Fight night: Stars scrap way to rout of Florida

Fans at American Airlines Center got their money's worth Tuesday night. They saw the Dallas Stars score six goals, get in six fights and win for the sixth time in the last eight games with a 6-1 rout of the Florida Panthers.
The Stars, who opened a three-game homestand Tuesday, responded to a physical challenge from the Panthers in a game that featured a total of 138 penalty minutes that included 12 fighting majors -- six on each side -- and three game misconducts. Four of the fights came in the first period.

WATCH: [All Stars vs. Panthers highlights]
"They wanted to bring that, so we answered them," said Stars forward Alexander Radulov. "A lot of guys stick up for each other, and that was nice to see. Eventually, we got it done, and that was the most important thing."

"It was intense and emotional," said Stars forward Devin Shore. "I think the important thing is to stick together and have each other's backs. No two games are the same and there are going to be games like that. On this night, there was a certain way we had to win, and it was physical and there were a lot of fights. You answer the bell, and I thought we did a good job of that."
Radulov tallied two goals and one assist, Shore recorded one goal and one assist, and John Klingberg picked up two assists as the Stars improved to 6-1-1 in their last eight games and 10-3-1 in the last 14. Jamie Benn, Mattias Janmark, and Tyler Pitlick also scored, and Ben Bishop stopped 33 shots.
The Stars (28-17-4) stayed within one point of St. Louis for third place in the Central Division and moved three points ahead of both Colorado and Minnesota in the divisional race.

The Panthers lost for the sixth time in the last eight games (2-5-1) and fell to 19-21-6 on the season.
"There was a lot of pride there, I mean I think you can see that, it is a tight group and they stick up for each other, they win together and lose together," said Florida coach Bob Boughner. "I have no issue with that, it shows some pride. But at the end of the day we are here to get points and we failed miserably."
The first period was a fight fest with the four different scraps and a total of 84 penalty minutes, 46 for the Panthers and 38 for the Stars.

The first fight came as Florida goalie James Reimer went down in the crease after appearing to pull something in his leg. With Reimer on the ice in pain, Stars forward Antoine Roussel and Panthers defensemen Keith Yandle dropped the gloves.
"I think a lot of it started because they thought we hit the goalie, which we didn't," Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said. "I think that started the ball rolling. What are you going to do? You've just got to get on the ride and hope nobody gets hurt."
Two minutes later it was Stars forward Radek Faksa vs. Micheal Haley. Faksa went at it again later in the period, taking on Derek MacKenzie this time. As that fight was winding down, Florida's Alex Petrovic went after Roussel but Stars defenseman Dillon Heatherington stepped in and dropped the gloves with Petrovic.

Both Heatherington and Petrovic got game misconducts for the secondary fight and Petrovic picked up an extra roughing minor putting the Stars on a power play which the Stars scored on when Shore tipped in a Klingberg shot at the 15:45 mark to give Dallas a 1-0 lead after one period.
Florida made a good push early in the second, but the Stars extended the lead to 2-0 at the 6:43 mark when Radulov sent a slick backhand pass to Benn, who scored off a backhand shot from just below the right circle.
The Stars cashed in on 1:22 of 5-on-3 power-play time midway through the second to push the lead to 3-0. Radulov took a cross-crease pass from Jason Spezza and scored from close range at the 9:57 mark

Florida got on the board later in the second to cut the lead to 3-1 when defenseman Aaron Ekblad scored on a rebound with the Panthers on the power play at 15:47 of the second.
The Stars made it a 4-1 game at 5:16 of the third with a goal on the rush. Shore made a nice pass to Klingberg, who drove the net and backhanded the puck to Janmark for a close-range tap-in.
The Stars added two quick goals later in the third. Radulov scored on a breakaway to make it 5-1, and 20 seconds later Roussel set up Pitlick, who scored to make it a 6-1 game.

Notes

What's Next

The Stars continue their homestand Thursday when they take on the Toronto Maple Leafs. It will be the first meeting between the two teams this season and the final game for the Stars before the NHL takes a break for the All-Star Game in Tampa.

Stars Lineup

Jamie Benn - Tyler Seguin - Alexander Radulov
Remi Elie - Jason Spezza - Mattias Janmark
Antoine Roussel - Radek Faksa - Tyler Pitlick
Devin Shore - Jason Dickinson - Brett Ritchie
Esa Lindell - John Klingberg
Dan Hamhuis - Greg Pateryn
Dillon Heatherington - Stephen Johns
Ben Bishop
Kari Lehtonen
Scratched:Gemel Smith, Julius Honka
Injured: Marc Methot (knee), Martin Hanzal (muscle pull)

This story was not subject to approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club. Mark Stepneski is an independent writer whose posts on DallasStars.com reflect his own opinions and do not represent official statements from the Dallas Stars. You can follow Mark on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.