CHICAGO — Jason Spezza broke a tie on a 5-on-3 power play midway through the third period and the Dallas Stars rebounded to beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 after blowing a three-goal lead Sunday.
Spezza took Alexander Radulov’s pinpoint feed across the crease and tapped the puck past goalie Cam Ward.
Chicago star Patrick Kane was held off the scoresheet, ending his points streak at 20 games.
Mats Zuccarello had a goal and assist in his debut with Dallas before leaving with an upper-body injury after two periods. Radulov and Radek Faksa also scored and Anton Khudobin made 44 saves for the Stars, fighting for a wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Dallas Stars goaltender Anton Khudobin stops Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews. (AP Photo/Jeff Haynes)
Chris Kunitz, Drake Caggiula and Jonathan Toews tied it for Blackhawks after they fell behind 3-0 early in the second period. Duncan Keith and Erik Gustafsson each had two assists, and Ward stopped 25 shots. Chicago dropped its second straight game after winning 10 of 12.
Acquired from the Rangers on Saturday, the 31-year-old Zuccarello made an immediate impact despite leaving New York early Sunday morning. Zuccarello, set to become an unrestricted free agent after the season, started at right wing on a line with Benn and Roope Hintz.
Defenceman Ben Lovejoy, acquired from New Jersey on Saturday, also played his first game with Dallas.
Dallas forward Jamie Benn suffered an upper body injury during the first shift of the game and didn’t return.
The Stars capitalized on a pair of Blackhawks breakdowns to take a 2-0 lead in the first period.
Set up by Zuccarello’s long pass from the Dallas zone, Faksa got past Gustafsson, broke in alone and beat Ward between the pads 11:35 in to open the scoring. Gustafsson found himself alone in the Chicago zone after the blade on defence partner Slater Koekkoek’s skate fell out.
Radulov, alone in front of the net, made it 2-0 on a backhander with 2:32 left in the period. He was set up on a quick feed by Miro Heiskanen, who had picked of Gustav Forsling’s pass near the point.
Zuccarello made it 3-0 at 1:44 of the second when he whipped in Tyler Seguin’s cross-ice feed from lower edge of the right circle.
Kunitz cut it to 3-1 on a one-timer from the slot 1:14 later. Caggiula trimmed it to 3-2 with 4:23 left in the second on a tip-in that required a video review to confirm. Caggiula’s deflection of feed was ruled no-goal by referees when Khudobin lunged and gloved the puck at the goal line, but the review determined the puck had completely crossed the line.
Toews 29th goal, on a power-play at 4:16 of the third, tied it at 3. He connected on a screened shot from the top of the right circle.
Dallas killed a double-minor high-sticking penalty to Roman Polak in the final five minutes to hang on for the win.
NOTES: Chicago D Brent Seabrook returned after missing three games with an abdominal strain. C Marcus Kruger was back in action after leaving Friday’s game after blocking a shot. … Radulov returned after sitting out Saturday due to an illness. … To get Zuccarello, Dallas sent the Rangers a conditional second-round draft pick this year and a conditional third-round selection in 2020. The 2019 pick would become a first-rounder if Dallas advances to the conference finals this spring and Zuccarello plays in at least 50 per cent of the team’s cumulative games over the first two rounds. The 2020 pick becomes a first-rounder if Zuccarello signs with Dallas.
UP NEXT:
Stars: At Vegas on Tuesday night.
Blackhawks: At Anaheim on Wednesday night.
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Matt Carlson, The Associated Press
