Dadonov and Benn score as Stars beat Utah 2-1 for 3rd straight win

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Evgeni Dadonov and Jamie Benn each scored to help the Dallas Stars beat the Utah Hockey Club 2-1 on Monday night for their third straight win.

Casey DeSmith stopped 34 shots for Dallas, which has won eight of its last 11 games.

Nick Schmaltz scored and Karel Vejmelka finished with 19 saves for Utah, which fell to 3-2-1 in its last six.

Dadonov scored on the power play at 7:07 of the second period and Benn made it 2-0 in the final minute of the period.

Schmaltz got Utah on the scoreboard at 6:57 of the third.

Utah defenseman Mikhail Sergachev played his 500th career game on Monday.

Utah Hockey Club: Utah continues it’s up-and-down play, not having won consecutive games since winning its first three to start the season.

Stars: The win brought Dallas to 32 points, strengthening its hold on third place in the Central Division and moving four points behind Minnesota and Winnipeg atop the division.

Early in the first period, with a loose puck floating toward him, DeSmith flicked it away with his shoulder pad. That play set the tone for his evening.

Utah is now just 2-8-1 when allowing the first goal this season, while Dallas is now 12-2-0 when scoring first.

Stars visit Los Angeles on Wednesday, while Utah visits Buffalo on Saturday.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Utah Hockey Club goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) makes a save against the Dallas Stars during the first period of an NHL hockey game Monday, Dec. 2, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Dallas Stars goaltender Casey DeSmith (1) makes a save against Utah Hockey Club right wing Dylan Guenther (11) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Monday, Dec. 2, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Dallas Stars goaltender Casey DeSmith, right, makes a save against Utah Hockey Club center Alexander Kerfoot (15) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Monday, Dec. 2, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Dallas Stars defenseman Esa Lindell (23) and Utah Hockey Club center Nick Bjugstad (17) battle for the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game Monday, Dec. 2, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Dallas Stars goaltender Casey DeSmith (1) makes a save against Utah Hockey Club center Jack McBain (22) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Monday, Dec. 2, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Dallas Stars left wing Jamie Benn (14) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Utah Hockey Club during the second period of an NHL hockey game Monday, Dec. 2, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Dallas Stars right wing Evgenii Dadonov (63) celebrates with teammate Miro Heiskanen (4) after scoring against the Utah Hockey Club during the second period of an NHL hockey game Monday, Dec. 2, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. flu infections showed signs of a slight decline last week, but health officials say it is not clear that this severe flu season has peaked.

New government data posted Friday — for flu activity through last week — showed declines in medical office visits due to flu-like illness and in the number of states reporting high flu activity.

However, some measures show this season is already surpassing the flu epidemic of last winter, one of the harshest in recent history. And experts believe there is more suffering ahead.

“This is going to be a long, hard flu season,” New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, in a statement Friday.

One type of flu virus, called A H3N2, historically has caused the most hospitalizations and deaths in older people. So far this season, that is the type most frequently reported. Even more concerning, more than 91% of the H3N2 infections analyzed were a new version — known as the subclade K variant — that differs from the strain in this year’s flu shots.

The last flu season saw the highest overall flu hospitalization rate since the H1N1 flu pandemic 15 years ago. And child flu deaths reached 289, the worst recorded for any U.S. flu season this century — including that H1N1 “swine flu” pandemic of 2009-2010.

So far this season, there have been at least 15 million flu illnesses and 180,000 hospitalizations, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates. It also estimates there have been 7,400 deaths, including the deaths of at least 17 children.

Last week, 44 states reported high flu activity, down slightly from the week before. However, flu deaths and hospitalizations rose.

Determining exactly how flu season is going can be particularly tricky around the holidays. Schools are closed, and many people are traveling. Some people may be less likely to see a doctor, deciding to just suffer at home. Others may be more likely to go.

Also, some seasons see a surge in cases, then a decline, and then a second surge.

For years, federal health officials joined doctors' groups in recommending that everyone 6 months and older get an annual influenza vaccine. The shots may not prevent all symptoms but can prevent many infections from becoming severe, experts say.

But federal health officials on Monday announced they will no longer recommend flu vaccinations for U.S. children, saying it is a decision parents and patients should make in consultation with their doctors.

“I can’t begin to express how concerned we are about the future health of the children in this country, who already have been unnecessarily dying from the flu — a vaccine preventable disease,” said Michele Slafkosky, executive director of an advocacy organization called Families Fighting Flu.

“Now, with added confusion for parents and health care providers about childhood vaccines, I fear that flu seasons to come could be even more deadly for our youngest and most vulnerable," she said in a statement.

Flu is just one of a group of viruses that tend to strike more often in the winter. Hospitalizations from COVID-19 and RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, also have been rising in recent weeks — though were not diagnosed nearly as often as flu infections, according to other federal data.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

FILE - Pharmacy manager Aylen Amestoy administers a patient with a seasonal flu vaccine at a CVS Pharmacy in Miami, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)