CHICAGO — Scott Darling is getting into a groove. The banged-up Chicago Blackhawks are playing smart and tight in front of him.
On Sunday night, it all worked perfectly.
Marian Hossa, Artem Anisimov and Artemi Panarin scored to lead the Central Division-leading Blackhawks over the Dallas Stars 3-1.
Darling made 23 saves in his fifth straight start while No. 1 goalie Corey Crawford recovers from an appendectomy. Darling has permitted just seven goals during the stretch, but the Blackhawks have scored only nine while going 2-2-1.
Coach Joel Quenneville appreciated what he saw from the net on out.
“Overall, our whole team game, I really liked tonight,” Quenneville said. “We managed the puck a little bit better and scored some timely goals as well.”
Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews missed his ninth game and defenseman Brent Seabrook his second with upper-body injuries. That means the Blackhawks don’t have as much firepower to throw around — even if the 37-year-old Hossa scored his team-leading 15th goal and has three in three games.
Devin Shore scored for Dallas, which lost its second straight and third in four. The Stars struggled to generate much offensive pressure against the Blackhawks on the heels of a 4-2 loss at Philadelphia on Saturday.
“I think our guys feel a lot of pressure right now with our scoring being down,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “Last year we could wash some of our mistakes under the carpet. This year, the big mistakes are really standing out.”
Dallas’ Kari Lehtonen blocked 24 shots while making his fifth straight start. The scuffling Stars are in sixth place in the Central and 11th in the Western Conference.
“We put ourselves in a tough spot, but there’s no reason we can’t turn this around,” forward Jamie Benn said. “The way we’re losing is unacceptable.”
Both Toews and Seabrook took part in the team’s morning skate on Sunday, with Toews getting back on the ice for the first time in a week. The center, reportedly dealing with a back injury, said he never has experienced his current condition before.
Dallas defenseman Jamie Oleksiak sat out the first game of a two-game suspension for an illegal check to the head of Flyers forward Chris Vande-Velde in the third period of the Stars’ 4-2 loss at Philadelphia on Saturday.
D e fe n s e m a n Jo h n ny Oduya returned to the Stars’ lineup after missing 10 games with a lower-body injury and took Oleksiak’s place.
The teams played a scoreless first with only a handful of chances. Darling made a quick right pad save on Curtis McKenzie’s point-blank deflection with 6:30 left in the period.
Shore opened the scoring at 1:25 of the second, batting in a loose puck to cap an oddman break and flurry around Chicago’s net. After McKenzie deflected Shore’s feed wide, John Klingberg shoveled the puck in front to Shore, who connected from the doorstep.
Hossa tied it at 1 just 52 seconds later on a drive from left wing that trickled under Lehtonen’s blocker.
Anisimov knocked in a rebound of Ryan Hartman’s point-blank attempt with 7:30 left in the second for his 12th goal to put Chicago ahead 2-1. After leaving the penalty box and taking a long feed from Trevor van Riemsdyk, Hartman beat defenseman Stephen Johns and cut in alone. Lehtonen stopped Hartman’s low shot, but Anisimov swept in and scored before Johns could recover.
Panarin’s power-play goal midway through the third made it 3-1. Positioned low in the left circle, Panarin ripped in his 11th goal from a sharp angle — and just inside the left post — after taking a perfect feed from Duncan Keith.
FLYERS 1, RED WINGS 0, OT
Brayden Schenn scored 2:44 into overtime and Anthony Stolarz got his first shutout in his second career start, lifting the Philadelphia Flyers over the Detroit Red Wings for their ninth consecutive win. Stolarz made 28 saves, helping Philadelphia outlast Jimmy Howard and the Red Wings. Howard made 34 saves in his first start since Nov. 23. Schenn cut in from the left wing, skated across the top of the crease, faked a backhand shot and then slid the puck in for his eighth goal of the season and fourth in two games. Howard stopped Pierre-Edouard Bellemaire from the bottom inside edge of the right circle 1:53 into overtime.
AVALANCHE 3, MAPLE LEAFS 1
Semyon Varlamov made 51 saves, helping Colorado rebound from a miserable loss with a victory over Toronto. The Avs lost 10-1 to Montreal on Saturday night but rebounded on the back of their Russian goaltender. Mikko Rantanen, Nathan MacKinnon and Blake Comeau scored, helping last-place Colorado get its second win in nine games. Antoine Bibeau made 26 saves in his first NHL start, and Jake Gardiner scored for Toronto. The Leafs, who won 4-1 in Boston on Saturday, are now 0-5-1 in the second half of back-to-backs this season. RANGERS 5, DEVILS 0 J.T. Miller and Brady Skjei scored 3:50 apart late in the second period, Antti Raanta stopped 19 shots for his second straight shutout and New York beat New Jersey. Chris Kreider had a goal and an assist, and Brandon Pirri and Jimmy Vesey also scored to give the Rangers their first three-game winning streak since Nov. 12-15. Raanta, starting for the third time in four nights and coming off a 1-0 overtime win against Chicago on Friday, got his sixth career shutout and improved to 8-1-0 with a 1.65 goals-against average in 10 starts this season. Cory Schneider finished with 25 saves for New Jersey, which lost its third straight. The Devils had an early goal disallowed after a review and another didn’t count because it came after a whistle.
CAPITALS 3, CANUCKS 0 Alex Ovechkin scored a power-play goal in the first period and Braden Holtby made it stand up, stopping 20 shots to help Washington beat weary Vancouver. Washington nursed a 1-0 lead until Ovechkin earned an assist on a goal by Justin Williams with just under 15 minutes left. Tom Wilson scored into an empty net with 52 seconds remaining to seal the Capitals’ fourth straight victory. Washington killed five Vancouver power plays to complete a two-game season sweep. Holtby was rarely tested in his 25th career shutout, the second this season.
WILD 3, BLUES 1 Matt Dumba, Nino Niederreiter and Mikael Granlund scored, Devan Dubnyk made 22 saves and Minnesota held on to beat St. Louis for its fourth straight win. Dumba scored for the second straight game in the second period and Niederreiter got his eighth goal about seven minutes later. Granlund added an empty-net goal. Vladimir Tarasenko scored his 14th goal of the season for St. Louis. Jake Allen stopped 22 shots for the Blues, who had won five of their past seven games.
DUCKS 5, SENATORS 1 Antoine Vermette and Corey Perry each had a goal and an assist and Anaheim scored a season-high three power-play goals to beat Ottawa. Joseph Cramarossa, Nick Ritchie and Sami Vatanen also scored, and John Gibson made 21 saves. Ryan Dzingel scored for the Senators, who lost their second straight game in Southern California. Mike Condon made 10 saves before being removed for Andrew Hammond in the second period. Hammond stopped 16 shots.