of the net, where Duncan Keith’s point shot ricocheted off Daley right to him for an easy tap-in into the open side of the net at 10:40.

“I think maybe the fact that we were able to distance ourselves early and not let them back into the game maybe took the wind out of their sails,” said Toews, who has 13 goals. “And as the game went along, the puck just seemed to keep bouncing our way. We worked for our success. I think whether you score eight goals or not, we did what we had to do to win and played a full 60 minutes.”

The Blackhawks extended their lead to 3-0 on Leddy’s third goal of the season at 17:54. Lehtonen stopped Viktor Stalberg’s point-blank shot, but Leddy managed to jam home the rebound.

Chicago continued to control the action in the second, nearly going up by four at 7:30 when a turnover by Dallas rookie defender Brenden Dillon gave Jimmy Hayes an uncontested wrist shot from the slot, but he fired it over the crossbar.

Oduya made it 4-0 at 8:01 when his slap shot from the blue line sailed past a screened Lehtonen, pinged off the left post and dropped in for his second goal in as many games.

That goal prompted Gulutzan to pull Lehtonen in favor of Bachman.

The Blackhawks scored on their first shot against Bachman, taking a 5-0 lead at 12:18 while the clubs were skating four aside, on Hossa’s one-timer from in front off a nifty backhand pass from Kane.

“We were talking about it before the shift,” Hossa said of the play, “and I knew as soon as he went on the right side, he’d throw it in the middle and I tried to just try to find a way to best position myself to score the goal.”

Skating with a 5-on-3 advantage, Chicago struck again with 50.8 seconds left in the period when Hossa launched a blistering snap shot from the right circle that beat Bachman over his glove.

Keith’s second goal of the year, off a wrist shot that glanced off Benn’s stick in front, beat Bachman at 2:06 of the final period.

Two minutes after Daley snapped the shutout in the third period, another Dallas goal was wiped out. Eric Nystrom’s wrist shot found its way over Crawford’s shoulder, but the officials ruled that Vernon Fiddler interfered with Crawford on the play.

“We certainly got humbled,” Stars captain Brenden Morrow said. “We knew they were a good team coming in. We’d like to think we were prepared for it and expected it, but obviously we weren’t. This was deflating for us. We’ve got some work to do.”

Kane made it 8-1 on the ensuing power play with a spin move in the right circle for a backhander that beat Bachman past the glove at 9:59.

Game notes

Daley’s goal snapped an 0-for-10 power play drought for the Stars over the past three games. … After a 2-for-6 showing with the man-advantage, Chicago is 5 for 21 over its last nine contests on the power play. … The Stars honored their general manager, former C Joe Nieuwendyk, as part of their all-time team. Nieuwendyk played in Dallas from 1995-2002, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1999 while helping the Stars earn the franchise’s only Stanley Cup.

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