The Dallas Stars earned a split in the season series against the Nashville Predators with a decisive victory in Music City.

Momentum is a tricky business. When teams have it, they feel invincible. If they don't it seems as if the whole world is against them.

After Thursday night, the Dallas Stars looked invincible in Nashville, cruising to a 9-2 win against the Predators. Seven different Dallas skaters scored, with Matt Duchene and Wyatt Johnston getting two apiece to move the Stars' record to 20 games above .500 (34-14-6P for 74 points.

It didn't take long to get the party started. Just 35 seconds into the first period, Sam Steel intercepted the puck at center ice and wristed a shot from the top of the left circle that deflected off Preds goalie Juuse Saros's left arm for a 1-0 lead. It was Steel's seventh goal and 17th point of the season and the first shot of the game for either team.

At the 4:27 mark, Mason Marchment forced another Predators turnover after intercepting at center ice and feeding Matt Duchene for the first of his two goals against his former team to increase the Dallas lead to 2-0. It was the 20th goal of the season for Duchene.

Another former Predator came back to haunt his old team. Craig Smith benefited from yet another Nashville turnover created by Sam Steel, who passed the puck across the crease. All Smith had to do was tip it in, and the Stars already had a 3-0 lead at the 12:31 mark of the first period.

Just over three minutes later, Johnston netted the first of his two goals on the night, scooping up a loose puck in front and rifling it past Saros to make the score 4-0.

It was arguably the most dominant period the Stars have played all season. They had 14 shots on goal before the Predators got their first, followed by sarcastic cheering from a frustrated Nashville crowd. Dallas led in slot shots on net (11-0), danger scoring chances (6-0), and turnover scoring chances (3-1).

Kevin Lankinen replaced Saros in goal to start the second period. The Stars came out a bit sluggish in the first several minutes, but the Predators couldn't take advantage. They had some chances, including a breakaway by Tommy Novak, who missed the net.

At the 4:40 mark, Miro Heiskanen put away any thoughts of a Nashville comeback, scoring from the top of the right circle with a helper from Johnston for a 5-0 lead. It was the 50th goal of Heiskanen's career.

Cole Smith finally got the Preds on the board at the 9:50 mark from the left circle off a long rebound for his sixth goal of the season, spoiling Jake Oettinger's shutout bid to make it 5-1. It was the first goal Smith had scored in his last 20 games.

Not long after getting the goal, Smith took exception to what he felt was a high stick and ended up with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Tyler Seguin quickly took advantage, scoring his first power-play goal of the season at 10:51 on a tap-in off a rebound in front for a 6-1 Dallas lead. It was Seguin's 20th goal of the season.

After the Stars lost the puck on a dump in, Novak cut the lead to 6-2 on a backhand shot in the low slot.

Duchene answered with his own backhander for his second goal of the night on a nice cross-ice pass from Seguin for a 7-2 lead with just 13 seconds left in the period.

The Stars also made a change in goal going into the third period, replacing Oettinger with Scott Wedgewood.

After missing out on six quality shots on net Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes, Ty Dellandrea finally got in on the fun, blasting a slap shot from the right circle for his second goal of the season at 3:50 for an 8-2 Dallas lead.

The Predators' frustration finally reached the boiling point midway through the third period. Jamie Benn had just served a penalty and was attacked by Michael McCarron coming out of the box. McCarron received a double minor and a 10-minute misconduct, which put him out for the rest of the game.

Johnston scored the Stars' final goal and his second of the night on the power-play after taking a nice centering pass from Seguin and putting it past Lankinen from the low slot. It had been 26 games since the Stars had scored multiple power-play goals in a game, going 2-for-3.

Here are some takeaways from the game.

1. 'Dutchy' gets his due.

Matt Duchene had already played three games against his former team this season, but this one had to be especially gratifying.

Duchene, or 'Dutchy' as his teammates and coaches affectionately call him, had recorded a point in each of those games. He scored two goals and was initially credited with two assists Thursday, although the official scorer took away both assists after the game.

Duchene spent four seasons with Nashville, from 2019-23, but the team opted to buy him out at the end of last season. This came as a bit of a surprise to Duchene, who tallied 198 points (84-114-198) in 249 games for the Predators. He led the team in goals his last two seasons, including a career-high 43 goals and 43 assists for 86 points.

Duchene has had the last laugh since signing with the Stars prior to this season. Dallas is a first-place club, while Nashville sits in fifth with a 27-25-2 record. Through 54 games, 'Dutchy' is averaging a point per game (23 goals and 31 assists for 54 points).

Not surprisingly, Duchene downplayed the revenge factor.

"It obviously feels good, but you try not to think about that stuff," Duchene said after the game. "You try to think about the team and where we're going and what we want to achieve. We've got to keep putting space between us and the teams below us."

2. A defenseman goes down.

Less than two minutes into the game, Nils Lundkvist left the game after taking a massive hit from the Predators' Jeremy Lauzon along the boards. According to the team, Lundkvist suffered an upper body injury. The seriousness of the injury is still unknown at this time.

Stars coach Pete DeBoer was puzzled by the hit.

"I don't understand the hit," DeBoer said after the game. "The puck had left the area and (Lauzon) kind of snuck in behind the guy Nils was checked by, so pretty vulnerable position. Hopefully, he's OK."

If Lundkvist is out for any length of time, the Stars may have no choice but to make a move at the trade deadline to bolster the defensive unit. Having depth at the forward position has thus far enabled them to withstand the loss of Evgenii Dadonov, who suffered a fracture in last Saturday's victory in Montreal against the Canadiens.

"It sucks losing someone, but everyone stepped up," Ryan Suter, another former Predator, said following the game. "You're playing more, you're playing with everyone, so you have to have your mind right."

3. It was an evening of milestones.

The win in Nashville set some team records and individual accomplishments. The Stars have now scored 8+ goals four times this season. No other NHL team has more than two. It sets a new Dallas record, surpassing the 1993-94 team, who accomplished the feat three times. The franchise record is nine, set in 1983-84.

Jake Oettinger notched his 20th win of the season and seventh consecutive win in net, and he only had to play two periods to do it. Oettinger is the first Stars netminder to win seven straight outings since Kari Lehtonen in 2011-12.

With his 50th career goal, Miro Heiskanen has 32 points (6-26-32) for the season.

Many of the players' moms were in attendance, having accompanied them on the trip to Nashville as part of the Stars' tradition of giving moms and dads a chance to see their sons in action. The team obviously wanted to impress, and they succeeded.

Dallas won't have much time to celebrate, as they return home for a Saturday matinee against the Edmonton Oilers before matchups with the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers on back-to-back nights Monday and Tuesday.

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