Riley Tufte Turns in Strong Performance in 5-3 Stars Win Over Blue Jackets

Adam Mascherin finished with two goals, but Riley Tufte was the most noticeable Dallas Stars player on Monday afternoon, turning in a two point outing in a 5-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Both players had goals on the power play while Ty Dellandrea notched one of his own on the man advantage to push the lead to 4-2 late in the second period.

Rhett Gardner opened the scoring with a goal from in close early in the first period to give the Stars a lead they would never relinquish. Mascherin's second goal, an empty netter, came in the waning seconds of regulation when Columbus was threatening after a tipped shot pulled them within one in the third period.

The Stars penalty kill got plenty of work in the contest having to kill of seven total penalties, including one minute and fifteen seconds of 5-on-3. In the end, they gave up two goals on the PK but could have ceded more had Jake Oettinger not played well.

In terms of the lineup, Curtis Douglas came out in favor of Diego Cuglietta. Tye Felhaber found himself on the top line and Riley Tufte played in all situations. On the back end, Tanner Jago was tabbed for third pairing duty.

The victory gives the Stars a decent chance at making the championship game tomorrow provided the New York Rangers lose to the Minnesota Wild. Stay tuned.

Today's lines:
Felhaber-Dellandrea-Kiviranta
Tufte-Damiani-Robertson
Caamano-Gardner-Mascherin
Porco-Cuglietta-Melnick

Gleason-Barteaux
Harley-Djuse
Nyberg-Jago

Oettinger

Injuries, scratches, and notes:
Mattinen, Tyszka, Douglas

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