Colorado Avalanche @ Dallas Stars 2-3 - 12/17

One night after losing 6-2 to the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center, the Dallas Stars exacted a bit of revenge on their Central Division rival thanks to a third-period goal by rookie Colton Sceviour in a 3-2 win at American Airlines Center on Tuesday. Sceviour scored his second career goal in his fourth NHL game with 2:52 remaining on a breakaway after a nifty pass from Rich Peverley near the Colorado blue line. Sceviour beat Avalanche goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere through the five-hole for the deciding goal.

"I shot it over to [Peverley] for a 2-on-1. Initially, I thought it was over when I put it too far ahead of him, but he caught up to it, made a great pass," Sceviour said. "I was able to pick it up in full stride and managed to put it in."

Sceviour, who was the leading goal scorer in the American Hockey League when he was recalled on Dec. 9, scored his first NHL goal in a 6-4 win at the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday afternoon. Ray Whitney had two goals and rookie Alex Chiasson added two assists for Dallas, which received a 25-save performance from backup goaltender Dan Ellis, who was also credited with an assist, the sixth of his career, on Sceviour's game-winner.

"[Starting goalie Kari Lehtonen] is going through a little bit of a rough time right now. Teams that can throw in their backup and win a game, that's always good," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said.

Matt Duchene and Erik Johnson each had a goal and an assist for Colorado. The Avalanche got an early break when Dallas forward Ryan Garbutt was assessed a double minor for a high stick on Andre Benoit 1:03 into the game. Colorado needed 1:36 to capitalize with Duchene netting his 15th by knocking in a rebound after Johnson's slapper from near the blue line was stopped by Ellis. It was Colorado's first power-play goal in 12 games. Dallas tied it at 7:31 when Whitney scored his first goal since Nov. 3, a span of 13 games. He knocked in a pass from Shawn Horcoff near the far post.

"I saw a little extra giddy-up when he got one," Ruff said of Whitney. "Then he got a second and had a chance for a third."

At 10:20 of the second, the Avalanche regained the lead when Johnson beat Ellis with a snap shot from the left circle for his fourth of the season during a 4-on-4. Johnson's shot sailed over Ellis' blocker to make it 2-1. Johnson's goal was one of two second-period shots by the Avalanche.

"The second period was all theirs. They had 14 shots against two," Colorado coach Patrick Roy said. "They had the best chances as well even if we scored. But overall in the third, I thought we responded better."

Colorado got its second four-minute power play of the game when Antoine Roussel was called for roughing and unsportsmanlike conduct at 7:32. However, that advantage was negated when Colorado's Tyson Barrie was called for interference at 9:14, putting each team a man down. Whitney tied it with Dallas on the power play at 17:19. The Stars had gained the advantage when Paul Stastny was called for hooking at 16:09 and capitalized when Whitney converted from the right circle for his third of the season, beating Jean-Sebastien Giguere for the equalizer.

"It's always nice to score, especially when you've been dry for a while," Whitney said. "I think it was 14 or 15 (games) to start the year, and (then) another 13. Confidence is a big part of this game, and it's good to get that out of the way."

Dallas went on the power play again at 5:05 of the third after a tripping call on Barrie. That became a 5-on-3 when Benoit fired the puck over the boards at 6:20. However, the Stars were unable to capitalize. With 6:29 remaining in regulation, Colorado went on the power play for a sixth time after Horcoff was called for a high stick on Barrie. Ellis robbed Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog at close range with a glove save at 15:08 of the third to keep the game tied.

"I had seen a little bit of their power play with him practicing that in the pregame skate, so I knew he had a good one-timer," Ellis said of Landeskog's tendencies. "That's what I was expecting."

Giguere left the ice with 1:28 remaining and Dallas missed a chance to ice the game when Tyler Seguin drew iron on an empty-net attempt with 1:01 remaining. But even as Colorado swarmed the Dallas end in the final half-minute, Ellis and his teammates stood tall until the final horn sounded.

"The mad scramble around our net, that's where Dan was exceptional," Whitney said of Ellis' poise late in the game. "That would have been really crushing if they would have come down and scored after we hit the posts. But credit the guys for blocking shots and grinding it out in front.