Saros makes career-best 43 saves, Predators beat Stars 5-2
DALLAS (AP) - Juuse Saros made a career-high 43 saves and his Nashville teammates scored four times in the second period as the Predators cooled off the Dallas Stars 5-2 on Tuesday night.
Nashville has won three in a row and is 8-1-1 in its last 10 games. The Stars had won five straight and seven of eight.
Saros has won both his career starts against Dallas, totaling 73 saves. He has played 28 NHL games over three seasons.
Stars goalie Ben Bishop allowed three goals on 15 shots before Kari Lehtonen replaced him 4:26 into the second period. Lehtonen finished with 15 saves and gave up two goals.
Kevin Fiala scored on a first-period power play for the Predators. Cody McLeod, Pontus Aberg, Kyle Turris and Calle Jarnkrok added the second-period goals.
Stephen Johns and Jamie Oleksiak scored for Dallas in the third.
Fiala put Nashville on the board at 15:49 of the first. He took a pass from Turris low in the left faceoff circle and sent the puck into the upper right corner of the net.
Fiala has a goal in three straight games after scoring only twice in his first 24 games this season.
A flurry of activity early in the second period increased Nashville's lead to 3-0.
Two fights within 13 seconds resulted in four major penalties. Five seconds after the Predators' Austin Watson and Dallas' Jamie Oleksiak settled into the penalty box, McLeod caught Bishop out of position for his first goal of the season at 2:48.
Aberg took a pass from Jarnkrok at the inside edge of the right circle and beat Bishop, chasing him from the game. It was Aberg's first goal this season and the second of his career.
Nashville's second power play led to another goal on Turris' drive from the top of the left circle past Lehtonen.
The Predators even scored on a Dallas power play. Jarnkrok's short-handed goal followed a pass at an open right side of the net as Watson skated from behind the net on the opposite side.
Dallas has scored on only two of its last 37 power plays, including two chances on Tuesday.
NOTES: Stars LW Antoine Roussel missed his third straight game because of illness. . Nashville C Ryan Johansen (upper-body injury) has missed the last two games. . The three-goal margin of victory tied the largest this season for the Predators. Dallas lost 6-1 at Tampa Bay on Nov. 16.
UP NEXT
Predators: Return home to host Vegas on Friday.
Stars: Travel to St. Louis for a game on Thursday.
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