<p>The Dallas Stars were tired of ties.</p><p>Steve Ott and Scott Young had goals and Jason Arnott two assists for the Stars, who beat the Atlanta Thrashers for the eighth time in as many all-time meetings, 2-1 Thursday night.</p><p>Dallas had settled for ties in four of its previous five games, allowing late goals on defensive breakdowns. This time, the Stars remained aggressive down the stretch, outshooting the Thrashers 11-3 in the third period.</p><p>Everyone stayed poised, Arnott said. The guys really pulled together at the end. The confidence has been a little down, knowing weve blown games late, but tonight was a positive. We cant accept ties. Weve got to expect more out of ourselves.</p><p>Marty Turco, who learned earlier in the day that he had been voted the Western Conferences starting goaltender for the NHL All-Star game, had 15 saves as the Stars held on to improve to 7-2-5 in their last 14 games.</p><p>Were finding ways to get points, which is what were all about, Stars coach Dave Tippett said.</p><p>Ronald Petrovicky notched his 14th goal on a rebound with 2:36 to play as the Thrashers avoided the shutout. Atlanta has two goals or less in seven of its last 11 games.</p><p>But Turco and the Dallas defense were able to minimize Atlantas scoring opportunities in the final two minutes.</p><p>It was a great game from our guys from start to finish, Turco said. It was a treat to watch for most of the night. The last two periods, they didnt have many scoring chances and thats a good sign. This is a team that scores a lot of goals and it turned out pretty good for us.</p><p>Dallas was able to keep Thrashers high-scoring left wing Ilya Kovalchuk in check. Kovalchuk, who started the night tied for the NHL scoring lead with 46 points and was second in goals with 22, had one assist.</p><p>Turco was very good, Kovalchuk said. We had our chances. We didnt play bad hockey. Were still in first place in our division so were not worried. You cant win all 82 games.</p><p>Pasi Nurminen stopped 24 shots for the Thrashers, who lost their fourth straight.</p><p>Its a long season and were a young team, said Thrashers coach Bob Hartley. We have to keep learning from our mistakes. And this team (the Stars) is now playing up to their potential.</p><p>Ott got his second goal of the season in the first period, and Youngs fourth came with 13:28 remaining for the Stars.</p><p>Ott knocked the rebound of Arnotts shot past Nurminen 1:49 after the opening faceoff.</p><p>Its just a matter of being in the right place at the right time, Ott said. I went to the net and the puck was just sitting there.</p><p>Notes:@ Atlanta was making the third stop of a five-game road trip. ...Stars C Mike Modano missed his third consecutive game due to a groin injury. LW Brenden Morrow (shoulder), D Phillippe Boucher (flu) and D John Erskine (ankle) were the other Dallas scratches. ...Morrow and Modano had combined for 18 of Dallas 83 goals entering Thursday night. ...C Marc Savard (concussion) was scratched for Atlanta.</p>
