Matt Nieto capped off his first career hat trick on an empty-netter in the closing seconds, Semyon Varlamov stopped 34 shots and the injury-riddled Colorado Avalanche ended a three-game skid with a 5-3 victory over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night.
Gabriel Landeskog had a goal and an assist, and Mark Barberio contributed another tally in his 200th career NHL game.
Jamie Benn added two goals and Brett Ritchie scored another for the Stars, whose four-game winning streak was halted. Starting goaltender Ben Bishop was replaced by Kari Lehtonen early in the second period after giving up three goals on 17 shots.