NASHVILLE,Tenn. (AP) -- Steve Sullivan scored three goals, two on

the power play, and had a chance at a fourth with a penalty shot in

the Nashville Predators' 5-3 victory over the Dallas Stars on

Thursday night.

Sullivan scored twice in the third period to earn the hat trick.

He failed on a penalty shot in the second period.

Dallas took a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal. Martin Skoula

fired the puck toward the net, and Brendan Morrow, anchored on the

right side, took the pass and put it by Nashville goaltender Tomas

Vokoun at 6:01 of the first period.

Nashville answered with a power-play goal at 18:46 when Martin

Erat scored in traffic in front of the net.

In the second period, Dallas took a 2-1 lead on Nathan Perrott's

first of the season. Steve Ott took a wrist shot that bounced off

Vokoun, who went sprawling on the ice. Perrott, also on his back,

hit the puck with his stick and put it over Vokoun's back and into

the net at 3:41.

The Predators tied it again at 6:15 with a power-play goal that

Sullivan shot from the inside the left circle off the crossbar to

the right side of the net.

Sullivan missed a chance to give the Predators the lead at 10:42

when his penalty-shot try went high and wide over the net.

The Stars struck on the power play to make it 3-2 when Philippe

Boucher scored in traffic in front of the net at 15:53.

Marek Zidlicky tied it for the Predators 15 seconds into the

third period.

Sullivan made it 4-3 broke the tie at 10:11 on the power play

with a wrist shot from the left side of the net. He finished his

hat trick at 17:10 to close the scoring.Game notes
Perrott, making his debut with the Stars, is a former

Nashville Predators player. ... The Predators are 6-0-1 when

allowing the first goal. ... The Stars have at least one power-play

goal in their last seven games and have scored at least three goals

in each of their last eight.