Dallas put themselves into a tie for first in the Central Division on the first leg of a four-game West Coast trip.

In a tight division race, every game counts as the regular season draws to a close.

With a 5-4 Colorado Avalanche comeback victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins and a 3-0 loss by the Winnipeg Jets to the Washington Capitals on Sunday, the Dallas Stars found themselves in second place in the Central Division heading into Sunday night's matchup in Tempe against the Arizona Coyotes.

The two teams met just five days ago in Dallas, where the Stars came out on top 5-2. Sunday night's game in Tempe yielded the same result, with the Stars winning 4-2, putting them back in a first place tie with Colorado.

Stars captain Jamie Benn has had the hot hand lately with 14 points (6-8-14) in his last 10 games heading into Sunday.

Benn wasted little time in continuing his torrid pace, with a slap shot from the left circle to Coyotes goalie Connor Ingram's short side for a 1-0 Dallas lead at the 4:21 mark of the first period. Benn has scored a goal in his last four games.

Both teams spent some time in the box as the period progressed. Logan Stankoven and Mason Marchment sat for Dallas, while J.J. Moser and Michael Carcone did some time for Arizona. Neither team could capitalize on their respective power plays.

Each team had multiple chances to score. Clayton Keller finally beat Jake Oettinger at 1:15 off a deflection following a blocked shot to draw the Coyotes even 1-1. It was the second time in as many games Keller scored late in the first against Dallas, tallying a goal with just 15 seconds left in the period last Wednesday at American Airlines Center.

The Stars jumped back on top 2-1 at the 2:19 mark when Tyler Seguin followed up a Ryan Suter chance from the left circle. It was Seguin's 22nd goal of the season.

Dylan Guenther, who has 22 points since being called up on January 7, almost got the goal back a short time later after getting wide open, but Oettinger was money with the glove save.

Both goaltenders got a workout, with a total of 28 shots on goal in the period, but Dallas maintained their one-goal lead going into the third.

Arizona came out swinging in the final frame. Oettinger made the best save of the night after using the paddle of his stick to knock down a Travis Dermott shot from point blank range, keeping the Coyotes at bay for the time being.

At 5:20, Mason Marchment was called for tripping Lawson Crouse. Just as the Arizona power play expired, Nick Bjugstad took a Logan Cooley rebound and made a shot at the right side of the crease to tie the game 2-2 at the 7:26 mark.

After Chris Tanev was called for holding at9:51, Thomas Harley sent the puck over the glass on the other side of the red line 38 seconds later. That put the Coyotes in a 5-on-3 power play situation for less than a minute and a half. Fortunately, the Stars managed to kill both penalties.

"We needed a huge kill in the third and a couple big saves from Jake in order to find a way to win," Stars coach Pete DeBoer said at his postgame presser.

Miro Heiskanen put the Stars back in front to stay at the 14:32 mark, blasting a missile from the top of the right circle.

"Lucky bounce there in the middle," Heiskanen told reporters. "Ijust tried to get it through and it went in. Nice to score. It was a big goal for sure."

The shot was clocked at 89.9 mph.

After the Coyotes pulled Ingram, Matt Duchene made an empty netter to put the game out of reach and give Dallas a 4-2 win to stretch their winning streak to four. It was Duchene's 24th goal of the season and his first in 11 games; his last tally came against the New York Islanders on February 26.

The victory was a big one for the Stars as they try and overtake the Avalanche for the division lead with 10 games remaining in the regular season. Sunday's win started off the four-game road trip on a positive note.

Defense has been a roller coaster ride at times, but played with more purpose and didn't fall victim of the turnover bug that has bitten the team in the past.

"(We're) maybe a little more disciplined, maybe not as reckless with the puck," Heiskanen said. "We're not turning it over a lot on the road. That's what we have to do at home, too."

It's also encouraging to see the Marchment-Duchene-Seguin line buzzing again following Seguin's return to the lineup in the previous game against the Penguins. The Stars need all four of their lines to kick into overdrive as the postseason gets closer.

"I think we have depth scoring this year," DeBoer said. "We really have three lines that can win you a game. Tonight, it was the Duchene line. Another night, it's Roope (Hintz)'s line and another night it's Johnny (Wyatt Johnston's) line. That's what that depth scoring gives you."

Oettinger made a couple of key saves to keep the Coyotes from thinking upset. Over his last three games, Oettinger is 3-0-0 with a 2.01 goals-against average and .920 save percentage. Now is as good a time as any for him to round into consistent form and play shutdown goaltending.

"I like where my game is at and where it's going," Oettinger said after the win.

The Stars have won nine of their last eleven games and will travel to San Jose for a Tuesday matchup against the Sharks. The Stars and Sharks last met on March 5 in San Jose, when Dallas fought back from three goals down to snatch a 7-6 victory in overtime.

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