DALLAS (AP) — Jake Oettinger made 28 saves and the Dallas Stars beat the Nashville Predators 5-1 on Thursday night for their seventh straight victory.
Mikael Granlund, Mason Marchment, Roope Hintz and defenseman Lian Bichsel scored for Dallas. The Stars are second in the NHL behind Western Conference and Central Division rival Winnipeg.
Stars captain Jamie Benn sat out, with coach Pete DeBoer saying before the game it was for “maintenance.” Stuck on 399 career goals for nearly a month, the 35-year-old Benn had played 371 consecutive games.
Steven Stamkos opened the scoring for Nashville at 4:37 of the second with his 24th of the season.