Marchenko gets 2 goals, assist to help Blue Jackets hold off Stars

COLUMBUS -- Kirill Marchenko had two goals and an assist for the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 6-4 win against the Dallas Stars at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday.

Ivan Provorov and Adam Fantilli each had a goal and an assist, and Dmitri Voronkov had two assists for the Blue Jackets (28-22-8), who have won two straight. Elvis Merzlikins made 19 saves.

“We're playing our style every game,” Marchenko said. “We try to play our style every game, and [find] good opportunities today to score. Just a fun and nice game today.

“Everybody enjoys this moment, and when you win, you have a lot of fun.”

Jason Robertson had a goal and an assist, Mikael Granlund had two assists, and Jake Oettinger made 23 saves for the Stars (37-19-2). They had won three straight and were 3-0-1 in their previous four but were playing their third game in four days.

“It feels like you're swimming upstream all night,” Dallas center Matt Duchene said. “It doesn't matter what you do but you’ve got to find a way to make something happen in games like that.

“Give them credit. They played a good hockey game. It wasn't our best tonight. We’ve got a couple days here to take a breath. I mean three in four probably had something to do with it.”

Zach Werenski’s streak of 22 straight home games with a point ended for the Blue Jackets. He tied Phil Housley (1991-92) for the third-longest streak by a defenseman in NHL history.

Marchenko, in his second game since missing three games with a fractured jaw, put Columbus up 1-0 at 30 seconds of the first period by scoring on the rebound of a Provorov shot.

Mathieu Olivier made it 2-0 at 4:37, redirecting a Damon Severson shot to end a 17-game goal drought.

“Every game we’ve got to play like it's a playoff game to make it in there, and that's been our goal,” Fantilli said. “We've had that belief in ourselves, so we just want to start the same way we did tonight and continue that on through the whole game every single night.”

Jamie Benn cut it to 2-1 at 9:37 when he stuffed the puck in after his first attempt went off the left post.

Marchenko increased the lead to 3-1 at 1:11 of the second period off a centering pass from Fantilli. He leads the Blue Jackets with 23 goals.

Provorov made it 4-1 at 8:46 when his slap shot from above the left circle went off the stick of Robertson.

Roope Hintz pulled Dallas within 4-2 at 9:38, scoring from the slot after his initial shot was blocked.

Robertson cut it to 4-3 at 13:57 with his fourth goal in two games after Granlund passed to him in the slot following a Blue Jackets turnover deep in their own zone.

Beginning at 15:54, the Blue Jackets killed a four-minute penalty after Denton Mateychuk was assessed a double minor for high-sticking. The Stars finished 0-for-3 on the power play.

“We held our own. It was a really good hockey game,” Columbus coach Dean Evason said. “Obviously, we're excited about the outcome, but for the most part, we played right.”

James van Riemsdyk pushed the lead to 5-3 at 2:37 of the third period when he tipped Sean Kuraly’s shot.

“I think the lesson tonight is that we just didn't play well enough to win,” Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said. “If our goalie stood on his head, we could have won. If our power play scored, we might have won, but we didn't do enough to make sure we won.”

Mavrik Bourque made it 5-4 at 17:53 with Oettinger pulled for the extra attacker, and Fantilli scored into an empty net at 19:28 for the 6-4 final.

"They were playing faster than us. They competed harder than us,” Bourque said. “So that's why they won tonight.”

NOTES: Werenski had 41 points (14 goals, 27 assists) during his home point streak. … Marchenko tied his NHL career high for goals in 55 games. He also scored 23 last season in 78 games. … Robertson has 33 points (17 goals, 16 assists) in his past 24 games. … Bourque has six points (three goals, three assists) during a six-game point streak. … Dallas forward Wyatt Johnston had an assist to extend his point streak to four games (six points; two goals, four assists).