Brenden Morrow had a burr under his saddle Monday night, and that was a good thing for the Stars.

Morrow opened the game with a fight against Carolina defenseman Tim Gleason 25 seconds in, and he was a physical force the entire night as Dallas plowed to a 2-0 win.

"He showed a lot of leadership," Stars coach Marc Crawford said. "He took it upon himself, obviously. He got in a fight, he got an assist on the one [goal]. He was a great leader for us tonight."

Marty Turco got his second shutout of the season and the 38th of his career. Dallas has won two straight for only the second time this season. And the Stars played a patient yet spirited game as they willed themselves past a 5-13-5 Hurricanes team.

The Stars moved to 11-6-6, good for 28 points. And while this team still is struggling to score (with two or fewer goals in eight of the last 10 games), Dallas was rewarded for timely goals against the Hurricanes.

The Stars forced the pace early and were rewarded with three first-period power plays. Jamie Benn broke a 12-game goal-scoring drought as he lifted in a rebound of a Morrow shot at the 9:30 mark of the first period. Steve Ott, who also had a physical game, drew a cross-check from Tom Kostopoulos to put the Stars on the power play, and Dallas showed for the second consecutive game how important special teams can be.

"We're getting the chances, so we have to find a way to score," center Mike Ribeiro said. "If we score on the power play, it changes the game."

It certainly did Monday. It was the only time the Stars were able to convert against scrappy Hurricanes goalie Manny Legace, and it was clear getting just a little extra room on the ice made a significant difference.

The Hurricanes controlled the early part of the second period and appeared to have tied the score at the 6:37 mark when Ray Whitney came streaking down the right wing and punched a puck into the net. The replay, however, showed Whitney was trying to deflect a pass from his skate to his stick and actually kicked the puck into the net.

The goal was disallowed, and the Stars kept their lead.

Dallas held tight to that cushion for the remainder of second period and took control early in the third when Carolina defenseman Joe Corvo and Morrow were fighting for position in front of the net on a power play. Brad Richards whipped a low shot on net from the point, and the puck deflected in off Corvo for the insurance goal that made the third period much easier.

Dallas had to kill 1:38 of 5-on-3 but then rode out the win.

Grossman sits: Defenseman Nicklas Grossman was taken out of the lineup after suffering a groin injury in the morning skate. Grossman is day-to-day. Jeff Woywitka jumped in and played 12:47.

Brunnstrom, Sutherby improve: Fabian Brunnstrom (shoulder) and Brian Sutherby (groin) both skated hard Monday morning and hope to join the Stars in a full practice today. Whether either can play Wednesday against St. Louis is yet to be determined. James Neal will return Wednesday from a two-game suspension.