Spezza's fight sparks Stars to 3-1 win over Flyers

Jason Spezza didn't register a point Saturday, but he gave his teammates a much-needed lift in another way. Spezza dropped the gloves and fought for the first time since 2009, sparking the Dallas Stars to shake off a lackluster first period and rally to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-1, at American Airlines Center.
"Just needed a little bit of a jolt," Spezza said. "We know we are in a desperate mode and was just trying to get the guys going a little bit."
After the Stars fell behind 1-0 in the first period, Spezza fought Flyers defenseman Brandon Manning 1:53 into the second period. The Stars responded, outplaying the Flyers in the second and tying the game on a Radek Faksa goal.
"I think [the fight] was huge," said Stars coach Lindy Ruff. "It's an out of character moment. When you are dealing with adversity, which we have been, it is out of character moments that spur the team. Sometimes it is a third or fourth liner scoring a couple goals or maybe it is one of your skill guys going out and scrapping like that. But that was a big moment for our team. That made a statement that I am going to bring some desperation, and you guys follow."
Adam Cracknell scored the game-winning goal early in the third for the Stars, who snapped Philadelphia's winning streak at ten games. Jordie Benn sealed the win with an empty-net goal. Antti Niemi stopped 31 shots to improve to 7-2-1 at home.
The Stars, who lost at Philadelphia one week ago when the Flyers erased a 2-1 Dallas lead with two late power-play goals, stayed disciplined Saturday. The Flyers, who ranked second in the NHL on the power play, had only one chance with the man-advantage.

"A lot of discipline talk before the game and in between periods," said Stars center Tyler Seguin. "We still knew they were probably going to get at least one in the game, and to hold that team to one, that's part of the reason that we won tonight."
The Stars improved to 2-1-0 on their current homestand and are 13-14-6 on the season. The Flyers (19-11-3) lost for the first time since Nov. 25 and their winning streak, which ended at ten games, is tied for the third longest in franchise history.
"We needed to be a little better in the second period. They were the better team for twenty minutes there," said Flyers coach Dave Hakstol. "I liked our third period, I liked our approach and how we played the game. We went down by one, we had a lot of confidence to make plays and create. We didn't get a positive bounce on any of those plays, but that's how it is. It's a tight game, and we just came up short."
The Flyers took a 1-0 lead late in the first period when Nick Cousins put a shot net off the rush, and Taylor Leier scored off the rebound at the 16:44 mark.
Spezza and Flyers defenseman Brandon Manning dropped the gloves in front of the Philadelphia net 1:53 into the second.
"After the first, there was some talk, [Spezza] was pretty fired up, didn't like our first period," Seguin said. "He went out there and fought quickly, and that got the guys going."
Less than three minutes after the fight the Stars tied the game. Antoine Roussel put a shot on net, and Faksa scored off the rebound to make it a 1-1 game at the 4:48 mark. The Stars had some good chances to take the lead, but couldn't cash in.
The Stars took a 2-1 lead early in the third. With Seguin centering Curtis McKenzie and Cracknell, Seguin sent a pass to John Klingberg, who put a shot on net from the point and Cracknell scored off the rebound at the 2:27 mark.
"Klingberg had a great shot and I got in front," said Cracknell. "We create a lot of chances just off rebounds creating havoc. Some guys get lost so if we just keep putting pucks on net, it's so cliché, but they're going to keep going in."
The Flyers had chances to tie. Niemi made a big save on Michael Raffl and Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov hit the post on a shot from the slot.
The Flyers went on their first and only power play with 2:52 remaining in the game. They came close to tying it when Provorov hit the post for a second time in the game, but the Flyers couldn't get the equalizer, and Jordie Benn scored into an empty net with 18 seconds remaining to seal the win for the Stars.
"They've won 10 in a row, so that's a tough team to beat," said Spezza. "We hope that can kind of help us springboard things."
Eakin serves game one of suspension
Stars center Cody Eakin served the first game of a four-game suspension for charging Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist in Thursday's game at American Airlines Center. The league handed down the suspension after a hearing Friday afternoon. Stars coach Lindy Ruff discussed the suspension before Saturday's game.
"I expected it to be within that range," Ruff said. "It's something that I obviously don't condone. It wasn't a good play on his part, and he hurts the team by taking himself out of the lineup now."
Notes
\Stars center Jason Spezza's last fight came in March, 2009 against Dion Phaneuf.
\Stars goaltender Antti Niemi is 7-2-1 at home with a 1.81 goals-against average and .943 save percentage.
\Saturday's win was the Stars' first against the Eastern Conference (1-5-2).
\The Flyers outshot the Stars 32-28 and had a 66-64 advantage in shot attempts.
\Adam Cracknell led the Stars with 4 shots on goal. Brett Ritchie was tops with 8 shot attempts.
\Radek Faksa was tops on the Stars with 6 hits. Stephen Johns was next with 5.
\The Stars won 26 of 54 faceoffs (48 percent).
\Esa Lindell led Dallas with 22:28 of ice time and was a plus-3 in the game.
What's Next
The Stars play the fourth game of the homestand when they take on the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday. The Stars are 1-0-1 against St. Louis this season, winning 6-2 in Dallas on Nov. 3 and losing 4-3 in overtime in St. Louis on Nov. 28.
Stars Lineup
Antoine Rousse - Tyler Seguin - Patrick Eaves
Lauri Korpikoski - Jason Spezza - Jiri Hudler
Jamie - Radek Faksa - Brett Ritchie
Curtis McKenzie - Devin Shore - Adam Cracknell
Esa Lindell - John Klingberg
Dan Hamhuis - Stephen Johns
Johnny Oduya - Jordie Benn
Antti Niemi
Kari Lehtonen
Scratched: Patrik Nemeth, Jamie Oleksiak
Suspended: Cody Eakin
Injured: Patrick Sharp (concussion-like symptoms), Mattias Janmark (knee), Ales Hemsky (hip)
Watch: Postgame Quotes
Lindy Ruff: "I think it was huge. It's an out of character moment. When you're dealing with adversity which we've dealt with, it's out of character moments that spur the team on."
Jason Spezza: "They've won 10 in a row so that's a tough team. We hope that can kind of help us springboard things." 
Adam Cracknell: "It was a good emotional win. I think it started off with [Jason] Spezza doing what he did and playing with the emotion he had and he played a great game and our guys fed off that." 
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 @StarsInsideEdge.