National Hockey League
Dallas 5, Nashville 1
When: 8:30 PM ET, Thursday, December 31, 2015
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Referees: Dan O'Halloran, Ian Walsh
Linesmen: Brian Mach, Mark Wheler
Attendance: 18532

DALLAS -- Centers Jason Spezza had two assists and Tyler Seguin had two goals, and goaltender Antti Niemi stopped 33 of the 34 shots he faced in a 5-1 Dallas Stars' victory against the Nashville Predators on Thursday at American Airlines Center.

After Nashville (18-13-7) took a 1-0 lead midway through the second period when right winger Craig Smith scored off a backhand, Dallas (28-8-3) got five unanswered goals from left winger Jamie Benn, center Mattias Janmark, left winger Patrick Eaves and two from Seguin.

Janmark had the eventual game-winner late in the second when he sent a Spezza pass into the top right corner of the Predators net.

Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne stopped 27 of 32 shots in the loss.

Smith beat Niemi with a backhand at 11:22 of the second period. Left winger Filip Forsberg started the sequence with a pass from the left side that deflected off the stick of Stars defenseman Alex Goligoski and landed at the skates of center Mike Ribeiro.

Ribeiro then passed it to Smith in the slot and after pulling Niemi out a bit, Smith maneuvered around Niemi and beat him with a backhand for his ninth goal of the season.

Benn tied it 1:31 later with a wrist shot from the left circle. Benn gained possession after Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm was unable to corral the carom after Goligoski sent the puck off the boards. Benn, who is on a seven-game point streak, then rushed up the left side and after squaring himself, beat Rinne for his NHL-leading 24th goal of the season to make it a 1-1 game.

Dallas took its first lead with 2:32 remaining before the second intermission when Janmark scored his ninth goal of the season with a wrist shot that went top shelf to the far post. After Ribeiro couldn't control the puck near the Nashville blue line, Spezza fed Janmark from the right circle.

Spezza also set up Eaves on his goal, his third of the season, 3:56 into the third period. Spezza intercepted an attempted clearance by Ekholm behind the Nashville net and fed Eaves in the slot, who one-timed Spezza's pass into the left side of the Nashville net to make it 3-1.

Seguin scored his first of the night 8:03 into the third when he collected his own rebound off a wrist shot from the slot and tucked the puck inside the far post. Following a lengthy review, Seguin's goal was deemed valid.

Seguin added a second with 3:04 remaining when he beat Rinne through his five-hole with a wrist shot from the right circle. Seguin now has 23 goals, tying him for second in the NHL.

NOTES: Predators D Anthony Bitetto, D Petter Granberg and C Cody Hodgson were scratched. ... Stars C Radek Faksa, D Patrik Nemeth and D Jamie Oleksiak were scratched. ... Predators D Shea Weber was appearing in his 723rd game, tying him with Martin Erat for second-most games in franchise history. ... This marks the first of five regular-season meetings between these Central Division rivals. ... Stars LW Jamie Benn had four points (three goals, assist) on April 11 in the regular-season finale against Nashville to clinch the 2015 Art Ross Trophy as the NHL points leader. ... Predators LW James Neal, LW Eric Nystrom and C Mike Ribeiro are each former Stars. ... On Wednesday, the Stars placed RW Ales Hemsky on injured reserve with a lower-body injury sustained in a 6-3 loss at Columbus on Tuesday.
Top Game Performances
 
Nashville   Dallas
Craig Smith 1 Points Tyler Seguin 2
Craig Smith 1 Goals Tyler Seguin 2
Mike Ribeiro 1 Assists John Klingberg 2
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Pekka Rinne .844 Save Percentage Antti Niemi .971
Pekka Rinne 27 Saves Antti Niemi 33
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Nashville 34 1 0-1 1-1 2 26
Dallas 32 5 0-1 1-1 2 39
Upcoming Games
  • Dallas will play their next game on the road against New Jersey. The Stars have a W/L % of .593 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
  • Nashville will play their next game on the road against Carolina. The Predators have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .600 after a loss.