"Kari Lehtonen was a rock Wednesday night, and that was exactly what the Stars needed.

Coming off two shaky games and heading into the All-Star break against a spirited bunch from Edmonton, Lehtonen came up with 34 saves and led the Stars to a 3-1 victory over the Oilers.

"He did exactly what he had to do, and he did exactly what we needed," said captain Brenden Morrow, who did pretty much the same at the other end of the ice by scoring two goals.

Goaltending has been the backbone of the Stars' surprising surge to the top of the Pacific Division this season, and there was a little bit of doubt on a recent swing through Western Canada that cracks might be showing in the foundation.

Back-to-back outings of seven goals against set off a few warning sirens, and it made the game against Edmonton a test for the Stars. They needed to show they could play team defense. They needed to show they could get a few key goals. And they needed their goalie to make big stops.

All three things happened. Dallas engaged the Oilers in a physical contest (100 total penalty minutes) and took advantage of its scoring chances, taking a 3-0 lead before the game's midway point. Lehtonen was fantastic, especially down the stretch."