Stars score three times in third, defeat Coyotes

DALLAS -- The Dallas Stars returned from their five-day break and defeated the Arizona Coyotes 5-2 at American Airlines Center on Friday.
Jamie Benn, Lauri Korpikoski and Cody Eakin scored in the third period, and Dallas became the fifth team this season to win in its first game back from the break. NHL teams are 5-12-4 in their first game after the break.
Kari Lehtonen made 25 saves.

"I think that makes us 3-0 out of breaks (All-Star break and Christmas), so that was nice," Stars forward Devin Shore said. "We wanted to take the positives of the break and not worry about what the record's been for other teams. I think guys Thursday] and even [Friday] morning were recharged."
**[WATCH: All Stars vs. Coyotes highlights**
Jamie Benn scored the game-winning goal at 3:03 of the third period when he faked a shot and beat Coyotes goalie Louis Domingue on a wraparound for a 3-2 lead.
"That third goal was a big goal," Coyotes coach Dave Tippet said. "Benn makes a great play on that, and then we just couldn't generate anything after that. We got to open up a little bit, opened up too much and ended up chasing it."
Korpikoski scored on a rebound at 9:22 after an initial shot by Radek Faksa. Eakin scored at 15:58 on a wrist shot over Domingue's glove that gave Dallas a 5-2 lead.

Radim Vrbata gave Arizona a 1-0 lead 7:06 into the first period on a one-timer from the slot. Max Domi had the primary assist and Alex Goligoski had the secondary assist in his first game back at American Airlines Center after an offseason trade from Dallas to Arizona.
Dallas tied the game 1-1 when Shore scored on a wrist shot at 14:12. Jiri Hudler and Esa Lindell had the assists.
"I think their guy kind of fell and Esa Lindell did a great job stepping up," Shore said. "Not only getting the puck and getting it out of our end, but he also led the rush by kicking it out wide and him driving through the middle, and that creates a ton of space."
Arizona took a 2-1 lead at 13:59 of the second period when Martin Hanzal's wraparound banked off Jordie Benn's skate and past Lehtonen.
John Klingberg tied the game 2-2 when he beat Domingue on the power play at 18:58. Domingue made 32 saves.
Prior to the game, the Stars traded co-leading goal-scorer Patrick Eaves to the Anaheim Ducks for a second-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft.

Goal of the game

Klingberg, playing his 200th NHL game, helped swing momentum for Dallas when he scored over Domingue's shoulder with a wrist shot.

Save of the game

Coyotes defenseman Luke Schenn cleared a puck off the line with 5:00 remaining in the second period. The referee signaled it was a goal, but after a review it was confirmed Schenn kept the puck out.

Highlight of the game

Jamie Benn's game-winning goal came on a breakout pass from his brother Jordie.
"I thought it was a heck of a play. It's a play that we've seen the Sedins use before, where you dump it off the end wall and get a step. I thought tonight we did a real good job of stretching the ice, helping getting in behind them. We had three or four 2-on-1s that we didn't execute real well on," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "It looked like a play that you were going to kind of go, 'Agggh,' but then all of a sudden you go, 'No, yay!' It was a good play."

Unsung performance of the game

Hudler returned for the first time since he scored into his own net Feb. 9 against the Ottawa Senators.
"I thought he was good. Made a nice play to Shore on the entry on the goal. I thought [on the] power play there was a few times he got a hold of it and found some good outlets for us," Ruff said.

They said it

"Yeah, definitely, it was a little weird. It was good to get a few shifts under my belt, but yeah, definitely a little weird coming back and playing for the first time, so I was glad it's over." -- Coyotes defenseman Alex Goligoski on returning to Dallas
"We've been linemates for most of this year it seems like. One of the most unselfish players I've ever played with and a great teammate and a great guy. It was tough to hear that news today." -- Jamie Benn on Patrick Eaves getting traded

Need to know

The Coyotes recalled goalie Adin Hill from Tucson of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis after Mike Smith was unavailable due to illness. … Coyotes forward Alexander Burmistrov left the game with an upper-body injury and didn't return.

What's next

Coyotes:Host the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday (8:30 p.m. ET; FS-A, MSG-B, NHL.TV)
Stars: Host the Boston Bruins on Sunday (12:30 p.m. ET; NBC, NHL.TV)