The playoff-contending Dallas Stars overcame a challenging travel day and a two-goal deficit to secure a crucial 3-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Saturday night.
After an early goal was disallowed due to goalie interference, Roope Hintz scored twice in quick succession in the second period to tie the game for Dallas, and Vladislav Namestnikov scored the game-winner.
“Great resilience. Listen, we were running on fumes at the end,” said Stars coach Rick Bowness. “Our guys dug deep … and found the will to win. That was the difference.”
With three home games left in the regular season, the Stars have 93 points, tying them with Nashville for the Western Conference’s two wild-card spots. The Predators, who lost to Tampa Bay, have four games remaining. With 89 points and four games left, Vegas plays at Dallas on Tuesday night.
“It was a tough road trip for us,” center Joe Pavelski said. “Getting back home felt nice.”
The Stars’ travel woes included a plane malfunction and a lengthy delay, causing them to return home late. Despite the exhaustion, they managed to rally.
Hintz scored his first goal of the night while sitting in the crease, knocking the puck in to make it 2-1. He then tied the game with a power-play goal, skillfully navigating around defenseman Adam Larsson.
Hintz now has five goals in his last three games and 37 overall. Jason Robertson assisted on both of Hintz’s goals and has 37 assists with his team-high 38 goals.
Namestnikov, returning after missing five games with an injury, scored his 15th goal on a pass from Denis Gurianov.
“You never want to be out, and when you come back, you want to make an impact,” Namestnikov said. “The boys battled hard today, and that was a gutsy, gutsy win there.”
Jake Oettinger stopped 30 of 32 shots, and the Stars’ goaltender also had a secondary assist on the tying goal with his pass to Robertson.
Chris Driedger made 28 saves for the Kraken, with 26 wins and four games left in their inaugural season.
“We’ve been playing some pretty decent hockey lately if you cross out the last couple of second periods,” Driedger said. “Our group’s working towards some real positive things.”
Seattle took a 1-0 lead on Riley Sheahan’s goal seconds after their power play ended. Sheahan scored by reaching around the goalie to knock in a blocked puck. Yanni Gourde’s 100th career goal made it 2-0 with a deflection into the net.
“Overall, it wasn’t a terrible game,” Sheahan said. “We just had some lapses where we took the foot off the gas, and they capitalized.”
NOTES
The Stars had an early goal overturned due to goalie interference. Pavelski’s shot was disallowed after Seattle won a coach’s challenge against Hintz. Pavelski, the 37-year-old Stars center, earned his 500th career assist with a secondary helper on the first goal. He has assists in four consecutive games and is one point shy of his career-high of 79 points, set in 2013-14 with San Jose. Seattle rookie Matty Beniers failed to score for the first time in his six NHL games but is the only rookie to start his career with points in four or more consecutive games this season.
UP NEXT
- Kraken: At Vancouver on Tuesday night. The Canucks still have a chance to make the playoffs.
- Stars: Host Vegas on Tuesday night, potentially clinching a playoff spot if the Golden Knights lose in regulation Sunday.
