Back with a bang: Spezza scores twice as Stars top Red Wings

Dallas Stars forward Jason Spezza returned to the lineup Tuesday after being a healthy scratch on Monday, and he made an impact. Spezza scored two power-play goals, including the game-winner, as the Stars defeated the Detroit Red Wings, 4-2, at Little Caesars Arena.
"It was good to get the production. The production hasn't been where I want it to be this year," Spezza said. "It's just good to get back in the lineup and contribute in a win and bounce back. You definitely want a good game after something like that happens."

WATCH: [All Stars vs. Red Wings highlights]
Spezza, who has been struggling and was amid a 14-game goal scoring drought, was scratched in Monday's game in Boston.
"I wasn't happy about it, didn't like the decision," Spezza said. "Just have to get through that, work, and move forward."

Spezza moved forward Tuesday by scoring off a deflection on a 5-on-3 power play to put the Stars up 2-1 in the first period and then tallying on a 5-on-4 power play to give the Stars a 3-2 lead late in the second period.
"He played good. He played like he can," said Stars coach Ken Hitchcock. "He played a good hockey game, and that's what we expect from him. We expect it every night. He's shown it at times, but not consistently. He played, I would say, the word for me would be normal. This is what he is capable of."
Radek Faksa and Martin Hanzal also scored goals, John Klingberg and Alexander Radulov both chipped in two assists, and Ben Bishop made 13 saves for the Stars, who improved to 2-0-0 on their road trip. The Stars (26-17-3) have won five of their last seven games (5-2-0) and seven of their last 10 (7-3-0).
"We won the game because of the second-wave players," Hitchcock said. "The things we've been harping on for a month now, we got in the last two games. Big plays by second-tier players, and that's exactly what we need if we're going to win. If we expect to be a playoff team, that's the next step. We're not going to rely on the same two or three guys to do it every night."

The Red Wings struck first, taking a 1-0 lead 44 seconds into the game when defenseman Trevor Daley scored from the slot.
But the Stars answered a little more than two minutes later with a goal by Faksa, who deflected an Esa Lindell shot from the left point past Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard.
The Stars took the lead by taking advantage of back-to-back penalties on Detroit that led to 1:06 of 5-on-3 power-play time. With just one second left on the two-man advantage, Spezza tipped in a Klingberg shot, and the Stars were up 2-1 at 8:55 of the first.
Detroit tied the game when the Stars got caught in a change and Tyler Bertuzzi set up Andreas Athanasiou with a long pass and Athanasiou scored on a breakaway at 11:43 of the second.

The Stars had another chance to take the lead with a power play a little more than a minute later. After Stars defenseman Stephen Johns put a big hit on Detroit forward Dominic Turgeon, Red Wings forward Luke Witkowski went after Johns. The two dropped the gloves and fought, but Witkowski got an extra penalty for roughing, and the Stars went on a power play.
With Dallas up a man, the Red Wings had a great shorthanded chance but Frans Nielsen hit the post on a 2-on-0 rush. Just 23 seconds later, Radulov made a slick cross-ice pass to Spezza, who put the puck into the open side of the net from close range, and the Stars had a 3-2 lead at 14:08 of the second.
The Stars didn't give Detroit much in the third period and extended the lead to 4-2 at the 9:13 mark when Remi Elie drove the net from the right wing, and Hanzal followed up the play and put the puck past Howard.
Detroit pulled Howard for an extra skater with 4:30 remaining but the Red Wings couldn't cut into the lead, and the Stars missed a couple of cracks at the empty net, and it stayed a 4-2 game to the final horn.

Notes

What's Next

The Stars play Game 3 of their four-game trip Thursday in Columbus. This will be the second and final meeting of the season between the two teams. The Blue Jackets won the first meeting. 2-1, in Dallas on Jan. 2.

Stars Lineup

Jamie Benn - Tyler Seguin - Alexander Radulov
Mattias Janmark - Jason Spezza - Devin Shore
Antoine Roussel - Radek Faksa - Tyler Pitlick
Remi Elie - Martin Hanzal - Brett Ritchie
Esa Lindell - John Klingberg
Dan Hamhuis - Greg Pateryn
Stephen Johns - Julius Honka
Ben Bishop
Kari Lehtonen
Scratched:Gemel Smith, Dillon Heatherington
Injured: Marc Methot (knee)

This story was not subject to approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club. Mark Stepneski is an independent writer whose posts on DallasStars.com reflect his own opinions and do not represent official statements from the Dallas Stars. You can follow Mark on Twitter at @StarsInsideEdge.