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BOX SCORE
CHICAGO (AP) -- The Dallas Stars couldn't afford another defeat against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Protecting a small lead over the San Jose Sharks in the Pacific
Division, Dallas backup Marty Turco made 27 saves and Ted Donato
had a goal and an assist Tuesday night in a 3-0 victory over the
Blackhawks.
Last week, Dallas lost to Chicago -- the fourth-place team in the
Central Division -- but moved three points ahead of San Jose with
this victory.
Donato tipped Sami Helenius' slap shot through the legs of
Jocelyn Thibault to open the scoring at 11:50 in the first period.
Donato's sixth goal of the season, on Dallas' third shot, proved to
be the game winner.
"Sami made a great play keeping it in," Donato said. "He got
a shot and I just tried to get a stick on it and change the
direction."
Turco earned his second shutout of the season and his 10th victory.
"Turco's played great for us," Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said.
"As a young goaltender, he's played great all year. If you do not
get to him early, you're not going to have an opportunity."
The Sharks are not letting up in the chase for first place, and
Hitchcock knows how important first place is.
"We spent the whole year chasing them," Hitchcock said. "We
caught up, and it's a real good focus for us now."
Roman Lyashenko scored his fifth goal to put the Stars up 2-0 at
16:58 of the first period. After eluding several Chicago defenders
behind the net, Lyashenko fired a back-hander past Thibault.
After a Boris Mironov turnover, Sergei Zubov skated to the
middle of the left circle and passed to a slashing Grant Marshall.
Marshall scored his 12th goal of the season and third in two games
at 5:36.
Thibault stopped 15 of 18 shots, dropping his record to 26-26-6.
"They got a couple breaks, and we couldn't get any breaks,"
Thibault said.
The Blackhawks best scoring chance was a three-on-one breakaway with
just more than nine minutes to play in the second period, but
Michael Nylander's high wrist shot did not get past Turco.
"We do not want any odd man rushes, much less a three-on-one," Turco
said. "Our defenseman stayed in the middle and forced him to do
something he did not want to do. He had to slap it on net at the
last second."
The Blackhawks' best scoring chance was a three-on-one that came with
slightly more than nine minutes to play in the second period.
Michael Nylander's couldn't get a high wrist shot past Turco.
The Blackhawks, who are 28th in the NHL with the man advantage
this season, also failed on four power-play chances, and are 0-18
over the last four games on the power play.
"We've been struggling on the power play," Steve Sullivan
said. "We had a couple of chances and you hope one goes in.
Unfortunately, we got three hot goaltenders in the last three
games."
The Stars are 17-14-3-2 on the road this season and 7-2-3 in
their last 12 games at the United Center. Chicago is 13-16-3-1 at
home.
Game notes
Blackhawks forward Dean McAmmond was traded to Philadelphia
for a third-round choice in the draft this year. ... Chicago forward
Casey Hankinson appeared in his first NHL game. ... Stars forwards
Joe Nieuwendyk and Jaime Langenbrunner missed the game because of
injuries. ... The Stars won the season series 3-1.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Dallas Clubhouse
Chicago Clubhouse
RECAPS
Philadelphia 5
St. Louis 2
Anaheim 2
Washington 0
Vancouver 2
Detroit 2
Edmonton 5
Tampa Bay 4
Dallas 3
Chicago 0
New Jersey 6
Colorado 3
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Roman Lyashenko's backhander beats Jocelyn Thibault for a Dallas goal.
avi: 730 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Goalie Marty Turco stops Tony Amonte to keep the shutout intact.
avi: 487 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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