TAMPA, Fla. - Even in a lost season, the Dallas Stars continue to put up a fight.
Even to the point where head coach Lindy Ruff felt that Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning was taken out of his team's hands.
The Lightning, who are trying to remain in the hunt for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference standings, broke open a tight game in the third period and pulled away for a 6-3 victory against Dallas, which has embraced the role of playing spoiler down the stretch.
Jason Spezza, Gemel Smith and Byron Ritchie all scored for the Stars while Kari Lehtonen, starting on consecutive nights, finished with 19 saves.