One night after falling into a classic "trap game" scenario in Toronto, the Dallas Stars climbed right back on the horse to earn a 5-3 road victory against the previously red-hot Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Tuesday night. Boston entered the game on a 6-0-1 run including four straight impressive victories.
Former Bruins forward Tyler Seguin enjoyed a stellar game against his old club, exploding for a hat trick on a sniper's goal from the left circle and a pair of power play one-timer scorers. In four previous career games against Boston following his trade to Dallas in the 2013 offseason, Seguin had been relatively contained as he produced two assists.
With the three-goal outburst, Seguin pulled into a tie with linemate Jamie Benn for the top spot in the NHL scoring race (10 goals, 10 assists). Dallas captain Benn assisted on each of Seguin's first two goals. The first tally, scored at 5:46, came on the Stars' first shot of the game after being outshot 6-0 in the early going of the opening period.
Former NHL All-Star winger Loui Eriksson -- the primary established player trade bait Dallas used in the package to acquire Seguin -- had a good night in his right. Eriksson notched power play and even strength goals for his third and fourth markers of the season. The first goal gave Boston a short-lived 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission before Dallas scored twice in the second period and twice in the first half of the final stanza. Eriksson's late-game goal cut the final Boston margin of defeat to two goals.
The Stars, who went 3-for-4 on both the power play and penalty kill, also got goals from defensemen Jyrki Jokipakka (even strength) and Alex Goligoski (power play) to supplement Seguin's big night. Jokipakka's goal was his first in the NHL, while Goligoski's was his first of the 2015-16 season. John Klingberg picked up his 10th and 11th assists of the young season with helpers on the second and third Seguin goals. Forward Jason Spezza got primary assists on both of Seguin's power play scores.
Making his return to the net for the first tim since getting an early second period hook in a start against Florida on Oct. 24, Kari Lehtonen turned back 36 of 39 Boston shots to earn the victory. Countryman Tuukka Rask took the loss, stopping just 14 of 19 Dallas salvoes.
With the win, the Stars improved their record to a Western Conference leading 10-3-0. The Stars, for whom defensive play still remains their primary weaknesses, rank 25th in the NHL with 37 goals allowed in 13 games. However, the club ranks second in the NHL and tops in the West with 46 goals scored. The Dallas power play (29.5 percent success rate) also ranks second overall and first in the Western Conference.
Dallas will have the next two nights off before continuing their four-game road trip on Friday with a match in Raleigh against the Carolina Hurricanes. The trip concludes on Sunday with a matinee game against the Detroit Red Wings.