DALLAS -- Kari Lehtonen has been inconsistent through his first 10 games of the season, but on Thursday night against the Colorado Avalanche at American Airlines Center, the Dallas Stars goaltender was in top form, stopping 34 of 36 shots as Dallas held on for a 3-2 victory.

Dallas (7-6-5) got goals from Johnny Oduya, Brett Ritchie and Patrick Eaves, all in the first period.

"Kari was the bright spot for us," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said of Lehtonen. "Kari played exceptionally well."

Lehtonen's two biggest saves came against Nathan MacKinnon, who had a goal and an assist for Colorado. Lehtonen first denied MacKinnon on a breakaway midway through the second period with a sprawling pad save.

Lehtonen turned MacKinnon away a second time midway through the third, when he stoned MacKinnon at close range as he looked to score off a rebound.

"He (MacKinnon) was definitely having a good night and it's fun how it starts from nothing and a couple good saves and he scores," Lehtonen said. "He's one of those players I have to be aware every time he's on the ice. In the third period, it seemed like he played every shift."

The Avalanche (7-9-0) also got a goal from Mikhail Grigorenko. Colorado was without two of its top offensive players in Matt Duchene (concussion symptoms) and captain Gabriel Landeskog (lower body).

"I loved our guys' effort for the final 40 minutes, but unfortunately 40 minutes doesn't get the job done on many occasions," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "That was frustrating to watch, the first period. You got to give Dallas a little credit, they came after us in the first period. I love what we did in the final 40 minutes, but that's got to be lesson learned for us."

Colorado made it a one-goal game 1:51 into the third when Grigorenko redirected a MacKinnon wrist shot from the right point for his first goal of the season. Grigorenko got his stick in front of MacKinnon's shot, changing the puck's trajectory enough to deflect it into the Dallas net.

AJ Greer, appearing in his second NHL game, was credited with the secondary assist on the Grigorenko goal.

"It feels great, great to get it out of the way," Greer said. "I'm fortunate enough to be here and be part of this with the guys here. It's exciting and hopefully it's not the last one."

Stars forward Antoine Roussel saw his seven-game point streak, the longest active streak in the NHL, snapped.

Semyon Varlamov stopped 19 of 22 shots for Colorado in a losing effort, including the final 16 shots he faced.

"When we needed him (Varlamov) to keep us in the game in the second (he did)," Bednar said. "When we needed the save, (Varlamov) was there. I thought both goalies were really good."

Varlamov headed to the bench with 56.5 seconds remaining, but even with the extra attacker, the undermanned Avalanche were unable to find the equalizer.

Dallas took an early lead when Oduya scored his first goal of the season 8:15 into the first period. Oduya's slap shot from the left circle deflected off Tyson Barrie's left knee before landing in the back of the net.

It was Oduya's first goal since Dec. 17, 2015 against Calgary, a span of 67 games.

"It's always nice to get the zero out of the column for the year, but in a game like this to get a good start to it is obviously good for us," Oduya said. "I just close my eyes and shoot. For me, it's kind of shoot at the net and see what happens, and sometimes it goes in."

The Stars doubled their advantage 2:04 later when Ritchie scored his fourth goal of the season from the slot with Dallas on the power play. Ritchie received a pass from Devin Shore and finished with precision, sending the puck into the top of the Colorado net at 10:19 of the first to make it a 2-0 contest.

Eaves made it 3-0 with a power-play goal 21 seconds before the first intermission. After receiving a Tyler Seguin pass inside the right circle, Eaves beat Varlamov top shelf to his short side.

Colorado broke the shutout at 12:06 of the second when MacKinnon scored a short-handed goal to make it 3-1. Andreas Martinsen stole the puck from Jordie Benn in the right corner and then sent a pass to MacKinnon, who scored on an easy tap-in at the near post.

The Stars have now allowed four short-handed goals this season, tying them with Philadelphia for the league lead.

"I'm frustrated with the shorthanded goals we've been giving up because it's been big momentum (killer) in a lot of games," Ruff said. "It's lack of attention to detail, and I'm sick of it."

NOTES: The Avalanche scratched C Matt Duchene (concussion symptoms), D Eric Gelinas and LW Gabriel Landeskog (lower body). ... The Stars scratched D Jamie Oleksiak and C Gemel Smith. ... C Cody Eakin made his season debut. Eakin, who was activated from injured reserve Thursday afternoon, had been sidelined since preseason due to a knee injury. ... On Wednesday, Colorado recalled LW A.J. Greer from AHL San Antonio. Greer, who made his NHL debut on Nov. 13 against Boston, was leading AHL rookies in assists (nine) and points (14) at the time of his latest promotion. ... Dallas sent D Esa Lindell to AHL Texas on Thursday afternoon. Lindell, who made his NHL debut last season, had been a healthy scratch in the past four games. ... Colorado plays at Minnesota on Saturday, while Dallas plays host to the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.