Avalanche 4, Stars 3: Matt Duchene recorded a goal and an assist as host Colorado erased a two-goal deficit to match a season high with its third straight victory.

Defenseman Erik Johnson, John Mitchell and Nathan MacKinnon scored during a three-goal second period as the Avalanche improved to 5-1-0 in their last six and moved one point ahead of Dallas in the Central Division standings. Seymon Varlamov turned aside 37 shots to win his third start in a row - a span in which he has made 127 saves.

Rookie Brett Ritchie and Colton Sceviour tallied in the first period and Ales Hemsky added a third-period goal as the Stars absorbed their fourth straight defeat (0-2-2). Kari Lehtonen stopped 26 shots for Dallas, which failed on six power-play chances.

Colorado stormed back in the second, getting on the board on Johnson's backhander from the right faceoff circle at 7:18 before Mitchell's shot from the left point found its way through traffic 1:25 later for the equalizer. Max Talbot stole a pass just inside the blue line with time winding down and dished the puck to MacKinnon, who stuffed it under Lehtonen with 8.4 seconds to play - a goal upheld following a video review.

The Avalanche doubled the lead 12 seconds into the third as Duchene skated around the net before spinning and ripping a perfect shot from the left circle into the far top corner. Hemsky answered 2:26 later, wristing home a drop pass from Jason Spezza, but the Stars couldn't get the tying tally - hitting the post with about 20 seconds remaining.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Stars scored only 27 seconds into the contest when Ritchie deflected C Tyler Seguin's turnaround shot before taking a 2-0 lead when C Vernon Fiddler set up Sceviour for a backhander in front that beat Varlamov to the blocker side. ... Johnson scored for the eighth time in 13 games to boost his career-high total to 12, tying LW Alex Tanguay and RW Jarome Iginla for the team lead. ... Stars D David Schlemko, a recent waiver acquisition from Arizona, made his debut while LW Erik Cole (illness) sat out.