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02/21 23:58 CST Benn 2 goals as Stars snap Blues' record 11-game win streak
Benn 2 goals as Stars snap Blues' record 11-game win streak
By STEPHEN HAWKINS
AP Sports Writer
DALLAS (AP) --- Stars captain Jamie Benn had his first multi-goal game since
early October, and the St. Louis Blues suddenly looked much different than they
had while winning 11 games in a row.
With Benn scoring two of the four goals Dallas got in a span of just more than
12 minutes in the second period, one of those redirecting a flying puck with
his stick, the Stars beat St. Louis 5-2 on Thursday night to end the Blues'
franchise-record winning streak.
"Frustrating. They didn't do anything special. They just high flipped it, got a
couple good bounces," said Blues center Ryan O'Reilly, who had a goal and an
assist. "When we do things the right way, we're successful. And you see tonight
when we don't do it and we got away from staples of our game, playing heavy and
being hard on all pucks and getting pucks deep. When you get away from that,
it's tough to win."
When Benn scored the game's first goal 3:46 into the second period, the Blues
trailed for the first time since Feb. 5 --- a span of more than 517 minutes on
the ice over 10 games.
Radek Faksa and Alexander Radulov put Dallas up 3-0 with goals in a 65-second
span midway through the second period.
The Stars, who are currently in position for a playoff spot in coach Jim
Montgomery's first season, snapped a three-game losing streak in which they
were shut out twice.
"They're a good team. I can see why they've won 11 in a row," Benn said. "We
found a way to come out and get to them in the second and find a way to win the
hockey game and get a big two points for our team."
Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington entered the game with a 13-1-1 record and
was riding a nine-game winning streak that was a rookie team record. The only
other time he allowed four goals was Jan. 21 against the Los Angeles Kings, 4-3
in the last loss for him and the team.
"He deserves better from us. All the goals that are going in, it's just loose
coverage," defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. "He's been unbelievable. Again, He
was good tonight, made a lot of saves when we needed him to. ... We know that
we need to be better in front of him."
Binnington had 19 saves. The Stars got an empty-net goal from Tyler Seguin in
the final minute, the only goal in the game not scored in the second period.
Anton Khudobin stopped 43 shots while starting his seventh consecutive game for
the Stars. Regular starting goaltender Ben Bishop, who missed the previous six
games with an upper body injury, was active and on the bench as the backup
after going through an optional practice Wednesday.
Benn scored his second goal of the night, and 21st of the season, when he
redirected a flying puck with four minutes left in the second period to make it
4-1. His only other multi-goal game this season came Oct. 6, when he scored
twice in a win over Winnipeg in the second game of the season.
Vladimir Tarasenko scored his 27th goal for the Blues on an assist from
O'Reilly, who got his 24th goal of the season in the closing seconds of the
second period.
"I thought the first period, the Blues were playing at a level of intensity
that we hadn't seen, playoff intensity. You can see why they've been so
successful," Montgomery said. "After the first period, I thought we raised our
level, and our second period was excellent."
NOTES: The Blues were without C Brayden Schenn, who sustained an upper-body
injury in their 3-2 overtime win against Toronto on Tuesday night. Coach Craig
Berube isn't sure how long the injury will keep Schenn (11 goals, 28 assists)
out of the lineup. ... Blues D Joel Edmundson broke his stick in two when he
slammed it across the post following Benn's second goal. Edmundson had Benn
pushed into the corner just before the score. ... Brett Ritchie of the Stars
and Colton Parayko got five-minute majors for fighting after trading several
hard punches in the second period.
UP NEXT
Blues: At Boston on Saturday.
Stars: Play their third home game in a row, Saturday against Carolina.
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