Stars let Devils back in, then close door
Stephane Robidas kept shooting the puck, and good things kept happening for the Dallas defenseman.
Robidas had two goals and two assists, rookie Tom Wandell scored the tiebreaking goal midway through the third period and the Stars beat the New Jersey Devils, 5-3, on Saturday night.
"Sometimes everything you touch seems to go in," Robidas said after his second career two-goal game. "It's pretty simple."
Robidas had his first career four-point game, adding eight hits and two blocked shots.
"He's a warrior," said Brad Richards, who had four assists. "He does things game in and game out that only teammates see. We know how valuable he is. His heart is always in the right place."
The Devils trailed 3-1 after the first period, but drew even at 3 at 6:31 of the third period on Travis Zajac's power-play goal.
Wandell put Dallas ahead for good at 9:07 when he jammed the rebound of his own shot past goalie Martin Brodeur. Robidas' one-timer at 14:09 made it 5-3 and Dallas went on to hand New Jersey only its second road defeat in regulation this season.
"We let them come back, but we battled back and that's progress," Robidas said. "It's a good sign. That's a good team."
Mike Ribeiro and Robidas had first-period power-play goals, and rookie Warren Peters scored his second NHL goal in his Stars debut.
The Stars have won only three of 10 home games in regulation this season.
"We've got to show focus and maturity at home," Richards said. "But we're giving ourselves an opportunity to string some wins together here. We're not where we want to be, but things could be a lot worse."
Brian Rolston scored in the game's opening minute, and added a second-period power-play goal for the Devils, who ended a winless three-game trip (0-2-1). New Jersey had won eight in a row before hitting the road.
Yann Danis got his third start of the season in goal for the Devils, but was replaced by Brodeur at the start of the second period after Dallas scored on three of nine shots.
"I thought (Brodeur) would give us a little more energy and we would play better," Devils coach Jacques Lemaire said. "It definitely did because we came back."
Rolston gave New Jersey the lead 55 seconds after the opening faceoff, taking a long pass from Patrik Elias, skating in alone and beating Dallas goalie Marty Turco on the backhand.
New Jersey's advantage was short-lived as Peters, called up from the AHL Texas Stars on Thursday, fired a shot from the right point that got through Danis' pads at 2:22 of the first period.
Ribeiro's power-play rebound at 7:59 of the opening period put Dallas in front, and Robidas made it 3-1 with nine seconds left on another power play when he converted Ribeiro's goal-mouth pass at 14:46.
"Anytime you down 1-0 in the first minute, obviously you're going to be a little bit rattled," Stars coach Marc Crawford said.
Rolston's second goal of the night got New Jersey to 3-2 at 9:49 of the second period.
Stars top goal-scorer scorer James Neal served the first of a two-game league suspension for a hit from behind on Columbus forward Derek Dorsett Thursday night.
NOTES: The Devils have an extensive injured list, with C Dainius Zubrus the latest entry with a fractured right patella that will keep him out 4-to-6 weeks. Four other regulars - C Rob Niedermayer (upper body), LW Jay Pandolfo (right shoulder), and Ds Paul Martin (fractured left forearm) and Johnny Oduya (lower body) - also are unavailable. ... Peters played his first 16 NHL games for Calgary last season, scoring one goal. ... The Stars have won their last four meetings with the Devils in Dallas.
