CHICAGO - Tuomu Ruutu scored with 1:48 left to give Chicago a 2-1 victory over Dallas on Wednesda... Blackhawks' Ruutu Give

CHICAGO - Tuomu Ruutu scored with 1:48 left to give Chicago a 2-1 victory over Dallas on Wednesday night in Denis Savard's first game as the Blackhawks' head coach.

Ruutu's shot trickled between goalie Marty Turco's pads after the Chicago center started the play by stealing the puck from Dallas star Mike Modano.

The goal, Ruutu's fifth of the season and fourth in five games, gave the Blackhawks their fourth victory in 16 games and their first over Dallas since Jan. 20, 2002.

The Blackhawks fired coach Trent Yawney on Monday, replacing him with longtime assistant Savard. They promised to deliver more aggressive forechecks and pick up the tempo, but the game was more of the same the first two periods. The pace was plodding, the opportunities on offense scarce until the third.

The loss was the Stars' second straight, and both times, they allowed two goals in the final period. They allowed two short-handed goals Monday in a 2-1 loss to Detroit.

Dallas' goal came late in the first period, when Jere Lehtinen tipped in a pass from Loui Eriksson. The Stars' Marty Turco stopped 26 shots but suffered his first loss to Chicago. He is 11-1-1 against the Blackhawks.

Turco stopped Radim Vrbata's point-blank shot about 4:20 into the period, before Salmelainen tied it with the first goal of his career. That shot appeared to deflect off the stick of either Dallas' Stephane Robidas or Chicago's Tony Salmelainen, but the play stood after a video review.

Chicago altered the roster after finishing 26-43-13, the third-worst record last season, and the moves seemed to pay off during the preseason. With more skill and speed, they started 4-2 before collapsing under the weight of injuries to forwards Martin Havlat (sprained ankle) and Michal Handzus (torn anterior cruciate ligament) and Khabibulin (broken finger).

The losses started piling up, and with his team in danger of missing the playoffs for the ninth time in 10 years, Blackhawks general manager Dale Tallon decided to make some changes. So he fired Yawney, who was 33-55-15 in a little more than one season. Then, he turned to Savard, who joined the staff in December 1997 and whose No. 18 hangs from the United Center rafters.

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