Stars top Blues, move into first place in Central

Wyatt Johnston scored twice as the visiting Dallas Stars defeated the St. Louis Blues 5-2 on Wednesday to aid their bid for the Central Division title.

The Stars (46-21-14, 106 points) moved into first place, one point ahead of the Colorado Avalanche (49-24-7, 105 points).

The Stars have one game left, at home against the Blues on Thursday, while the Avalanche have two remaining, versus the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday and at the Nashville Predators on Friday.

Tyler Seguin had a goal and an assist for the Stars, who won their fifth straight game. Joe Pavelski and Roope Hintz also scored, and Scott Wedgewood earned the victory with 16 saves.

Jason Robertson had three assists for Dallas while Jamie Benn and Miro Heiskanen had two each.

Robert Thomas recorded a goal and an assist for the Blues (37-37-7, 81 points). Jakub Vrana also scored for St. Louis, and Joel Hofer made 32 saves.

Johnston put the Stars up 1-0 on a rebound conversion 5:49 into the game.

The Blues tied the game 1-1 with a power-play goal less than two minutes later. Thomas made a back-door pass to Vrana breaking to the open left side of the net.

The Stars took a 2-1 lead when Pavelski jumped on the ice as the extra attacker during a delayed penalty call. He scored with a slap shot with 56 seconds left in the first period.

Heiskanen's assist was his 72nd point, setting the franchise's single-season record for points by a defenseman.

However, 36 seconds later, Thomas tied the game by weaving to the goal from a sharp left-side angle to beat Wedgewood.

The Stars scored twice during a four-minute power play to take a 4-2 lead in the second period.

First, Hintz punched in a point-blank goal off Benn's centering pass from behind the net at 4:48. Johnston then scored from the slot off Evgenii Dadonov's centering pass for a 4-2 edge at 5:36.

Seguin scored a power-play goal with 43 seconds left in the middle period. Heiskanen's shot from the blue line went wide of the left point, but Seguin converted the long rebound off the end boards.

--Field Level Media

1/3: Apr 12, 2023; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Dallas Stars center Max Domi (18) controls the puck as St. Louis Blues center Jordan Kyrou (25) defends during the first period at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

2/3: Apr 12, 2023; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Dallas Stars left wing Jamie Benn (14) and St. Louis Blues goaltender Joel Hofer (30) exchange words during the first period at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

3/3: Apr 12, 2023; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Blues left wing Jakub Vrana (15) is congratulated by center Jordan Kyrou (25) and defenseman Justin Faulk (72) after scoring against the Dallas Stars during the first period at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports