DeSmith has allowed nine goals in his last two starts, both losses. But prior to that, he had allowed just six goals in his previous four games, all wins. Dallas has hit a bit of skid lately, but the team will rebound soon enough. And that will put DeSmith back into a strong fantasy role for spot starts in daily.

The Stars would ultimately fall 6-3, with Casey DeSmith making 30 saves. Dallas will get a chance right away on Sunday to reset with the Detroit Red Wings coming to town.

Sam Malinski didn’t need a heart-to-heart, in-depth meeting. He got the message. Malinski, a healthy scratch for the past three games, returns to the lineup Wednesday night in a pivotal Central Division showdown against the Winnipeg Jets at Ball Arena.

Artturi Lehkonen had two goals and two assists, Cale Makar also scored twice and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Dallas Stars 6-3.

With 101 career goals and 287 assists, Makar is averaging 1.07 points a game. Should he keep up that pace, it would rank up there with the likes of Bobby Orr (1.39) and Paul Coffey (1.09) for the highest marks over a career by a defenseman in NHL history.

Dallas struggled to get out of the gate on time, leaving the door open for Colorado to take advantage with a scoring assault

Cale Makar shook off a puck to the skate to score twice, Artturi Lehkonen had two goals and two assists to tie a career high for points, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Dallas Stars 6-3 in Denver on Saturday.

Dallas Stars netminder Casey DeSmith has a 6-4-1 record with a career-best 2.24 goals against average this season

Casey DeSmith finished with 30 saves ... twice 39 seconds apart to pull the Stars to 5-3 with 8:13 remaining. Avalanche: Colorado improved to 10-3-1 in its past 14 games and moved into a tie ...

DENVER — Artturi Lehkonen had two goals and two assists, Cale Makar also scored twice and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Dallas Stars 6-3 on Saturday. Jonathan Drouin and Casey Mittelstadt each had a goal and two assists, and Josh Manson also had two assists for the Avalanche. Scott Wedgewood stopped 26 shots.

The Dallas Stars travelled to Denver, Colorado, on Saturday afternoon to take on the Colorado Avalanche. This is their second meeting this season, with the Avalanche taking the first game 5-3 in November.

With Mikko camped out to his right midway through the second stanza, Makar beat DeSmith glove-side with a wrister from the blue line for his 100th career goal, slaying the Avs’ power-play dragon and becoming the fastest active defenseman in the NHL to hit the century mark as a pro.