Dubois scores in third period to boost Blue Jackets past Stars

DALLAS -- Pierre-Luc Dubois scored the go-ahead goal for the Columbus Blue Jackets midway through the third period of a 2-1 win against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on Monday.

Cam Atkinson had a goal and an assist for the Blue Jackets (10-6-2), who are on a five-game point streak (3-0-2). Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves to win his third straight start, allowing one goal in each game.
"I think for both teams it was a real hard game," Columbus coach John Tortorella said. "It's close to what the game should be played like. … It was a fun game to be involved in. It's the hardest we've played. And I give them credit, too, because they were hard to play against."
WATCH: [Blue Jackets vs. Stars highlights]
The Stars (9-7-2) have lost two straight and four of their past five games (1-2-2).
Alexander Radulov scored for Dallas in his first game back after missing the previous four and 10 of 11 with a lower-body injury. Anton Khudobin made 26 saves.
The Stars went 0-for-4 on the power play, including three opportunities in the first period, and had one shot on goal in 7:50 with the man-advantage.
"Those points are huge," Radulov said. "The power play cost us the points."
Dallas played its second game since losing defenseman John Klingberg for at least four weeks with a broken wrist. Klingberg, injured Nov. 8 against the San Jose Sharks, plays the point on the first power-play unit and has six power-play points (two goals, four assists) in 16 games.
Dubois, playing his 100th NHL game, gave Columbus a 2-1 lead with 9:39 remaining. Atkinson made a cross-crease pass to Dubois for the tap-in.

"(Atkinson) made a nice play to bring it back around the net," Dubois said. "I was lucky enough to get a stick on it."
Dubois scored 29 seconds after Khudobin made a sprawling right-pad save against him on a wide-open look from below the left face-off circle off a pass across the slot from Artemi Panarin.
"He made a really nice save," Dubois said. "Sometimes there's not much you can do."
Atkinson scored on the power play to give the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead at 1:29 of the second period, beating Khudobin with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle.
Radulov tied it 1-1 with a wrist shot from the inside of the right circle on a backhand feed from Miro Heiskanen off the goal line at 18:20.

Dallas forward Devin Shore left the game at 6:10 of the first period after he sustained a lower-body injury on his second shift. Coach Jim Montgomery said Shore will have an MRI on Tuesday and is expected to miss 7-10 days.

They said it

"Hometown hero to hated in my own hometown. That turned quick on me. … I didn't care. I was just frustrated with the call. It was what it was. It's nothing." -- Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones, born in nearby Arlington, Texas, on being booed every time he touched the puck after a high-sticking penalty against Stars forward Jason Dickinson in the second period
"The third period was kind of just flat. We didn't seem to be able to build momentum off of [Alexander Radulov's goal late in the second]. I thought the last seven minutes of the second was the best seven minutes of our game. I don't think it was a lack of effort, it was a lack of execution. We just weren't very sharp." -- Stars coach Jim Montgomery

Need to know

When tied entering the third period this season, the Blue Jackets are 4-1-1, and the Stars are 0-4-1. … Bobrovsky is 12-1-1 against Dallas. He made 27 saves in a 4-1 win against the Stars in Columbus on Nov. 6. … Jones had an assist on Atkinson's goal, giving him seven in the past five games. … Heiskanen had an assist on Radulov's goal, giving him four in the past five games. … Stars forward Brett Ritchie, who missed the previous four games with an upper-body injury, played after being a game-time decision. He had two hits but did not have a shot on goal in 12:47 of ice time. … Montgomery said after the game that defenseman Connor Carrick will be out "at least a couple of weeks" after X-rays showed a hairline fracture in his lower body. Carrick was injured Oct. 28 at the Detroit Red Wings.

What's next

Blue Jackets:Host the Florida Panthers on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, FS-F, NHL.TV)
Stars: Host the Boston Bruins on Friday (8 p.m. ET; SNE, SNW, SNP, TVAS, FS-SW, NESN, NHL.TV)